David and I are not big travelers. I mean we're pretty good Get In The Car And Go people and fairly hot stuff with our GPS and maps. But the airport, the plane, the arrangement with the animals, the rental car - well, that's just asking for a big fight, isn't it? The thing that pushed things over the edge was the long term parking at Newark airport - which in itself is NOT clearly marked. Not kidding - the first sign we saw for it was the one saying it was indeed the airport. It's a big circle of roads and we kept following the signs for parking - and ended up back at terminal A. We stopped and asked a cop who apparently felt he should not be forced to answer such mundane questions but did - the we had to pull over AGAIN as the parking (not kidding) is TWO MILES from the highway and of  course not marked. Fortunately we had left very early as we've never been to Newark and I like to leave plenty of time for any Untoward Events. Then we went to check our bags in and not only were they a couple of pounds over but David's ATM card was not functioning. So we charged the $30 to our VISA and from there everything else went as scheduled. We got jacked at the rental car, you know they quote you a price and then when you get there it's did you need insurance, GPS, an upgrade, four tires - all at a nominal fee. We managed to get out of there with our underpants, but barely! This was balanced out by the fact we weren't aware we could get a navy discount and paid half of what I thought we would.  So we went out to dinner and then did a spin around the mall which is only a mile down the road. I'm sure we'll be able to take Jackson there. I'm so excited that we'll be able to see him tomorrow,even if it's only for a short period of time. Janet and Diane are going to be coming in tonight and then we are off to the base in the AM.