Mike arrived at the apartment to pick us up just before 4am, shortly after the peak of the storm. About 17 inches of rain had fallen at Anderson Air Force base at the north end of Guam, with about 8 inches falling at Agat where we were. The transmitter site had even less, with no wind damage and the power stayed on all night. The peak winds were around 40 miles per hour on the way north to the airport. There was some water on the roads, but no major flooding on the roads to the airport. We made it there with plenty of time to check in ahead of the rush of travelers arriving on the hotel shuttles.
Our first flight left on time for Hawaii and arrived on schedule on the late afternoon of July 30. This was quite an accomplishment since we left Guam on July 31 about 6am! [Remember, we crossed the International Date Line!] The flight from Hawaii was also on schedule and we arrived in Chicago only a couple of hours after leaving Guam (according to the clock).
Almost 22 hours (only 8 hours according to the clock) after getting on the plane in Guam, we arrived at the South Bend airport and was met by Joyce and their three youngest children. We tried to catch a flight from Chicago that was three hours earlier into South Bend, but were told that it couldn’t be done, because we had checked baggage. So what happens? When we waited for our checked baggage at the South Bend carousel, it never came. Upon checking with a ticket agent — they had our checked baggage in a back room. It had arrived on the earlier flight!!
It is so good to be back home!
We got the the Pacific War Museum (located on Route 6 about 300 yards off Marine Corp Drive) less than an hour before the 4pm closing. It is well worth the $3 entrance fee.
