TDY Gouge - Washington

McChord AFB, WA - On base at McChord is nice for the O's but crappy for the E's. The Comfort Inn is nice and new, comfortable beds. But if you can, the Sheraton downtown is the way to go. But of course it is the last hotel on the planet they'll send you to. Oh, flight lunches aren't too bad at all. The coffee you can get for the flight is great, tastes like some sort of special Seattle coffee. ~Command post should have a rated person collocated with them so when you request Prime Knight they should hook you up. We were put up at the King Oscar which is a couple exits up the road from the base. The hotel is OK, there is a cheesy free continental breakfast. There is a Subway up the street for grabbing a quick flight lunch. There is also a casino nearby and a Denny's for those late night shows. The Best Western next door looked a lot better, try to go there. Billeting said if you call ahead they can try to get the hotel you want. With regards to the Sheraton, they will only put you up there if everything else on the contract quarters list is booked. The maps we got from Trans were confusing, the Base Ops on the map was the one under construction. Currently they are collocated with the 22 STS. Fleet service was really helpful. ~Comfort Inn Tacoma (253) 538-7998 was nice! The hotel was very clean and located adjacent to Denny's and a casino. Continental breakfast was good with make it yourself Belgian waffles. Seattle is 26 miles north and I-5 can be extremely busy. Piers 57-59 and Pioneer Square are cool to see but pretty touristy. Fort Lewis has a nice golf course that is now public but the people working there have issues. Good bar is the Pyramid brewery across from Safeco stadium. ~Tacoma La Quinta (253) 383-0146 was decent - Very clean hotel, beats the King Oscar, continental breakfast--seen a better spread elsewhere, but adequate-- next to the Tacoma Dome on I-5, 15 mins from base. ~while the trans support gets better, the billeting support gets worse. Our crew was put up in Airmen's Quarters because "when the VOQ is full we put crews in the VAQ regardless of rank." We contacted the Lodging Manager and this is wrong so if they try to do this raise the BS flag. If you want to overfeed yourself, drive up to South Center Mall and check out Claimjumper (Take I-5 north to exit 152). Good food and huge portions. Call ahead (206-575-3918) for a seat since it can get extremely busy.

~Shiloh Inn was decent. Rooms were okay, most had a king size bed, and sometimes another queen as well. Standard continental breakfast. IHOP and BK right across street. Hotel is right next to I-5, so a little noisy, not too bad. Our nav did have something funky on his sheets and had to get housekeeping to swap. Great seafood and local beers at Tide's Tavern in Gig Harbor, a few exits north of hotel. Right on water. Also Katy Downs for microbrewery/brickoven pizza, on waterfront in Tacoma. Trans will tell you U-drives are 10nm radius only, yeah right. Hooter's right across interstate from Shiloh. Hotel was alright, although a bit dated. Didi have free internet in lobby and a Starbucks 2 blocks up. Update to Shilo: Now has free wifi in all rooms.

Seattle, WA - Doubletree Seatac is a great hotel close to downtown (20 min.) and close to the base (30 min.). Nice bar on the top floor. Also, call ahead to confirm the gov rate. Clairemont hotel Virginia St. Downtown was nice - 5 min walk to Pike Street Market. Palmer's Pub around the corner and nice restaurant within a stones throw. No vending so everything is room service, but they're great too! Valet parking out front is cheaper than the lot so USE it. Just a couple blocks from the interstate so you can hop on and head to wherever you may need to go. You can walk to Pioneer Square but its a haul or a $7 or so cab ride. Galvin aviation at Boeing Field is GREAT! Tell Shawna hi! ~If your squadron won't authorize a rental car and you can't get McChord Transpo to cough up some vehicles don't despair. Give LtCol Kent Fister a call at DSN 382-2106. He runs the WA ANG flightline support facility on Echo ramp and has his own motorpool. If he is not having to support some transient fighters he'd be happy to help.

Whidbey Island NAS, WA - Do not stay at the Coachman Inn! Thay are the most unfriendly staff in the world and will screw you in cancellation fees. I reserved rooms for three aircrews - 2 planes diverted for IFE and I called to cancel the rooms from Baseops at 1800. I was told "no problem" but a month later when I got my credit card bill I was charged for their cancelled rooms. Now my squadron has to reimburse me because finance won't do it - we are out $1400 on this one.

Seattle, Boeing Field, WA - Clay Lacy (near Galvins) now has the gov't contract. We've had good luck getting a courtesy car car. Go to Salty's (about 15 min from KBFI; www.saltys.com). Entrees are about $16, but the food and view are outstanding. Very good pilot shop about 1/4 nm up the flight line from Clay Lacy; lots of good books, supplies, gifts, etc.