St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador (Canada)

Our crew got ready to leave early - our checkout of the Delta Hotel took place (as scheduled) at 0710L.  When we reached the airport, though, we learned we'd have little time to kill because the weather was really poor (visibility). Hours later, it looked like we would not be able to leave at all - a bit later, though, we got word the ceiling had lifted just enough to get airborne. After departing St. John's, we had to dodge several big storms that were scattered across the Northeastern US.  Fortunately, things looked better south of Norfolk and we made it to Atlanta before dark.  It's good to be home!

Shannon (Ireland)

Checked out of the Sigonella Bachelor Housing, returned my rental car to Europcar (0830L; had to fill out an affidavit for the damage done by Chuck C.) and left Sicily at about 0900L.  We flew across the European mainland and stopped in Shannon - this was my first time in Ireland! During the approach, it whole place looked very green - very inviting.  Inside the terminal, though, there were huge crowds of people. One nice thing about the stop: I got to shop in the Duty Free Store and found some good souvenirs for the girls. After getting fueled, we continued west and made our way to Newfoundland.  Our overnight lodging in St. John's was the Delta Hotel and Conference Centre (checked in at 1630L). With a few other folks on the Detachment, I ate a nice dinner at the Press and Bean Restaurant.  It is attached to the Murray Premises, which might be worth trying during a future visit...  Bed late - home tomorrow!

Hyeres (France)

Flying with Chippy today. Our first stop was Rota (1045L) - great weather! We had enough time to pick up lunch and souvenirs before departing (1245L). The next leg took us over to Hyeres (near Toulon) on the French Riviera. Beautiful views! We flew near some of the resort islands at their peak time of year. We didn't have a long time to look around while we were on the ground, but the handler offered to put us up next time. We should try it, someday. [back to Sicily before sunset.]

Sigonella, Sicily (Italy)

[Worked all day.] Dinner at the Days Inn Pub.

Patti, Sicilia (Italy)

After asking around for members of the Detachment crew who might want to go on a Sicilian adventure (unsuccessful), I drove up to Patti this morning (alone), armed with pottery orders for several other people. I first went to where I remembered the Caleca factory was and (only then) figured out that they had moved. After a little exploring, I found the new place. I spent about an hour and a half filling up four boxes of fine ceramics for the rest of the group. A bit later, I discovered that I arrived right before a huge group of American tourists - I was pleased by this realization because, otherwise, I would have lost my chance for the best "seconds"! The drive home (via the Auto-Strada) was uneventful. I filled up the rental van with gas at 1430 and returned to the Bachelor Housing at Sigonella.  Soon after I arrived at my room, I went walking outside and ran into a crowd that was heading out to pick up wine and limoncello - decided to tag along with them. We made several stops, including at the Auchan (1630L). Afterwards, we had a great dinner at Catania Golf.

Sigonella, Sicily (Italy)

[Flew all day with Ken - destinations uncertain - probably Rota and back]

Souda Bay, Crete (Greece)

[Finished fueling after midnight. Took off for Naples and made good time. Landed, dropped off our passenger and (immediately went back to the runway for takeoff. Quick flight to Sigonella - landing before sunrise. VERY tired... Took a nap.]

Kuwait City (Kuwait)

Had some time this morning to explore the hotel. It was actually located in an isolated area. It was stunningly hot, even around 1100L. I realized that we lucked out last night and arrived after the worst of the heat of the day was already over. I found a small beach - nobody was around at all - and took the opportunity to dip my toes in the Persian Gulf. Wow!! The sea bottom was rocky and uneven (very little sand) - I was glad to have my sandles. It wasn't deep enough to swim, so I just ended up wading (I'm not sure who uses the beach at the hotel, since it really didn't seem like it was good for swimming. After about 20 minutes, I walked around a little more and found a pleasant pool. There were more people there. When I got back to my room to get ready to go home, I was glad to discover that I hadn't been burned by the sun (luckily)... Checked out of the hotel (1400L) and then had some lunch. After picking up some items in the souvenir shop ("sand frame" and Arabic language dictionary), I met up with my crew (1445L). It took a little while to get back to the Airport (traffic). It was BLAZING hot on the tarmac! I wasn't prepared for it, actually. The air conditioner blowers that were provided weren't capable of cooling us down, either. When we did some pre-departure calculations, it was clear that it was too hot to take off (aircraft performance limitations). I started to get worried we would have to tell our passenger that we couldn't go - but he ended up arriving around four hours late and it didn't matter as much in the end. By that time, the temperature had dropped to 40 C (!!!). We ended up getting out of the chocks around 2000L. Had some trouble with the clearance (they wanted us to go into Iraqi airspace...) but got airborne and sorted out our problem as we flew west. Made it to Souda Bay just before midnight (fuel stop)...

Kuwait City (Kuwait)

[Checked out of my room around 1300L. Got ready to go and took off from Capodichino on time. Landed in the desert just before sunset.] Problem with transportation for our passenger... Ken was much more familiar with the area and suggested we take off for Kuwait City Airport, flying "tower to tower." I'll admit I was a little sceptical of the plan, but we did it and it worked great. We landed just after dark, took care of paperwork and then caught a bus to our hotel (Radisson SAS Hotel). I've been told this place (along with many others in the city) was greatly damaged during the 1990 Iraqi invasion and occupation. I was pleased to see that the hotel was located right on the Persian Gulf coast. We were not allowed to leave the premises, but there was plenty to do. Tonight we ate at a great restaurant (Peacock Chinese) - it was delicious. There is no alcohol allowed in the city (at least that we saw). Tomorrow, I plan to swim in the Gulf...

Napoli, Campania (Italy)

Our schedulers requested that we fly up to Naples early today so we could get a brief on our mission. We arrived in Naples around 1300L and took care of all the planning and flight plan adjustments. We ate dinner at a nice restaurant near the airport. Later, Ken and I watched Spider-Man at the American theatre (1900L). After that, I went to bed.

Sigonella, Sicily (Italy)

Checked out of the hotel around 0800L. Had time to buy a few souvenirs (including Kathe Wohlfarht). Met up with crew after 1000L. Flew back from Germany to Sicily as a passenger (in the back). When we arrived at Sigonella, we had to hold for a while (problem with clearance).

Kaiserslautern (Germany)

Flew a mission to the European mainland today.  We flew to Naples - during the arrival, the weather was good enough to see Grammy's town (Avellino) from the air (and possibly Montevergine). Vesuvius looked impressive, too!  We stayed on deck for a while and got to walk around near the Capodichino Airport.  Also met up with some of my friends who were stationed at NSA Naples. Later, Ken and I got back in our aircraft and flew over to Costa Esmerelda (Olbia) in Sardinia. It hasn't changed much, but I had never seen how busy it gets in the summer until today... We were delayed for high traffic volume (slot times again) for several hours but arrived back in Sigonella by around 1600.  Right after we landed, I learned that one crew was flying to Germany to pick up parts for our other (broken) plane. I convinced Dustin that we should change and grab an overnight bag for this one - we only had about 10 minutes to run back to the room for some clothes. The racing around was worth the effort, though, because we got on the aircraft and were in Germany before sunset. What a great opportunity! After getting checked into our lodging [(Air Force BOQ)], we changed and got a cab before 2000L.  Nice!  We had a great dinner - complete with Jagerschnitzel and Bitberger beer - in St. Martinsplatz and then walked around the old town.  Found a few more drinks - it was nice to be a passenger and not part of the official crew. This whole experience was one of those recharge moments: very memorable and really worth the effort!!

Sigonella, Sicily (Italy)

[Worked all day...] Dinner at La Masseria Del Cavalier (outside Motta).

Glasgow, Scotland (United Kingdom)

When I learned that we were going to Scotland today, I asked our schedulers if we could have some extra time on the ground there. They talked it over and gave us the green light! [We had to stop to pick up our passengers in ...]. As we flew into Glasgow, we were treated with some spectactular scenery: pretty castles and lots of green grass. After landing, we changed clothes and converted currency (1400L). Just then, it started to pour! We caught cabs outside the airport (it took two to fit everyone from our group). Used cell phones to keep together on the highway. This led to a hilarious experience: as the cabbie was trying to relay the address of the shopping district, his "brogue" was so thick that I couldn't understand him at all. We tried several times to communicate, but I eventually gave up. When we arrived, I saw the signs said "Argyle and Buchanan" (why didn't he say that?)... Ken and I walked around in the clearing weather and saw some great buildings and amazing artwork. We even saw bagpipers in the city. One of the highlights was sitting in George Square with tons of pretty flowers blooming all around. I wanted to take a bus tour, but there wasn't time... When we arrived back at the airport, we determined that we only had about 15 minutes before our slot time (luckily, our crew had prepped the plane). In our haste to depart, we ended up having some difficulty with the low transition altitude. Oh well... Picked our way (on a never-ending vector) through thunderstorms in France (much to their displeasure). Weather was much better after we crossed the Mediterranean coast. What a day!

Sigonella, Sicily (Italy)

[Worked all day...]  Conducted crew change-over and took custody of a rental vehicle (filled up the gas tank at 0930).

Rota (Spain)

[After a good night's sleep in the Mid-Atlantic Lodge (Air Force Inns), I got] some breakfast from the bowling alley this morning.  Met up with the crew and checked out of our hotel (0845L). Despite our on-time activities, our departure from Lajes was delayed due to the high number of flights in Europe at this time of year ("slot times"). Even after we finally got airborne and left the Azores behind us, we got delayed again when we stopped for fuel in Rota. I hope this doesn't stop us from getting around while we are here... After flying from Spain to Sicily, we arrived at Sigonella in the afternoon.  The crew we are relieving helped us get set up (driving us around) and we were soon checked into the Bachelor Housing.  This will be my home for most of the rest of the month.  Glad to be back in Italy!

Terceira, Azores (Portugal)

[Mediterranean Detachment!] Today was busy, despite a late start. After departing Atlanta, we made a fuel stop in St. John's, Newfoundland.  Everything was going OK until someone in the back complained of an ear block - we had to leave her. Because of delay, we arrived in the Azores very late. Nothing open was open on Terceira, since this is a Catholic Holy Day.  As a result, we didn't get any dinner...  [Staying in the Mid-Atlantic Lodge (Air Force Inns).]

Powder Springs, GA (USA)

[spent day at Sun Valley Beach (water park) - arrived at 1000L]