I'm the one who runs the house and I need a POA??!!

Well, here's another fun tid bit about this place- EVERYTHING is in your sponsor's name. Yes, EVERYTHING. It doesn't matter if you're the one who did it all at home, you need a POA. POA, you ask? Well, that's a power of attorney. You have to get one from the legal office. Well, not YOU, but your sponsor! I have a general power of attorney, so I am legally able to sign my sponsor's name. I needed it so far to buy a car and get car insurance. I found a little plastic thing I keep it in- in my purse. No, no one wants a copy. Everyone has to make a copy of your original. I've heard you can get a POA on a single sheet of paper, but mine is a 2 pager. ooooooooooh!

The big plane ride over

Well, we finally made it to Okinawa. I was unable to find information about the flight as it appears to be top secret. Well, I’m here to share my experience that may help others.

Seattle: There are many cheap places to stay that are right across the street from the airport. Seriously, I mean walking distance. All of the hotels provide shuttle service. USE the shuttle service so you don’t have to listen to the cabbie tell you he is losing money by driving you across the street. Places to eat; 13 coins and Denny’s are 24 hours and within walking distance. We ate at a Chinese place in the Ramada inn. Really delicious! If you don’t want to get a room, the USO is open 24 hours and has free food and snacks. It looked like it gets packed quickly.

People started to line up EARLY, really EARLY for the flight. Yes, the seats are 1^st come 1^st serve. They do keep families together- seat wise and in the plane. If you are single and want to sit with a friend, line up next to that person. They weight EVERYTHING and count bags. Pets and carrier weight over 70lb is $112. If you take more than 2 bags a person, it’s $112. They ask you your weight. Can’t say that was most pleasant first thing in the morning! You get a ticket, but the airport doesn’t open until around 5am or so. There is a 24 hour starbucks and a Hudson news (in the baggage area).  There will be plenty of time to kill before the flight after you get your ticket. That is when we decided to eat breakfast. We did go to 13 coins. HUGE portions and really tasty.

The seats are arranged in a 2-3-2 pattern. There is no “first class”. Everyone gets the same seat- a coach class leather seat with decent lumbar support. Yes, they recline, have a pillow and blanket on each seat. Kiddos get a little back pack with an old maid game and a coloring book. They feed you- the 1^st flight is 2 snacks and 2 meals. Meal quality is coach, but it’s a meal and you get a hot towel. I’m not 100% exactly what each item we ate was called, but it wasn’t bad. I’d avoid the meat, but that’s just my preference. Beverage service is an entire can and they DO sell alcohol (beer, wine, liquor for $5). Beverages are coke products, Dr. Pepper, water, coffee, tea and juice.

The first stop is a long layover; bring all of your chargers to recharge your electronics. They show movies- adult and kid friendly. Headphones are supplied as well as a few music channels. At the first stop, even after eating the entire flight, people were still hungry! You can exit the waiting area and go to a mini café and get food. They also sell sundries and packaged snack items. Bring Yen for the vending machines. At this point, people can walk their pet and sit outside for a little bit. There are telephones, phone calling cards and wifi in the terminal. The wifi is a little slow because everyone is on it, but pretty cool, none the less. Also, they have asked for no photographs of the flight line!

We did make another stop, but were NOT allowed to get off. Ugh!

Finally- at Okinawa! It takes a little time to get off the plane, so please be patient. It also takes time to get the bags, but the luggage carts are free!! Another tid bid no one told us is- Yes, they do randomly inspect bags for “illegal items”. Some of these items include- fruits, veggies, beef jerky (meat products), unlabeled medications/ expired medications, pocket knife blades linger than 2.5 inches.  Glad we ate the beef jerky!! All and all, it was a pleasant flight experience!