Nearly four years after sneaking away to a deserted island in the North Pacific, Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) took a secret four-day trip during the Memorial Day congressional recess to the same region where he fulfilled his lifelong dream of spending a survivalist week alone.
But this time Flake took along his two youngest sons — and didn’t completely disconnect from the office.
Flake and his sons set off from Phoenix last Sunday on what would be a 10,400-mile round-trip journey. They flew first to Hawaii and then eventually to Kwajalein Island, a part of the Marshall Islands where the United States still has a lease for missile testing. From there, father and sons hopped on a friend’s fishing boat and traveled 62 miles to Biggarenn, an unoccupied island that Flake estimated was just 55 to 70 acres in size. The fishing boat left them behind.
“Tens of thousands of coconuts littered the island,” Flake said. “You just had to pick up the ones that were still ripe. We ate coconut and crab and fish.”
The Flakes brought along a lobster trap in hopes of capturing meatier fare, but lost it within the first few hours after it was attacked by a shark. They also carried two pumps to desalinate ocean water, requiring them to spend hours each night pumping for just a few gallons.
“For a dad it was a wonderful thing. No video games around, no television, no distractions, no texting,” Flake recalled. “To just sit there and pump water, that was my favorite time, frankly, on the island. Just talking. Just to have no distractions.”
Flake did, however, bring along a satellite phone — at his wife’s insistence — and aides said Flake received regular updates by phone.