Made it to Japan

We made it to Japan. We arrived a couple of hours ago. It is the middle of the night here and everyone is pretty worn out by the trip. Our plan is next time to at least stop for a day in Hawaii before going on to Japan - that way the trip is broken up a little. The trip was quite an experience - two flights of 8 hours each. It was Macie's first plane ride since she was 3, so it was neat to see her experience of flying for the first time that she would remember. Once we got to Hawaii, we experienced our first dose of culture shock when we went to check in with Japan Airlines. The passport person kept saying that this plane goes to Japan and we kept trying to explain that we were, indeed, going to Japan. Once he let us into the waiting area, we saw why he was making a fuss - everyone in the room appeared to be from Japan. It was our first time experiencing how different our surroundings are going to be. The culture differences were even evident by just riding on the plane. It was a very enjoyable experience - the staff was so nice, positive and constantly seeing that everyone had what they needed. Hopefully, I will have some pictures to add in the morning.

While we were still on the ground at DFW,
Macie asked if were in the air yet. I told her she would
know when we started to take off. Her reaction when the
jet engines kicked in - Holy Cow.

This is as we were about to land in
Honolulu to make our connecting flight
to Japan.

This is us on JAL. It was the beginning of our
culture shock. The experience was so great.
It was funny to see and hear Mona's reaction
to the food served on the flight. 

I forgot to add that we still had more hurdles to clear once we arrived in Japan. We had trouble getting past customs once we arrived in Japan. We had travel orders to be at a military base but no military i.d. We were taken out of line and into an office (just like a scene from a movie). I told Mona that if they didn't let us into the country, then we would just live at the airport till they let us in.If Tom Hanks could do it, we could too. Then, even once we arrived at the base, the guard at the naval base was reluctant to let us in because we didn't have military i.d.s, only the travel orders.
Everyone handled all the twists with good humor. My mom had warned us that unexpected things would pop up and we just had to be patient. Hard to write this, but mom was right. Thanks mom.