To start with I left around my lunch time from work, dealt with a horribly rude airport security guard, meet up with my parents so we could fly to Bama together, and got to Ft. Rucker around 7p.m. As soon as my parents and I got there we meet up with Nate, his parents, and hit "littlest" brother Ben, and went to my favorite pizza place Mellow Mushroom.
Next, to all of our surprise, we found out we officially got BlackHawk simulator time. It was AWESOME! I helped him study and learn so much about the thing that it was great to give it a try myself. I was so shocked that I understood everything still. Not to mention, I hovered and landed on a slope, take that flight school.
It was also great to see everyone else get a try, mostly Ben because you could just see the excitement on his face as well as how much he looked up to his big brother. We also got to see Nate and his buddy Daniel fly together, they were very impressive.
I was exhausted by the time I got back to the townhouse but realized quickly there was still a lot of little things to do there. For example packing up the last little stuff, we both decided to call it a night and wait until the next night because graduation was the next morning.
p.s. this trip took place from a Wednesday to Friday, graduation being on Thursday.
The next morning was graduation, YAY! It was so cool seeing Nate with the rest of his class finally getting their wings. They have gone through so much, it was just an amazing moment. It was also great to see that Nate's first IP (instructor pilot) showed up, as well as Cody who was supposed to be sleeping at 10:30 a.m. because he was on night flight, and a few other friends.
I also felt honored to be the one to pin Nate's wings on. Not to mention, I did not poke Nate, make him bleed and actually got them on straight.
After a ton of pictures Nate and I went to a small lunch gathering that not only honored the graduates but their "Gradu-MATES." We, the wives/significant others, got our own diploma and our own set of wings, in the form of a necklace. It was so sweet and made all of us girls feel so special.
Graduation day ended with a barbecue at the cabin my parents rented on the lake at Ft. Rucker. Great food, great friends, and a great way to end the day.
To wrap everything up, Nate and I loaded the U-hal that same night, Annie and all, and headed to Montgomery because I had a 7 a.m. flight back to Dallas the next morning so I could get back to work. Nate and Annie then drove back to Dallas that day where a very surprised Todd was waiting, but that's a story for another day.
Overall, the quick trip went great and like I have mentioned before I am so proud of Nate. His dream has come true and he finally has his wings.
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