Norfolk, VA (USA)

[date uncertain - trip to Norfolk Botanical Gardens with kids (bike riding)]

Biloxi, MS (USA)

[with Julius - Norfolk to Biloxi - Norfolk]

Brunswick, ME (USA)

We took off from Brunswick NAS after midnight but had a good flight to Hampton Roads.  We were on deck in Norfolk by 0100.  It took a lot of time to complete the paperwork before I could go home.  Exhausted but feeling good about my overseas adventure!  (Even better, I got the next day off from work...)

Terceira, Azores (Portugal)

After a good night's rest in the Naval Station Rota Gateway Inn, I finally woke up at around 1100 (!).  I then went shopping in the town of Rota and had lunch. Once I was back on base and had met up with the rest of the crew, we got ourselves in the air by 1600. On the way home, we stopped for fuel in Lajes (Azores) and Brunswick. At the latter spot (Maine), we got delayed on the ground until after midnight...

Rota, Andalucia (Spain)

Slept in my luxurious room at the Al Dana Resort until 0900.  Fortunately, I still had time to catch the huge breakfast buffet they have here! Spent a little time this morning by the pool and working on my term paper. Didn't get a chance to explore the city because we had to leave by noon. After we departed Bahrain, we had an uneventful flight to Crete and then another to Rota. Landed in Spain pretty early, so had a chance to go into Rota for the evening. We spent the night at the Naval Station Gateway Inn again.  Bed late...

Bahrain (Bahrain)

Didn't get much sleep last night... I woke up at 0300 and never ended up settling down again.  I don't believe it was due to having a bad Gateway Inn room - more likely, it was yesterday's long day and the time-zone differences between home and Spain. Ended up eating breakfast at 0330 and staying awake, waiting for the sun to rise... Luckily, our departure time was at 0830.  Even better, our destination was Bahrain!  I have always heard about how beautiful and international it is and always wanted to see it for myself.  I picked up four turkey sandwich box lunches at the NEX Cafe (at the Naval Station) this morning - they also included fruit juices, chips, cookies and some granola bars.  After we took off from Rota, our flight over to Crete was good - until Julius had some trouble getting into Souda Bay (they held us up high until really late!). I flew the next leg with Jeff into Bahrain and got to see a lot of cool sights (Egypt, Nile, Red Sea, Bahrain by night). Also got a kick out of listening to the ex-pat Brits who control the airspace near Bahrain... After landing, we arrived at our hotel (Al Dana Resort, by Accor/Novotel) around 1730 - we got to stay in a very nice place on the water. We had a great dinner (with free-flowing beer). Walked around the complex after the sun went down - it was still hot. I'd like to come back to Bahrain and spend a little more time in the future...

Puerto de Santa Maria, Andalucia (Spain)

With the time zone change, we arrived in Rota around 1000. We had a lot to do before we could check into the Gateway in at the Naval Station, so we'll only end up getting charged one night (usually, we have to pay for two when we show up early in the morning...). I was rested, so I convinced Julius to try to go on the train to Sevilla with me. We had no trouble getting to the train station in Puerto de Santa Maria - a pretty coastal town. Unfortunately, the train was not running today! We walked around for several hours - looking in shops, exploring historic places. Had some good beer at a local pub as the Siesta began. Later, we found out that they have some great beaches outside the city. We walked for miles! We got back to town and made it to Meson El Asador for a great Shish-kebab meal, topped off with Liquor de Hierbas (definitely an acquired taste...). I had been here in 2003 - it was fun to pass along the experience to Julius. Back to the room around 1900 so I could get some sleep. Ended up going out for a little while with everyone in Rota - back to room again at 2200...

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

We had a mission to the Middle East today but weren't scheduled to leave Norfolk until around noon today, despite our best efforts to get permission for an earlier departure. We also encountered a planning problem: we would have been overweight if we tried to leave NAS Norfolk for Canada (due to runway lengths).  In an effort to solve this, we flew over to Oceana. Unfortunately, it then took forever for a fuel truck... To try to make up some of the schedule, Jeff suggested we fly all the way to Rota - this was fine with me.  Our day didn't really begin until we left Hampton Roads (1900).  Flight to St. John's, Newfoundland, was good.  After that leg, though, I let Jeff and Julius fly.  Meanwhile, I took a nap in the back of the plane. Still flying at midnight...

Guantanamo (Cuba)

[date/fuel stops uncertain] Norfolk - GTMO - (Jax ?) - Norfolk... (with Jack)

Richmond, VA (USA)

[flying with Jeff B. - Norfolk to Covington (Cincinnati), Kentucky to Richmond (VA) to Norfolk]

Whidbey Island, WA (USA)

[flying with Danny L. - Norfolk to Whidbey Island and back]