Deja Vu

I was 19 and in college when my father was stationed at MacDill AFB in Tampa, though he was in the army. I had no memory of ever being on base. But when the plane came in low over Tampa Bay to land and I caught sight of the cream buildings with red tiled roofs, the memories came back. Yes, I had been here. Why my sister's wedding reception took place at the Officer's Club here. My parents lived in Tampa for 40 years, so there was a bit of a sense of homecoming.
Our small crew had assembled in Covington for the flight down: Tony DeSanis, our Florida host flew up in his own plane so he could fly the plane back down; Dan Gabel flew in from Huntsville in his own plane for the same reason. Both men had another pilot with them to fly the planes back home. And, of course, Gene and I. So I was like the Hollywood star, alone in the back of the 21 passenger plane with my 3 pilots up front.
The Tampa weather was balmy and breezy. Peggy texted just as we landed that she and Jake were nearby but she could not see us. Two efficient and helpful young officers in flight suits were immediately at our sides with two vans that were ours to use for the duration. Soon Peggy and Jake found us. It was so good to see her, as it had been about a month since our last trip together. I had skipped the Texas trip just prior. Jake had just spent a week at our house leaving just four days ago, so he was old hat. Gene had been training him to take his check ride for his type rating, which he took and passed last Friday. It meant a lot to him as his father had flown this very airplane as a Captain for American in the 1940's.
Our helpful guides whisked us to base operations where we were briefed and given a packet of information. Then we were taken to the McDill Inn to check in. Who knew that military bases have a "motel" now? Ours turned out to be a converted BOQ (Bachelor Officer's Quarters) but with all the amenities of a nice hotel. It had originally consisted of two rooms, each with a sink, and a bath that joined the two. The second room was now a sitting room. So you had a front door and a back door. Very comfortable, but quirky, like an absence of electrical outlets and the light switches being in odd places like the middle of a wall.
The six of us loaded up and went in search of food. That was not easy as we made a lot of wrong turns trying to get to a main drag off base. We had a list of places but they all proved to be a long way. Finally Jake spotted a nice looking place and we swooped down on it, all of us starving. It did prove to be very nice and advertised that they had the "Best Damn Martguerita Period," so naturally that was something we had to check out since we had been rating them coast to coast all this year. And, yes, it was good, but I guess I am not ready to crown them best yet. The food, however, was quite good.
Everyone was bushed so we returned to quarters just before ten. As I was dressing for bed I heard the mournful notes of TAPS lilting through the night. Now, it has been a really, really long time since I had heard that!!