Welcome to Japan!

Greetings from Japan.  We made it!  The three day trek from Arizona to Sasebo was quite the adventure.  A few highlights...

1. Although the flights went well, we are not going back to the states until the Navy forces us to leave.  Being trapped in a metal tube for 11 plus hours with a fractious toddler and newborn leaves the nerves a little frayed and I am so very sick of Tinkerbell movies.  That said, the kids did very well, but thank god we are done.

2. We are definitely the Americans.  While at Narita airport, we watched so many Japanese children playing quietly waiting to board the aircraft.  Then, we watched our beautiful daughter pitch a huge fit screaming "No more noodles!!" at the top of her lungs interspersed with high pitch wailing, and flailing in her seat like a dying fish.  Yup, we are the Americans.  That said, Narita was easy to navigate, everyone was wonderfully helpful and Caitlin, for the most part, behaved.

3. Humid.  My god is it humid.  This picture, it isn't blurry, that is the humidity.  Enough said.

4. "Trains, buses, you're all going the wrong way!"  Caitlin's first observation of Japan.  She is going to be a great backseat driver once I get on the road.

5.  Sasebo, we made it!  The city is beautiful.  Mountains drop into the ocean, the people are gracious, the city is fascinating, and we already feel at home. We are slowly adapting to the time change and the 3am requests for lunch are becoming less frequent.  This is going to be a good three years.

Craig departs in a few days and will be gone for all but two months of the coming year.  We wish him safe travels and we send every bit of our love.  While he is gone and with my kids in tow, we will experience Japan and keep you posted on the adventure.

A Month on the Road

The Paganucci family spent all of July making the rounds of the US.  We visited family, numerous friends, and ate as much American food as possible along the way.  Our first stop was in NH to celebrate the 4th of July with the Emonds and Steeles.  Uncle Mike got his 57 Dodge up and running so all could participate in the annual parade.  Happy birthday America!



























A few days later, we ventured to Brunswick, ME to visit the Paganuccis and see some amazing friends.  Bowdoin always feels like home!  We managed to eat our weight in lobster, Caitlin enjoyed the beach and we had to visit Cote's for ice cream.











Following Maine, we went back to NH for a few days before moving onto our final destination, Wickenburg, AZ.  It wouldn't be a Paganucci family trip if it did not involve an insane travel itinerary.  Wickenburg was amazing.  The whole Emond clan came with us and a huge thank you to the Steeles for helping us get there.  We spent two weeks in the pool, at the zoo, tracking lizards, seeing family and most importantly, celebrating Caitlin's 3rd birthday (a tad early) with a pony party.

Sadly, our trip came to an end and we had to say a very tearful goodbye to the whole family.  We will miss Great Grandma Eloise, the whole Emond family, Paganuccis and friends immensely.  However, we hope you will all visit us here in Sasebo!

Goodbye America, hello Japan!

Empty nest, packing, hails and bails, and last day in Pax

On Monday I took Laura and the kids the two hours north to BWI so they could fly up to Mimi and Poppa's house in New Hampshire. Their departure left the Household Goods (HHG) move in the able hands and paws of myself and The Great American Brown Dog, Murphy. Monday night was a quick hustle of trying to identify and separate the last of the stuff I didn't want the packers to send off to Japan. Tuesday and Wednesday saw the arrival of the packers and the cocooning of all of our stuff the ubiquitous brown paper. On Thursday the movers came and took all of our HHGs, put them in to large crates and sent them off to be sent via ship (I think) to Japan. Or they may just end up forgotten in their crates in the back of a warehouse next to the Ark being worked on by "Top Men." Thus ends the packing phase of our PCS and begins the hope that our stuff will look the same when it gets to Japan and manages to avoid the nefarious "HHG smasher."


The HHG smasher is up there with other nefarious and possibly imaginary military machines such as the cake drier and lettuce wilter (possibly the same device, but more on that later). Sometimes your HHGs show up no worse for the wear. Other times they bear a few understandable scars from a move. And then other times they show up in such a state of disrepair that the only possible explanation is that they were purposefully destroyed. But hopefully all of our earthly possessions will avoid such a fate on their trek around the world.


At the end of Thursday Murphy and I were left in an empty house with no place to sit and, even worse, no Internet. All Friday and most of today was spent emptying the house of all the trash that seems to accumulate under sinks and in garages. A few trips to the dump and a pack of sniffers later and our empty shell of a home was not only empty but clean as well.


Friday was my "last day of work" and my Hail and Bail. The Hail and Bail, or more formally, the Hail and Farewell, is a nice little informal ceremony that Navy squadrons hold to bookend an individual's time in the squadron. A Hail and Bail is usually held every couple of months to welcome (hail) new arrivals and their families and to send off (bail) departing members. They're usually held in a bar or similar location and involve pitchers of beer and chicken wings. They also tend to be kind of peculiar; during your first year in a squadron you go because the boss is the and the beer is free (or you've already paid for it with your dues). The guys who are leaving are unknown to you. During your second year and third year you know most of the folks who are leaving and they can be kind of bittersweet as another buddy heads off on the next set of orders. By the time your hail and bail comes, chances are you might know one-third of the people in attendance. The other two-thirds are there for the beer and wings and are hoping it's over quickly so they can start their weekend.


Because of this, I always find myself rolling my eyes at the prospect of my own hail and bail. You're usually a little distracted with trying to move your family and tie up any loose ends that are involved with leaving a squadron. But both times I've found myself standing there in front of a few of my buds and a bunch of co-workers I find myself getting close to choked up. As exciting as going to a new job can be, it always stinks to say goodbye to all the good people you've worked with over the years. I ended up getting pelted with water balloons from my friends, followed up with some handshakes into hugs, which is how we show our love in this world.


Today is my last day in the Pax River house. It was frigid and incredibly expensive to heat in the winter, it's yard and surrounding woods were full of Lyme carrying deer ticks in the summer, in the fall the leaves fell in monstrous drifts, and it was showing its age and not well updated, but it will always be our first family home. When we moved in in 2009 we had no kids, when we left in 2012, we had been blessed with two beautiful children and some great memories.


Soon Murph and I hit the road to NH to catch up with Laura and the kids to begin our stateside family tour. T-minus 28 days to Japan!

Last few days in PAX River

Well, add another travel blog to your list. The Paganucci family decided to go with the general blogging trend and inundate your internet surfing with pictures, anecdotes, and news of our adventures in Japan. Hopefully you will enjoy seeing a slice of our lives and this will act as a great way to stay in touch.

The Paganucci family is headed to Sasebo, Japan! In true form, we decided that our lives weren't crazy enough and thought we would add to the exciting arrival of our second child by moving overseas before he is 3 months old. We love to keep it dynamic.

Needless to say, we are excited to get on the road. Craig wrapped up his last flight at VX-1 and we are sad to say goodbye to an amazing command and community.



We are traveling the US for 4 weeks to visit family prior to leaving for Japan at the end of July. Once there, Craig is deploying on the USS Bon Homme Richard as part of the Air Department. The kids and I will set up camp, learn how to drive on the other side of the road, and try to decipher Japanese menus. I am sure there is more to life in Japan, but this is what I am focusing on first :)


Please keep in touch and we look forward to sharing this adventure with you!