We have been waiting almost three weeks for our flights to Japan. Today, we finally got our itinerary. We are leaving Sunday, June 21st for Japan. They have us flying from Denver to San Francisco to Tokyo. Well, we are no longer in Denver, so Doug had to change our flights from Denver to Cincinnati, OH.
It took Doug several hours to call in order to rearrange our flights. We are flying out of Cincinnati, OH on Sunday morning to Newark, NJ. Then we will fly from Newark, NJ to Tokyo. Our cats, Gigi and Calcifer, will be with us on the flight (Mittens will be staying with my mom). They are going to be our carry on and be in the cabin with us. In Tokyo, we will be taken to the U.S. Navel Facility in Atsugi (36 miles southeast from Tokyo). There we will be quarantined for 14 days in Atsugi. After our quarantine, we will then fly from Tokyo to Fukuoka. Fukuoka is 62 miles from Sasebo. Sasebo is our final destination!
Sasebo will be our new home for the next three years.
Doug and I have been in Kentucky for three weeks now. We have been staying in Richmond, KY for a week with my family. Doug and I enjoy our time with our family, but we always have a list of places to eat! We are trying to eat at places we didn’t get a chance to eat when we came in for Christmas. Plus, we don’t know when we are coming back once we are in Japan.
My favorite fast food places to eat in Richmond, KY are Zaxby’s, Rally’s, and White Castle. My absolute favorite is Zaxby’s! There is nothing like a Kickin’ Chicken Sandwich Meal with a large Sweet Tea from Zaxby’s! Spending four years in Colorado, I have become accustom to just ordering water or lemonade, while out eating. It has taken some time to realize that I can order Sweet Tea when we go out to eat. I love a good Southern Sweet Tea!
Kickin Chicken Sandwich Meal from Zaxby’s
My mom shared with us a wonderful local Mexican Grille called Don Senor Express. They are similar to Chiptole and Qdoba but better! Doug got a ground beef burrito and I got the chicken burrito. Doug enjoyed his burrito and I enjoyed mine. They have amazing queso and chips.
Chicken Burrito from Don Senor Express
My two favorite local places to eat are in Berea, KY (15 miles south of Richmond)! They are the Dinner Bell and PapaLeno’s. My favorite breakfast place is the Dinner Bell Restaurant where I get the Breakfast Special every time. My favorite pizza place to eat is PapaLeno’s. My mom and I enjoy sharing the Mountaineer.
Doug and I left Colorado for Kentucky last week. We both were born and raised in Kentucky. I am from Richmond and he is from Ashland. Ashland is a lovely two hours away from Richmond. We always stop in Richmond for a few days then head to Ashland. We have been in Ashland since Monday, June 1st.
I-64 heading east to Ashland, KY.
Doug and I always enjoy time with family. We have been watching TV, working on word puzzles, talking on the porch while drinking lemonade, and eating some good food!
Harley
We LOVE to enjoy our favorite food when we come back. When you are in Kentucky, you must enjoy, an Ale-8, some Grippos BBQ chips, and some Mingua Beef Jerky.
My favorite kind of beef jerky!
While we are in Ashland, some of our favorite restaurants are Tres Hermanos Nunez, Tudor’s Biscuit World, Belle Fonte Italian Restaurant, Crisp Dairy Treats, and Slim Chickens!
Arroz Con Pollo from Tres Hermanos Nunez 💜Strawberry Milkshake from Crisp’s Dairy Treat
Last Thursday, May 14th, the movers came and boxed all of our things up! The moving company sent three people to pack our things up. I got to spend quality time with the cats on the patio. Doug made sure the movers got everything packed. It took them eight hours to pack everything and we provided lunch! The next day, Friday May 15th, the movers came with five people and a Semi-truck to load it all up. It only took them four hours to load the Semi-truck up with our belongings. Doug and I provided them with lunch before they left.
Also on Friday, May 15th, my school held an End of the Year Parade to have somewhat of a closure to the school year. I went because I wanted to see all my colleagues and I wanted to say goodbye! This is not how anyone wanted to end the school year, but I am glad I got to see everyone one last time!
On Monday May 18th, the wavier we had to sent to ‘Big Navy’ due to Covid-19, finally got approved. This means we will leave Colorado for an epic road trip to Kentucky on Friday, May 29th. We will be staying with family until we fly to Japan at the end of June.
Yesterday, Wednesday May 20th, Doug logged in to look for his orders because his Detailer cut him new orders (new orders had us getting to Japan at the end of July and we would be stuck in Colorado for another month). Adding onto this, our apartment is already rented out, so another month in Colorado, would have meant living in a hotel for a month then heading to Kentucky. Doug had to call his Detailer, to tell her, he had a wavier in for his old orders and she would have to correct them once the waiver was approved.
What does all this mean? Well, it’s just delaying us getting our plane tickets. So, he got his old orders in this morning. We are waiting for the message from Japan to approve me. After we get that message, then Brandon (a civilian that works with Doug and a great friend) will order our plane tickets! Once we have plane tickets, we will re-route them through Cincinnati, OH. Then we can call a vet at Fort Knox for the cats last appointment (they have to be checked out ten days before our flight)!
This has been quite a journey already and we aren’t even in Japan yet! More to come next week!
We are expected to be in Japan at the end of June.
So what is happening with the world being in quarantine due to Covid-19?
Well, we are still going, there is just more paperwork! Japan is shut down until May 6th, well it may be extended. They have a travel ban. The only people allowed in Japan have to be apart of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). The SOFA agreement allows a host country (U.S., in this instance) and a foreign country (Japan, in this instance) stationing forces. The SOFA agreement also allows Doug and I to travel to Japan on military orders and we don’t need a visa. This is why I have a U.S. military passport that will allow me to enter Japan without applying for a visa. I get a special sticker on my military passport!
So, this means, we are still moving.
Our pack out is still scheduled for May 14th and 15th. Doug received an email two days ago, stating that the pack out was still happening. The email also entailed what precautions we need to do during this pandemic while they are packing us out. The movers will be wearing masks and we will be wearing masks.
In order for Doug to separate from this command, they have to send a letter of hardship to ‘Big Navy’. ‘Big Navy’ will then have to approve the letter so that we can book tickets. Today, his command sent the letter, so it is a hurry up and wait process (this is the military’s secret motto).
Yesterday I was able to pick up my military passport!!! Buckley Air Force has closed all non-essential personal on Tuesday. They changed their hours on Tuesday for their ID office, where I needed to pick up my passport. So yesterday I went early to pick it up and the doors were locked. I had to call someone to open the door and then 10 minutes later I had my military passport!
I got two passports!
What is the difference?
On page 26, it has a message about how it is only valid with connection to someone in the U.S. military. This passport will allow me to get into Japan without a visa.
Next Steps.
Doug’s command had to scan my military passport in order to send an authorization message to Japan. Once I become authorized, we will be able to purchase plane tickets. When I say we, the military will purchase the tickets. But who knows how the Covid-19 measures that have been taken, they might last longer. We shall see.
Well, the Department of Defense has postponed all moves and domestic travel until May 11. Our pack out isn’t until May 14th and 15th, but it could be delayed due to others who have to move. Doug doesn’t report to his new command in Japan until June 15th. Currently we are okay BUT if they extend the date, then we will have a problem. I still haven’t received my military passport. I should have been able to pick it up today BUT they closed down the office early at Buckley. They will have the office open during this pandemic but only 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. So, I get to go tomorrow.
Plus, people are going crazy over food, toilet paper, and paper towels. The stores look like they are about to close forever. It seems as if the world will end as we know it. The best thing to do is just to stay away from others and wash your hands.
Today Doug and I went to get our JEV vaccination. JEV stands for Japanese Encephalitis Virus. Encephalitis is swelling of the brain. The virus is only spear by mosquito bites.
They had information about the different vaccinations.
I also submitted my application for a military passport. Since I am a dependent, I have to have a special passport and authorization to get into Japan. The application is the same as a civilian passport. We had the application sent to us by a guy at the Buckley Air Force base in Aurora. I also made sure to bring copies of my birth certificate, my marriage license, and my passport photo (I asked for extras when we got them at Walgreens). We had a copy of Doug’s orders to Japan and he highlighted Doug’s and mine names. I also brought my civilian passport. The guy who does the passports at Buckley, made copies of Doug and mines passports and of our ID’s. It will take up to three weeks for my military passport to come back. When it comes back, I have to go pick it up at Buckley and sign for it. I did not have to pay for it, they pay for it.
Doug did not have to re-submit for his military passport because he will be in Japan because of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). The SOFA agreement allows a host country and a foreign country stationing forces.
Doug and I applied for our U.S. passports on January, 18th, 2020. Since we are going to Japan for military, we applied for our U.S. civilian passports. This will allow us to travel while we live in Japan. We have to apply for our military passport now that we have our civilian passports. The difference between the two is the military passport is the one we will use when flying on orders (when we first get to Japan and when we finally leave Japan). The civilian passport will allow us to come home during our three year stay in Japan.
My FIRST passport!!!!
How do you apply for a U.S. passport?
Well, you have to fill out a form (DS-11) you can print it out to fill out or fill out online (you have to print it out). Do not sign the DS-11 until you are with the person who is filing your application. Then you provide a U.S. Citizenship (Birth Certificate, Consular Report of Birth Abroad or Certification of Birth, Certificate of Naturalization, Certificate of Citizenship). You must also have a photocopy of your proof of U.S. citizenship. You must have an I.D. (driver’s license, military and/or dependent, green card, valid or expired passport). You will need a copy of your I.D. too. You may take your photo at the facility or bring in a photo taken at a place that does passport photos.
How we applied was first we set up an appointment at a local U.S. Post Office. We currently live in the suburbs of Denver and there is only one U.S. Post Office that does passport applications on Saturday. I just went onto their website and followed the steps to set up an appointment. The appointments are in 15 minute increments. We set up our appointment first thing in the morning to go get it over with and in case if they got busy we wouldn’t have to wait long. They do accept walk-ins but they have the right to refuse walk-ins (the day we went they had a sign saying they could not accept walk-ins).
Before we went, I made sure we had all the proper documentation. We filled out the DS-11 online and we printed them off. We did not sign the DS-11 until the person filing our application told us to. We had our birth certificates and copies of them (8.5 x 11). I had our marriage certificate (copies of it as well; we did not need it but we had it just in case). We both had our I.D.’s on us. We both had our photos (we had them taken at Walgreens). The only thing we did not have was copy of our I.D.’s (they were generous enough to make copies for us). Please make sure everything is spelled correctly on the DS-11 and your birth certificate and I.D.’s. The man who was helping us with our application was wonderful! He was former military stationed in Japan so we talked a lot about how excited we were for Japan. He made sure everything was in order. They do take your original birth certificate but they mail it back. We had to say an oath about how we would act responsible and then we signed the DS-11. There is a fee for applying for the passport. I know on the website the want you to bring in a money order or write a check (we brought our checkbook). At the Post Office we went to, we paid them and they printed out a money order. We paid $110 a piece for our passports (they have a chart on the website).
After you apply, you can check on your application! I checked my application and it said it would get here February 10th, 2020. Well today is February 5th, so we got ours quickly. I also noticed the return address on the envelope (it comes Priority Mail) and it came from Aurora (close by). It only took us two and a half weeks to get our passports. I know it can take six to eight weeks. The man at the Post Office told us that this time of year is not the busiest for passports so it won’t take the whole six to eight weeks. The summer time is usually a busy time for passports. You can also spend more money to expedite your passport if you need it sooner.
Please make sure everything is spelled correctly on the DS-11 and your birth certificate and I.D.’s.
I have story about this! My senior year in high school, my Dad and Step-mom wanted to take my two brothers and me on a cruise. So we went the local U.S. Post Office, with all the paper work to file for our passports. Well we were getting started and come to find out my Dad’s middle name was mis-spelled on one of my brother’s and mine’s birth certificate. We couldn’t apply for our passports until the birth certificates were fixed. My other brother got to file for his passport but my brother and me did not. In order to fix our birth certificates, my mom had to go to our state capital to fix it. It got fixed, but we never got our passports therefore we never went on that cruise.
The holidays are a busy time for everyone! Doug and I went to Kentucky to visit our family. We had a wonderful time.
Update on our upcoming move for end of May beginning of June. Doug got our official pack out days. It will be May 15th and 16th. One day is packing our stuff. The second day is they load our stuff on the truck. I know that seems early but our stuff will be on a cargo ship. Sooo that will take some time.
Next steps will be getting our tourist and military passports. The tourist passport is for when we want to travel to other countries while living in Japan. Our military passports are for when we are traveling on orders. I will use mine for when we first fly to Japan and when we fly back after being stationed their. Doug will use his for when we fly their and when he goes on deployment.
We also have to get our vaccinations for Japan too. We have to do that after we get our tourists passports because we will have to go to Buckley (local military base) to get out military passports. Then after we have both passports, then someone will pick our flights to Japan.
There is still so much to do but we still have a lot of time!
Hale of a Journey 