'Nuff Said

The Coolest Shit EVER!

The only thing that sucks is that you can't see the actual scale model of the X-Wing fighter used to film the movies that is right behind the Troopers. But seriously- a picture with Storm Troopers...? Coolest Shit EV-VAH.

And on the 7th day...

God took one day off in 7 to rest... I think He had it easy. Today is an official down day. Finally... a day to let my poor foot rest, and to let my mind wander and relax. The only plans today are for the long awiated pilgrimage to Wal-Mart and dinner at the Olive Garden.
We came to the states with a list of restaurants we wanted to eat at- cuisine that has been amiss since we went overseas. Olive Garden is one of those places. There is also and Anti-list covering the places we can not go- as we have them there- like Burger Queer and Subway.
I digress. I do not have to get my shoes on until at least 3ish, and I am revelling in that fact. Sightseeing and going places is nice. It's fun. It's great... But shit, even someone as awesome as me needs a day to mash my ass. A day to not have to sit in a car and wait until we find a place to pull off before I can piss. Time to get my shit together, as we are leaving here Monday morning, and our stuff is strewn throughout the house, and a good portion of the shit we have bought needs to be packed into boxes and mailed home, as I am already in deficeit for packing space. We have two boxes coming from California and one from Arizona- looks like we will have two from here in New England- not counting that arfore mentioned trip to Wal-Mart.
Tomorrow we hit to sightseeing trail again to do a DUKW tour of downtown Boston, and wrap up with what is sure to be a highlight of a Laser Show at the MOS. We are also hoping to get to see some of the 75% of the shit we missed on Tuesday at the museum.
Today, I rest... much to the protest of the husband... It is what is called for and necessary. Especially considering the fact that if I don't get my day off, I am going to spiral into a full blown fit, that may get me committed to a nice restful place surrounded by nice young men in clean white coats.

Filet-o-fish, please

Fish... and penguins, and sea lions. (Oh My!) Today we traversed the Boston subways to the Boston Aquarium. What can I say? There were a shit load of fish. Sharks and tuna, snapper and rays.... a shit load of fish. To accompany them was the chorus of noisy ass (but entirely adorable) penguins. It was nice- fun... but after a few hours, the kids were bored. (I was, a little, too.) So we hit the pavement for Fanuel Hall, via the random and rightly placed playground for some steam blowing.
Ice Cream cones in hand we headed out to enjoy the fine weather Mother Nature was kind enough to provide... And Rachel dropped the ball of ice cream off her cone in truly cartoon style... and she beagn to cry. We tried rally hard not to laugh at her. (Note: operative word "Tried".)
To wrap up the day, we got caricatures made of them- and watched Brenden chase some of the fattest pigeons I have ever-ever seen.
My foot is sore, but I am still walking. We'll have to see what tomorrow.

Take Me Out...

We have now found ourselves on the East coast, and Mother Nature has been both kind and cruel to me thus far. While she did find it necessary to negate any nookie chance I had being in a guest room with a closing door, and give me cramps for the first part of our NE journey, she did see fit to give us nice weather. The afternoon yesterday was spent strolling around Fanieul Hall in downtown Boston... Kev got picked by the very funny street theatre guy to come out in front of the crowd, and that was DAMN funny. When I get the pics downloaded I will post them... leave it for now to say the man hug was hilarious- and the psyche out the guy did for the kiss was classic.
I, (and the kids), went to our first MLB game yesterday. The sun was shining with a nice cooling breeze, and we sat behind the bullpen in Fenway Park. We ate ice cream and sausages. Rachel screamed her ass off, danced in her seat, and waved her foam finger, although I am not sure she knew why. My son learned where to look, and what her was cheering for, and had a monster of a great time.
A woman named Shelly sat in front of us at the game, and listened to Rachel, and talked to Rachel, and smiled at Rachel... She asked Rachel who her favorite player was... Rachel said "The Red Sox." Shelly asked... "but who is your favorite Red Sock?" To which Rachel replied, "Wally." Apparently "Wally" is the mascots name- named for the Green Monster Wall... so in essence, my daughter's favorite player is the wall behind center field. Mine too.
I was right in what I told my husband all these years- "I am sure this whole Baseball thing is much more entertaining live..." and it was. I had fun. As yet, I am still pretty sure the games on the TV when we culd be watching ANYTHING else will probably contnue to cause contention, but I should be somewhat more understand of why he is obsessed... though I never will be.
I also rode my first subway. Weee. I am oh-so-untravelled... But then- we don't have much in the way of good public transit in the cities I grew up in.
Today we went to Salisbury Beach... will post pics and antecdotes tomorrow. For now I need to go wash the sand out of my asscrack before I saw myself in half walking around.

East Bound and Down...

On vacation, and 7500 miles from home, and I am still doing laundry. More's the pity. As I spend today packing and gathering our things, I am trying to stay as mentally distracted as possible, as to not think about flying away from my beloved West Coast, and my family who live here. I am facing the armpit side of this military wife thing. I knew what I was in for, but I guess I never really thought about what it meant.
It will be harder to leave after this trip than it was to PCS initially. The first time we left, it was new and exciting... and someplace other than the crappy base we had been stuck at for 3 years. It was an opportunity to see Europe, and make new friends.
It is not that I won't enjoy being in my own space, and sleeping in my own bed, but it holds more heartache to leave than I ever thought. It is tearing me apart, and I may well need the entire flight to Atlanta to pull my shit together before we get on our connection to Manchester. I know that I may never see my grandparents again after this trip. I know that life will be going on without me in the lives of my family and friends. As will mine... but it somehow feels empty and isolated as I look into the coming years for my life.
So, I best get to packing up our gear for the second half of our vacation... and try not to think about what inevitably has to come at the end of it.

Hell week

So, in so much as I am having a great time running about and seeing things and spending time with my family... My foot is about to fall off and I am peeling like a mutant reptile after my Disney induced sunburn.
Today we plan to go to Palomar, as my son is obsessed with space and all things galactic.
My ankle may well go on strike and cripple me before the day is out. As it is, I am having to strap it up in a brace and hi-top shoes. It doesn't make it feel any better, but keeps me from killing myself on uneven ground.
The old cliche of needing a vacation to recover from vacation is certainly in play. In addition we may include a trip to Ortho for a steroid injection, and a nice visit with my shrink.
Like I said, I am not bitching- I just wish my foot wasn't bitching for me.

Carlsbad

Not much to say about this... went to the beach- kids got soaked although they were supposed to stick their toes in the water... and my son buried himself up to his nipples in sand. It was a wonder he didn't saw himself in half on his way back to the car with all the sand in his ass crack.

The Sightseeing thing

This week we did the California sightseeing thing. Within 48 hours we walked the grounds of Sea World for 6 hours and Disneyland for 11 hours. I barely made it back to the car in Anaheim... and 2 days later my feet are still swollen. Even my poor kid- the fount of unending energy- was in tears about his sore feet and dragging ass on the way out of Disneyland.
Sea World was fun- not too crowded- and the kids loved Shamu- as all kids do. Rachel even got a set enough to go on the River Rapids, and loved every second- especially when Mommy got soaked.

On the other side of the issue is the fact that we chose to go see "The Mouse" during spring break... I have never actually seen that many people in one place except in the movies. Space mountain's shortest line all day was 2 hours, so we opted out of that one- as 120 minutes looking at the back of someone's head is not fun for a 7 year old boy, no matter how kick-ass the roller coaster.
Rachel much enjoyed "Small World", much to our detriment, and the boy loved the Haunted mansion. My little girl got to meet Ariel and Mulan... she saw all her favorite princesses and waved and screamed to them in the Parade.

I have yet to decide what was better- the look on my children's faces, or the expression of my father looking at a new generation experiencing the magic of Disney... Rachel even got to see Tink fly. Her eyes lit up the sky right along with the fireworks. (Okay- enough mushy shit.)

Tomorrow we take the kids to dip their tootsies in the Pacific Ocean... Kevin, too- as it will be the first time in his life he has seen this coast. I shall spend Sunday laundering and packing up for the trip back to Boston... It will be hard to leave- as I know two weeks later we will have to board a plane back to Germany. Gonna go cry now.

Cyrano

You may think this is some funny photo downloaded from another site...
Oh, Contrare.
This was one of the waiters at mom's wedding. Some took to calling him Cyrano. I shan't say what I was thinking.
Mom said he shops at her store all the time- and he is apparently not just Gay- but "way-gay". I don't know if I should laugh at him, or feel sorry for him- but in any case- I had to get a picture of the local color residents of Ft. Huachucha.

The Real NILBOG

Indio California... What a scary fucking place. Not the whole thing mind you- but the first part of town, where the first signs on I-10 tell you to get off for gas/food/lodging... Just on the other side of the casino paradise of Ocachoa.
We pulled off for gas/food... and ended up in a scary scary place. A Barrio- and not just any barrio- but the barrio from the 9th ring of hell. The poor luxury car we rode is was terrified, as the ass end kept bottoming out in protest of the huge dips in the intersections. We should have listened to the car.
After about 3 miles of Hell Street, we found a Del Taco, and seeing nothing else that resembled food on the horizon, we stopped. Other than us, and the weird looking dude with the George Hamilton tan and the Santa Claus beard, the place was empty inside... so we sat to eat Tacos and cheese burgers and enjoy a much needed leg stretch.
After our meal, I needed to find the bathroom, as naturally I would after a long stint on the road. Note to self: Any joint with the bathroom outside and accessible to the non-paying public is bad. I went out, opened the door- saw the jaws of hell spawned wide before me, and shut the door- deciding it was better to piss on myself than use the facilities.
So up the road for gas and potty we went. Finding an Arco, we pulled in, and Dad started to gas the car- I went in to find a bathroom- to be told by a short woman in a scary short order type of hole in the wall that it was broken... During this time, Kevin was getting the "You have 3 faces" look from the woman at the register because he wasn't psychic and assume that the machine for cashing in lottery tickets was also out of order. Gassing up completed we headed down the road looking for a toilet that didn't promise to eat me on contact with my ass cheeks, and found Gag-in-a-Bag. Compared to Del Taco, the bathroom was inside and didn't look like shit demons came crawling out of the walls... and I couldn't possibly hold it anymore.
After 10 or so minutes of me and the kids doing our thing, we returned to the car. Kevin looked pale... scared even- apparently the mens room looked like a chimp's cage- complete with shit flinging monkeys. Reminiscent of a B-class horror film, he said "drive... Drive... DRIVE!!!!" as we pulled out of the parking lot. He told us of the scary smelling and looking homeless guy who followed after him in the bathroom... the yucky things on the walls and ceilings.
The whole town was odd... had the not-quite-right feeling to it. That kind of place that makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck and gets your spidey sense tingling. Kevin was sure the town was going to open up and swallow us whole; as it seemed to not want to let us out. Even the twilight zone bridge over the train tracks- looked as if it was that big to hide the horrors on the other side within the town.
When we drove about 5 miles down I-10 we started kicking ourselves as we found the actual town of Indio sprawled out... full of strip malls and burger joints galore. More proof that the first place we went was some unnatural desert demon sprung there by the bowels of Satan himself to trap unwary travelers.
I was surely happy to come through the other side of the mountain pass into the wind fields, and the gorgeous mountains on either side... and back into the sight of God.

Army Policy on Comfort

In so much as I may bitch and moan about the USAF- we are dandy- compared to those jackasses in the Army. The wedding went off fairly well- lots of libation- especially with the open bar... The Army, however did their best to fuck up the reception experience.
Yesterday in Sierra Vista, the temperature crept near 85. No big deal- unless you are having a reception for 50 people in one room with no Air Conditioning. I found the facilities manager and inquired about the cooling. He told me "The Arm hasn't turned it on yet."
"What? I'm sorry... WHAT?!"
Apparently the Army turns on the A/C for everyone on base at one time- like on A/C day... So 50+ people in one room- OH- with the dinner chafing dishes on full tilt... and no fans.... It was tough to sit there for photos in a long sleeved 2 layer dress.
There is no fucking way any AF club would tell a group of people "Sorry, The Air Force hasn't cut the locks off the power box" even at the most bass-ackwards base in CONUS.
In any case- the reception was great fun- full of laughs and sweaty folks. I even taught my Aunt Barbara how to do the electric slide (I think she may have broke something)... right after me and my mom tried to kill ourselves with the bullshit song (cotton eyed-joe). Not a good idea for two women in big heavy ass beaded dressesin a 90+ degree room. More than once, I even saw Rachel on the dance floor all alone- dancing for the masses. She has a bright and promising career in Ballet (Or pole dancing) It has yet to be seen.
I do get to d a little show off time... My little gentleman and my little princess.

In My Defense

In response to the novel of a comment made by my mother--
SV sucks if you are akin to the big city... I find it comical that someone here would say "Across Town". This place is all of 3 miles square.
The wedding should be nice, and my only complaint is with the over 20 hours of travel it took to get here to Podunk AZ, I am not getting to sit and watch a single cartoon with Mom over coffee.
Sunday we depart for Phoenix- for my other grandparents 50-something wedding anniversary party. Wee... Then 8 more hours in the car back to San Diego. I am SO over this travelling thing... Someone needs to invent a frickon teleporter.
More Sunday when I am not posting from the public computer in the Hotel Lobby.
~MsF

Jet Laggin'

It's 4:20 am, PST. I am posting as to not wake everyone else is the house... Oh, shit... too late.
We flew into San Diego on a rather shite flight at noon yesterday, and we are now in my dad's little digs in Escondido. Pity we won't be staying a while to give me the chance to get over this jet lag.
Today we get into a car and drive many hours to Sierra Vista, AZ- a little podunk town way south of Tucson.
Sierra Vista is a great place to see your tax dollars hard at work- being just north of Mexico you can watch the Border Patrol flying about looking for jumpers- and delight in seeing them zip around the highways looking for coyotes.
Needless to say there isn't much in good ole Sierra Vista AZ, other than a scrubby little Army base, whose claim to fame is the Buffalo Soldiers... Not much of a tourist attraction. (Compared to the AF bases we are used to, Ft Huachucas is down right dumpy.) As I understand it, we are bound for Tombstone on Thursday for something fun to do. Yep- proximity the the OK Corral is a big draw... Or not.
We are actually heading there to attend a wedding- in which I have to wear a big green dress, and Kevin has to wear a suit. There should be ample time for visiting and coffee drinking... I hope.
The only one still abed is my son- so I shall go wake him- and pack- and shag ass. The earlier we get there- the more time we will have to rest before we have to go play family.
God Help Us! Eight plus hours in the car with a 5 year old motor mouth, and a 7 year old ADHD kid who like to fight with each other every chance they get. Thank heaven for my iPod.

Alive and Kicking

We made it half way... a long flight into Boston, and a little drive into the heart of rural Massachusettes has found me finally feeling halfway human again. The entire journey for me started at 7 am on Saturday morning Germany time, and ending with me crashing into bed sometime after 4 am Germany time over 38 hours later.
Currently, I am enjoying a thing I have not had in YEARS, and I have deseperately missed... Dunkin' Donuts Coffee. My dearest boleved walked down to local fattening shop for us this morning and got a box'o coffee and the accompanying pastry goodies to make breakfast complete. It is gorgeous here- just seeing the sun is a nice and welcome change.

The kids finally fell into bed at 7:30 EST here- after getting roused at 4:20 AM CET... I was surprised they didn't go face first into thier dinner plates, as they had spent the enitire afternoon running off the pent up energy from the plane ride playing ball and learning to play croquet. Yep... that's right... Croquet. They are currently in the kitchen experiencing the joy of "Munchkins" for the first time, and after I have about another half a gallon of this coffee, I may head for the shower.
Tomorrow at butt-ass crack early'o'clock, we will be heading for the airport to fly to California.... Ah the sunny shores of San Diego. Where we will staying for all of 12 hours- then we jump in yet another car to take a 7 hour drive to the blissfully dry and warm deserts of Arizona. I will no doubt lose my mind a little here and there in the process.
So, that's the update so far... See you all in California.