MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23RD AND TUESDAY, FEBURARY 24TH– WALK OF FAME/HALL OF FAME TOUR WITH ANTHONY ROBLES AND RANDY JOHNSON:

I have been in Hawaii for a couple of days on a “stopover” before starting the “Hall of Fame/Walk of Fame” AFE Tour to Guam and Japan. The famous left=handed, Hall of Fame Pitcher Randy Johnson and the Hall of Fame Wrestler Anthony Robles are on the tour. Anthony has a movie out titled “Unstoppable” with Jennifer Lopez starring as his Mother. It’s a great movie!

My dear friends Bryan and Alec dropped me off at the Airport at about 11:30 am. No nice “hugs” goodbye since I’m not sure if I have a virus or food poisoning! Frank from AFE met me there and we had a chance to talk business for a few minutes before I checked in. I went into the Lounge and thankfully they had some Dole Whip that I felt like I might be able to eat. I ate about a tablespoon of that and decided it was a bad idea! Randy and Anthony’s flight landed on time so I met them at the gate and walked them back to the Lounge. They were able to grab something to eat before we had to board the flight to Guam. It’s about an 8 hour flight and the food is always so horrific that I don’t eat even if I’m not sick. I just SLEPT!!

 

We landed on time and all our bags arrived. Even though ours were tagged “Priority”, they were the last ones out on the belt. We had filled out our Customs Form online and had our QR code for Customs. When they asked me why I was in Guam, I gave the standard response….visiting military bases. Then the guy questioning me started asking me “why” so I told him I was with Randy and Anthony. He immediately recognized them and so did most of the other Customs Officers.

 

Our escorts – Tiona and Tessa who are Active Duty – met us and it was a short drive to the Guam Hyatt. It’s a beautiful hotel and Gabby – the sweet lady who handled our reservations – was waiting for us. We were in our rooms by 9 pm and Lobby call wasn’t until 10 am on Wednesday.

 

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25TH – FIRST DAY IN GUAM:

We were scheduled to visit Camp Blaz Marine Base first and then Andersen Air Base. Andersen is the largest Air Base in this area. I got a message from Carly (our POC) telling me we needed to bring a change of clothes because Special Forces was going to take us on ATV’s into the jungle. Because of all the rain, she said it was going to be very muddy. I knew the guys probably didn’t have a change of clothes so I had to get in touch with them. Randy said he definitely did not and would not have time to wash clothes before we left. Anthony, of course, wanted to go into the jungle so he agreed. This is Anthony’s first tour for the military bases.

First stop was a Meet & Greet at Camp Blaz – the Marine Base. We visited with “Search and Rescue” and toured their Marine Helicopters. There should have been a lot more people living on that base by now but the Typhoon right after COVID set them back a lot. They are still rebuilding the Barracks but do have some people living there now. Eventually, there will be Marines, Army and Navy permanently on the base. After signing and taking photos, we went into the DFAC to have lunch with the Service Members.

Next stop was a visit to Security Forces. They had a huge display of lots of different guns set up for the guys to check out. Boys in a “toy store” for sure! When we were finally able to drag them away, they were going to take Anthony into the “jungle” on an ATV. However, they assured us that there would not be any “mud” involved. So we all loaded up on ATV’s and drove probably a half a mile into the “jungle”. They had a demonstration set up where their SF cleared a building. I have seen this numerous times in Iraq and Afghanistan and it’s pretty impressive. We made a stop by the Fire Department and talked to those guys about their duties. We took photos and signed autographs for everyone and departed for the Sunrise Conference Center.

We were scheduled to do a M&G prior to Anthony’s movie “Unstoppable” being shown. I asked earlier in the day if the M&G could be moved to after the movie but was informed that it was too late to change it. If he does it after the movie, then he can answer questions before they sign autographs and take photos with everyone. When we arrived, there were maybe 30 people waiting for photos/autographs and many more came in while they were signing. The minute they got their photo and autograph, they bolted for the door. When it was time for the movie to start, there was no one there to watch it. I was mortified. It’s definitely their loss because it is such a great movie! If you haven’t seen it, it stars Jennifer Lopez as Anthony’s Mom and is a true story. Check it out!

 

We departed for the hotel and were back in our rooms by 5:30 pm. I got in a quick workout then ordered the worst room service I may have ever had. I love the Hyatt because our POC here is so wonderful. But all the restaurants close at 9 or 10 pm and that includes room service. I worked until the wee hours of the morning but still didn’t come close to catching up on my emails OR my road reports!
Jude

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26TH – SECOND AND FINAL BASE VISIT IN GUAM AT NAVAL BASE GUAM:

Lobby call was at 8:15 am (UGH). I misunderstood a question from Randy yesterday and I guess I told them they had to bring all their bags with them today! I had to retrieve their keys from the front desk and they took everything back up. We will have about 2-3 hours to change clothes, shower, etc., before the flight to Tokyo tonight. The van that they brought to transport us to the base had seats all the way to the back and nowhere to place suitcases. I let the POC know that they would have to remove the back row of seats or send a separate vehicle to transport us tonight. It is ridiculous for someone to have to “throw” a 50 pound suitcase over the back seat or carry it all the way to the back down the narrow aisle between the seats!

First stop was a quick visit with Triad. I remembered one of the Officers from my previous visits. Next stop was a visit with the Coast Guard to tour one of their boats. It started raining as soon as we got out of the van but we were able to take photos and sign autographs before heading to a “submarine tour”. Anthony was definitely going to participate but Randy had toured submarines on previous tours and was not going to go inside it. However, our POC there brought up two of his men who were at least 6’9” tall and they told him they didn’t really have any issues inside so he decided to participate. They were in front of me when we were walking on but someone stopped me and told me I had to put my phone in a big case before I could get on board. They were so excited to have Randy and Anthony on board that they totally forgot to confiscate theirs! I looked inside the case and there were literally hundreds of cell phones. I asked the security guy if anyone ever lost their cell phone in that seemingly bottomless pit and he confirmed that it does happen. I’ve toured submarines several times so I opted NOT to go with them since I would not be allowed to take photos anyway. Touring a sub with the possibility of losing my cell phone in the process was not something I wanted to risk!

 

Final stop of the day was at the Torpedoes and Tomahawks venue. That’s where we have always held our shows and there is a small restaurant in the back of the venue. We had a quick lunch and then started the M&G. There were lots of people in line at the beginning but it dwindled off after about 45 minutes. Because we were scheduled to sign for an hour and a half, the guys had to stay until the end of the session. A few people trickled in during that time. We departed for the hotel at 2:00 pm and had until 4:30 pm before we needed to depart to the airport.

 

I packed quickly and met everyone in the lobby. The base was able to remove the last row of seats so all our luggage fit inside the van. Once we got to the airport, everyone checked in at the Priority Line. Anthony and Randy breezed through but an overzealous staff member said he had to “measure” my suitcase because it was oversized! I informed him that it was not “oversized” on the flight from Honolulu to Guam and that I am a Million Miler on United and allowed 3 bags at 70 pounds each. He insisted that it did not matter because he had to charge me $200 for an oversize bag. I told him he was going to have to get a supervisor who was able to explain to me how my bag mysteriously “grew” between the Honolulu flight and the flight today. He decided to “let it slide” this time. This is the same bag I use for all my international flights and have never had an issue with it being “oversize”! The real problem is, United just sucks!

The Lounge was only open from 4:30 am until 1:00 pm every day. Brilliant! We went to the gate and then Anthony and I went back to the food court to grab some food. I already knew how bad the food would be on the United flight and did not want to risk eating that.

Once we started boarding the fight, I realized the guy who told me my bag was oversize was the one boarding the passengers onto the flight. Anthony and Randy went before me and then when I stepped up, the guy said, ‘Is that Randy Johnson?”. I confirmed it is and he had the balls to ask me if he went on board, would Randy sign an autograph for him. I told him I had no idea and he would have to ask him. He came on the plane after everyone was boarded but seemed to notice that he had to walk by me to get to Randy a couple of rows behind me and just turned around and left. LOL

Flight was only a little over 4 hours. I woke up during the meal service and looked at the food of the lady next to me. Unrecognizable! So happy I ate at the airport. Gary’s flights were all on time and he had landed at 2:30 pm. We didn’t land until after 10 pm so I’m sure he was “toast”! Haneda Airport has now “automated” their Immigration process but after going though the kiosk we still had to get in a very long line to be processed though an Immigration Officer! Crazy!. Our bags made it and we breezed through Customs.

Our POC’s were waiting for us with a great vehicle for the drive to Yokosuka Naval Base. I’ve been to the base many times but I have to say, everything was so much more “organized” this time thanks to their great staff – Katie, Ashley, Angelique and Momo. Momo is the “big boss” here and I knew her when she was in Bahrain. We were all supposed to be on the ground floor since the building does not have an elevator. But, the front desk messed up and put Anthony on the 3rd floor! He insisted on staying there but I insisted on having someone take his bags up for him!

Our lobby call was for 7:30 am which meant I had to get up at 4:30 am. It was 2:30 am before I got in bed. Talk about a “short night”! I can assure you there are no baseballs left anywhere on the islands because Randy has now autographed all of them.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27TH – YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE:

The “All Hands” Call was at the theatre where we always hold our indoor concerts. It’s a great venue and there was a huge crowd waiting for them. The Skipper and an XO came by to say hello to the guys before the “show” began. Anthony had a short film that they showed about his life story and then he made a short motivational speech. After the speech, we opened the event up for questions. The first question someone asked was for Randy and it was about the bird that exploded when it flew into the fast ball that Randy threw! I was once again mortified but he handled it well. We were told there were about 250 people attending and every one of them stayed for an autograph and a photo with the guys. Everyone had a baseball and some brought wrestling shoes for Anthony to sign. It moved pretty quickly and we ended in time to get that group out and a group of High School students in. There were over 450 in that group. Same format at the previous M&G – short video about Anthony, followed by his motivational speech, then a Q&A. There were so many people there that we could not sign autographs and had to take “group” photos. I hate it since everyone there had a baseball or something they wanted signed! It still took us the entire allocated time just to get the photos taken!

Next stop was a quick lunch at the CFAY Galley and then another M&G at Liberty Center. We had a few minutes to stop by the base exchange between lunch and the M&G. This is Cherry Blossom Time in Japan (although nothing has bloomed yet) and Starbucks has a “Sakura (cherry blossom) and Macha donut that looked amazing. They also had a Sakura and white chocolate scone. And some beautiful cups with Cherry Blossoms on them. For the M&G at the Liberty Center, a lot of the students who didn’t get autographs earlier showed up to get them at this event. Last event of the day was a visit to a Ship docked at Yokosuka. The last place we visited was the Galley and it was filled with sailors. I suggested that since this was the last stop of the day that we take photos and sign autographs for everyone. Miraculously, baseballs appeared from “nowhere” to be signed. LOL

We were back at lodging by around 5:30 pm. I walked off base to the 7-11 to buy an egg salad sandwich, a whipped cream and strawberry sandwich and pancakes with maple syrup and butter….3 of my favorite things in Japan! I had told Anthony about Hama Sushi and he said he would go with me. Thankfully, he loved it! The sushi is fresh and there is a huge selection of everything imaginable. This is where we order on an ipad and it shoots out on a conveyor belt. We got there at the right time before the “dinner crowd” showed up. The total bill for both of us was less than $20.00!

We went back to lodging and I had to pack up everything (again) and try to get a little work done. I was in bed by 1 am and had to get up at 5 am for lobby call.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28TH – FINAL EVENT IN JAPAN AT CAMP ZAMA ARMY BASE:

Randy (our POC) arrived a few minutes early and had a great mini-bus for the one hour plus drive to Camp Zama. I’ve known Randy for long time and we talked non-stop the entire way. When we arrived, Randy went in to see if our rooms were ready and we waited in the van. I noticed that our driver was unloading all our bags and without thinking, I yelled “Chotta Mata Kudusai” I don’t know who was more shocked…the van driver or my guys. LOL. I do know a “little” Japanese.

Our rooms were ready and we had about 15 minutes before we had to depart for lunch at the Golf Course. I’ve eaten there many times. We had a little down time after lunch and then had a M&G with the Base Commander and the high school wrestling and baseball teams as well as the Japanese Baseball Team and some Japanese wrestlers. There were well over 200 people at that event and only about 1% of the attendees spoke English! We did a short Q&A after we finished the photos and autographs. There were about 6 little boys there in uniforms and the first one who raised their hand to ask a question wanted to Arm Wrestle Anthony We let him come back on stage and Anthony let him win in the contest. Then every one of the boys wanted to do the same! After the event was over, Anthony invited them to come on stage and he arm wrestled each of them. We went back to lodging for a few hours of down time which is why I am getting caught up on my Road Reports!

Randy picked up food and brought to us at lodging and we ate in the Breakfast area. Had about one hour before we had to go back over to the venue for another Q&A. This time there were some students there from the High School Wrestling Team. Anthony answered questions and spoke to them for about 20 minutes. They had just finished watching his movie. Randy joined him for photos with everyone and afterwards we went back to lodging. We don’t have to depart until 11:00 am tomorrow for the drive to the airport.

It has been a really great tour and we reached so many men and women serving. I am watching the news now about Iran’s counter attacks on Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain. I’ve reached out to friends at the bases and they confirmed that the bases have been hit but that everyone is safe – for now! Need your prayers for all our men and women serving not only in that region but around the world. Just read that Guam has gone to only allowing people with Military or DOD ID’s to enter the base! I’m not at all happy about connecting through Washington, DC tomorrow but too late to change it! Just heard that the Supreme Leader of Iran has been eliminated.

Jude