Here's My Sign

3 July 2010
My trip to China started on two left feet. As I was packing and reviewing my itinerary I noticed that our last stop was in Xian, not Beijing. I booked my flight from Beijing, so I had to buy a ticket from Xian to Beijing to catch a flight to Hong Kong. Ugh. “It’s my own damn fault.”

On the way to the airport Scott, Wendy and I went to dinner at The Rock, the Air Force base near Camp Virginia. On the way I waved good-bye to the Kuwaiti camels for the last time. We showed our CAC (ID cards) when we left Camp Virginia, when we went through security at LSA, when we entered Ali Al Salem, going into The Rock and at the DFac. After we had dinner and watched Germany thrash Argentina, our IDS were checked three more times: when we left The Rock, leaving Ali Al Salem and exiting LSA.

The airport drop-off and terminal was crowded. I waited in line for my boarding pass for 50 minutes, before I went through security and on to immigration. The control officer asked for my passport, and since I don’t have a Kuwaiti visa, she also wanted my military ID. I looked all over, went through my backpack 1,253 times and couldn’t find it! When I turned on my phone I saw that Scott had called. They had made it almost back to Camp Virginia, noticed that they had my CAC, and immediately returned to the airport. Scott and Wendy were waiting for me at the entrance, so I grabbed my ID and was able to go through immigration without further incident. Thank you, Scott and Wendy. Indeed you are angels!