Yorktown, VA (USA)

Got some tickets to see the Yorktown Victory Center. Spent the whole day there - it was cool. The girls got to be "recruits" and we saw a lot of really interesting things. Afterwards, we drove over to Colonial Williamsburg. At the visitor's center, they told us we could walk around to see the town - and even have dinner inside! We took them up on that and checked out an old Tavern. They served us by candlelight and the kids even got to play with some "Colonial" children. It was a very memorable experience.

Moving Trip (Part 3) - Day 1

[left early - drove from Atlanta to Virginia Beach via I-20, I-95 and US-58 - filled up the gas tank at the Circle D in Chesapeake, VA (1830) - move FINALLY complete!]

Powder Springs, GA (USA)

[geo-bachelor - living in Powder Springs while working at NAS Atlanta]

Powder Springs, GA (USA)

[geo-bachelor - living in Powder Springs while working at NAS Atlanta]

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

Didn't leave St. John's early - "resting" from last night. Shopped around in the hotel for a little while. On the cab ride back to the airport, the cabbie took us on an unplanned tour of the northern end of the city - he thought we were catching a flight from the other terminal. He told us the story of Newfoundland's desire to join the US back in World War II. He also told us that the little island we have seen flying into St. John's is called Belle Isle. We had a pretty good flight on the way home - saw the Cape again...

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

After returning my rental car at Europcar (0830), I headed to the flight line.  We left Sigonella soon after that, hoping to reach Canada early in the day. Uneventful transit (stops in Rota and Lajes) to Newfoundland - good weather, too. Chip had wanted to "celebrate" his retirement, so the girls at the St. Johns airport set us up with a "farewell" dinner (and beer!). After we landed, we went right in to eat! There was homemade potato salad and Brunswick stew - and the burgers, dogs and steaks were great. We spent the night in the Delta Hotel and Conference Centre (checked in at 1815L). Walked around town until late.

Sigonella, Sicily (Italy)

Worked all day...

Sigonella, Sicily (Italy)

[Camarina... ?]

Sigonella, Sicily (Italy)

Worked all day...

Sigonella, Sicily (Italy)

Worked all day...

Dubai (United Arab Emirates)

Got up early and checked out of the JW Marriott. (one of our crew had a little too much fun last night...) We made it to the airport pretty early and found another great weather day for another trip across Iraq and Eastern Turkey. The visibility was so good and my map came in handy for identifying ground landmarks (saw more ancient ruins). The Mountains of Ararat were visible at border crossing. [Stopped for fuel at Incirlik?]  Continued across Turkish and Greek airspace until we made it back to Sigonella.  Another good mission!

Dubai (United Arab Emirates)

Staying in this city was definitely a highlight of our trip to the Middle East. I must admit that I had never expected to see such luxury or amazing architecture! Despite the dreadful heat (and it is probably worse than ever!) we were able to explore. I tried all morning to get a reservation for dinner in the Burj-al-Arab (hotel shaped like a sailboat in the water). In the end, we went over to the Jumeira Beach Hotel and sneaked into the bar on the beach. While we sipped drinks on the beach, we could truly appreciate the magnificance of this city (and admired the Burj-al-Arab right in our view). We looked around some malls later (taxis are a must to avoid heat exhaustion). Saw signs of an indoor water park - probably fun... Found the gold souk area of the city as the sun was going down. Eric and I had dinner at one of the amazing buffet restaurants at the JW (free-flowing beer again...). Spent a nice evening wandering around the hotel and reading some of the Marriott family story (book in hotel room)...

Dubai (United Arab Emirates)

Flew from Sicily to the UAE today, stopping in [Incerlik?] Turkey for fuel. We were allowed to pass through Iraqi airspace again and had the best weather yet. Arriving at Dubai International just before dark, we found out we had rooms at the JW Marriott.  WOW!!!  It was VERY hot, even in the dark, so we didn't leave the hotel. Tonight there was a Lebanese wedding in the hotel. I was at the bar and a large crowd of people came to the bottom of a nearby staircase and began to sing very loudly. Naturally, everyone around me stood to see what was happening. As a well dressed (recently married) couple came down the stairs, the crowd of singers got louder and louder. They swarmed around the couple when they reached the bottom. The whole event was very joyous. One of the waiters near me helped me to understand what was happening - he asked me if I was "of the Muslim faith." I told him, no, but anyone can recognize overwhelming happiness in any language!

Sigonella, Sicily (Italy)

Worked all day...

Tindari, Sicily (Italy)

After I filled up the rental car (it cost almost $130 because it was a van) at 1010, I asked around to see if anyone wanted to go exploring.  There weren't any takers except for Chuck R.  That was enough for me - we set off for the Caleca factory in Patti.  In addition to the normal "seconds shopping", we got a personal tour from the American secretary who worked there.  It was very interesting!  We ended up driving up to Tindari for lunch. We had a nice tourist lunch overlooking the Mediterranean (including the Aolean Islands). I had heard stories about "the Black Madonna" but never knew what it was until we found it in the church in town - it was a statue of the Virgin Mary that washed ashore many years ago. An older church was preserved but almost overshadowed by an adjacent, spectacular modern one.  What a fun day on the island of Sicily!

Corleone, Sicily (Italy)

This morning, I went with our crew so we could visit Agrigento again - this time so Chuck could visit for his first time. We met some other Americans on a tour and followed along. I think we learned a lot more than when I came in 2003. The weather was spectacular.  Afterwards, we decided to go looking for the town of Corleone to see if it was anything like the movie - and it isn't. We learned later that the Godfather movies were filmed near Catania, but it was still worth a trip anyway. The town was celebrating some sort of festival, so we joined in the food and fun. Houses and old churches are perched on the side of a mountain - it has a totally different feel than the east side of the island - both in the lack of English speakers and the (seemingly) upper class residents.

Palermo, Sicily (Italy)

I had always wanted to visit Palermo - especially since the first time I flew over it. Unfortunately, (until today) the time off was never available. We more than made up for it, though, with an early wake up and drive across the island. When we got there we were a little disoriented (no map) - but while we "explored" we walked through several pretty city parks. Eventually we found the impressive Norman Cathedral (it actually has influences from many other conquerors). Met a nice elderly couple who were returning to their cruise ship. They let me have their city map - that helped tremendously for the rest of the day. After exploring a few Baroque era churches, we found a museum that displayed the famous medieval puppets that were used in the "Punch & Judy" style performances. I was amazed at the variety. We stopped for a late lunch (at Osteria Cavalieri di Malta ?) and I ordered the "Fruti di Mare" dish (included several local seafoods) - might be one of the first meals I didn't enjoy on the island. Afterwards we walked back to the car so we could drive over to tour the nearby "catacombs." When we got there (Capuchin Catacombs), we found that it was filled with bodies of people from Palermo who died during the last five hundred years. It was a little spooky, to say the least. One of the memorable bodies was "Sleeping Beauty," a 2 year old baby who looked like she was taking a nap. Amazingly, she was buried here over 100 years ago! On the way out of the city, we saw several monuments to the Mafia. Drive home went alright - back by 2030.

Piazza Armerina, Sicily (Italy)

With no flights scheduled oday, our crew made a group decision to visit Piazza Armerina.  This is probably one of the most spectacular sights in Sicily that I have every seen. The Villa del Casale has some of the beautiful mosaic floors that you can see in the world. A blog can't do justice to the entire experience. We walked for hours through the ruined baths and private rooms and saw entire mythological stories recreated in artwork from the Fourth Century. Lucky for us, the residence of a wealthy Roman was swallowed up in mud, preserving the site.  [Back at Sigonella, I relaxed and rested for the rest of the day and evening.]

Napoli, Campania (Italy)

Slept late. It was tough to get back on the time zone again after such a long few days of running around.  Thought we might have time to go exploring again in Naples but then it started to rain. After checking out of the Capo Inn, bought some souvenirs and was planning to get some food from one of the restaurants on NSA Naples.  Suddenly, I learned that the rest of the crew wanted to go back to Sicily early! Within an hour, we were on our way (1200 takeoff).  The flight to Sigonella was uneventful and we were back on Base by 1400.  I was quite tired and didn't venture out very far to get food.  We're supposed to have another mission in a few days - it will likely take all that time to feel "normal" after this trip!

(Kuwait)

It was an interesting night in "hooch" with all the guys - each of us slept on old green cots. It took a bunch of effort to get a ride to the 24/7 Air Force Chow Hall but the food was plentiful and good.  Learned early that our passengers would not be ready on time. Back at the hooch, we played video games until around 1400. When it was finally time to leave, we headed back to the airport and had to use air conditioning units to get the aircraft cool enough for our DV/VIP pax.  When the outside air temperature was finally below the DC-9 takeoff limit, we departed Kuwait (at around 1730) and flew to the north west. We had great weather for the overflight of Iraq and Eastern Turkey again - my map came in handy! Like before, I'm pretty sure I saw some really ancient sites between the Tigris and Euphrates.  We did have some trouble with our overflight clearance as we reached the Iraq/Turkey border but eventually sorted everything out OK.  It was dark by the time we were flew over Istanbul - the city was lit up nicely!  After a heck of a day, we landed in Naples (after 2300) and, because we were tired, decided to spend the night.  As a result of all the post-flight paperwork, aircraft cleanup, debriefs and other admin/logistics, I didn't get checked into my room at the Capo Inn until 0305.  Whew!

Izmir (Turkey)

Our day started VERY early!  We checked out of the Capo Inn and were waiting for our DV/VIP pax at the aircraft by [about 0700].  We next flew over to Turkey - another flight with great weather! We could see the mountains of Albania and the city of Thesalonika. Lots of Greek islands in the Aegean Sea. The view of Izmir (near Smyrna) was spectacular, too. When we landed, we had knew we had over four hours to explore. Charlie R and I sweet talked our way into a ride to a local mall so we could do some shopping.  Our (informal) guide (the driver from the airport) was great.  We learned a lot about the local area, including economics and some culture.  He eventually took us to a place that was a supermarket chain store (I think) called "Kipa".  The store was quite interesting and I bought some items for myself and the girls.  The receipt I got was quite hard to read, with all kinds of unusual characters. From this, though, I figured out that a local greeting, "Iyi Gunler", was the way to say "Good day" in Turkish.  We could have seen even more but I got a call that our passenger wanted to leave earlier than we'd expected. We stopped in Incirlik on the way to the desert. This was my first time over eastern Turkey and Iraq - what a view! We saw the outskirts of Bagdhad and the Iranian border. I'm pretty sure we flew right over Mosul/Nineveh. Basra was something to see, too. After landing at [... (1900)], we learned that the Air Force didn't have lodging for us. "Since you are Navy, maybe you can stay with the SeaBees" - the quote didn't inspire confidence.  But they let us get some chow at the big (24/7) dining facility.  [I think they had surf & turf the night we were there!]  After that, I had a chance to go shopping - this allowed me to buy a map of Iraq for our return flight.  Our transportation then took us out to the farthest end of the Base, where we found a few Quonset Huts along the perimeter.  The SeaBees weren't there but they had set up the inside of the huts (or "hooches") to be as good as possible for a bunch of military guys.  Before heading to bed, we played lots of video games and watched movies.  It isn't the Ritz but I was glad we had somewhere to sleep other than the airplane...  Interesting day!

Pompeii [Napoli], Campania (Italy)

After a better night's sleep in the Sigonella Bachelor Housing, we left Sicily [in the morning].  We arrived at Capodichino by [0800] and met up with our schedulers. They gave us some basic information about our mission and told us we'll need to wait for more (will be provided tomorrow).  After we filed our flight plan and did some rudimentary planning, though, we were allowed to borrow a vehicle and use it to visit Pompeii! I had been to there once before (see DEC 1996), but this trip was better because we had more time. Most of the people in our group had never been to the historic site, so they enjoyed walking the streets and spending time in the pleasant weather (for some reason, there were no tourists). I think I saw more of the overall city this time, including some buildings that were not open years ago.  And they seem to have improved the displays.  With daylight remaining, we next used our borrowed car to drive part of the way up Mount Vesuvius! We had to walk for some of the way near the end, but standing on an overlook above Pompeii was pretty amazing.  It was hard not to look down and think that those people didn't have much warning. We could see smoke coming from inside the volcano and there was a pretty good path around half of the rim. After an interesting afternoon, we headed back to NSA Naples and checked into the Capo Inn (2000).  Went to sleep early so we'll be ready for an early departure in the morning.  Let the fun begin!

Sigonella, Sicilia (Italy)

After a night of trying to get on the local time zone, [I woke up and made my way to the Sigonella Galley for breakfast].  A bit later, I picked up my rental car at Europcar this morning (1005).  [Our crew spent most of the day figuring out how to support the mission we have to the Middle East.  Our local pilot counterparts briefed us on DV/VIP protocol and our crew made grocery purchases (with the help of the Culinary Specialists) so that we could support our passengers to the level to which they are accustomed.  I learned that one of the DVs was my Admiral during my 1998-1999 MED Cruise - I wonder if he remembers me...  Spent the afternoon relaxing and getting some sleep so we'd be ready for our mission to Naples in the morning.]

Terceira, Azores (Portugal)

Our plan to minimize time on the ground in the Azores was successful.  After checking out of the Mid-Atlantic Lodge at Lajes, we departed early and made it to Sicily early. (It is easy to bypass Spain when no one else is coming over onboard the aircraft with us...)  After checking into the Bachelor Housing for Sigonella, our crew got settled for the night.  [we have to meet with our pilot counterparts from the local unit tomorrow - we are flying their mission because their aircraft is broken]

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

[Another MED Detachment!  Flying with Chip C this time.] Good flying today - we great weather. The flight from Atlanta to Newfoundland was good and we got to see a lot of the Maritime Provinces. After a fuel stop at St. Johns, we flew to the Azores.  We arrived at Lajes Air Base a few hours later than we'd hoped. Fortunately, we stayed at our usual (convenient) spot, the Mid Atlantic Lodge (Air Force Inns), and had time for drinks at the "Top of the Rock."

Powder Springs, GA (USA)

[geo-bachelor - living in Powder Springs while working at NAS Atlanta]

Powder Springs, GA (USA)

[geo-bachelor - living in Powder Springs while working at NAS Atlanta]