How I ended up having a thrilling ride over the Pacific

Sometimes the true story is stranger than fiction. That's kind of the story of how I got to spend time in Japan flying with the F/A-18 Super Hornet. My custodians had gone to Milwaukee to meet up with members of the 89th Maintenance Group so Flag Sr could fly on Air Force 2. While they were waiting they went to a gas station they thought would be on the motorcade route the Vice President was going to take. (He ended up taking another route). They started talking to a young police officer who was setting up barricades. He was really excited about what the Flags are doing. Before my custodians got home they had an email from this officer's boss at the Cudahay Police Department. Would we be interested in having a flag fly with his friend in Japan who is a WISO or weapons office on a F/A-18? He was stationed in Japan but also flew off the supercarrier USS Ronald Reagan.  Wow, he didn't have to ask me twice. I'd already been to Asia on my very first flight and I was very willing to go again. But instead of flying commercial this time, I had awesome rides on a Super Hornet. Just look at the pictures in the gallery. Beautiful blue skies, puffy clouds, nothing but ocean below. Look closely and you can see the USS Ronald Reagan below me. I even got to see Mt. Fuji on some of our flights. One huge highlight was getting to stay on the Ronald Reagan for a little while. It's like an actual city on the water. I felt like a real VIP with the wonderful tour they took me on. You can see me watching as planes landed and getting to know the deck crew. Now that's an absolutely crazy job, for both the pilots and the deck crew. Wish I had arms and legs so I could maybe be part of the deck crew although I've heard it's one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. I also go a tour of their ready room and the bridge. The Ronald Reagan was at sea with lots of other ships doing some training things. I got the idea they train A LOT. Everybody has to be ready to do their job instantly, no matter what the job is. I'll always be grateful to Mitch and all of his friends who took such good care of me and gave me wonderful flights and tours.