Geocaching and rollerslides...

So there I was...

...GPS in hand, wandering the streets and parks of (oh I almost told you where I am), lets just say wandering the streets and parks of a strange place looking for treasure the size of coke can or a card deck or a film canister or maybe even a postage stamp.

So some of you might know what geocaching is but some may not. Jelaine and I have been wanting to do it for a while and I finally got the chance. A friend that lives here goes a lot and took a few of us. It is basically modern day treasure hunting...except you don't take the treasure, you just sign the log book and leave it for someone else to find. You get a set of coordinates (lat and long) and track it with a handheld GPS. That only gets you within 5-20 feet though. Then you have to search feverishly under pine needless and behind signs and rocks to find the object. Sometimes it is pretty big, but sometimes, like I said above, it is magnetic and the size of a stamp and stuck on the back of a sign in the park that says "please remove all excrement" (in the local language) and has a picture of a dog with a pile of poo behind him. Don't worry pictures to follow soon.

Long story short it is a great time! And I think the boyz should get together and do it sometime. It does take patience though...a lot harder than I originally thought.

Well, while we were geocaching we discovered another form of local entertainment. This one is actually for children but it that never stopped me before. Imagine this: The stairs ascend to a blistering height...hernia hill height to be exact. At the top is a slide, but this is no boring american made metal slide...this is a genuine DFW airport lugage conveyor on an incline. It is really hard to imagine but there are row after row after row of giant bead-like wheels that form the surface of the slide. And the slide doesn't just go straight down, it winds in a spiral. That of course doesn't stop you from reaching terminal velocity by the time you get to the bottom. It was AWESOME!! You ride down on your feet, squating...well you try, until to you get going to fast cause it is raining and the whole thing is wet...then you fall on your rear end and get soaked but keep traveling at mach snot toward the bottom. Then you get to the bottom and since you are already wet and dirty you make the ascent up hernia hill and do it all over again. I have pictures of this to so I'll get them posted as soon as I can. Til then you will have to let your imagination run wild.

Hope everyone is well. Blue skies and God's speed.

Kilroy was here!

Work Hard, Play Hard...

So there I was...

...Fly at least every other day, sleeping when I can, and being drug around by my crew to eat some wonderful food.

This trip has been good so far. We have been flying a ton, which is great for my hours and upgrade. The flights are relatively short though so they haven't been to painful. We will have some long ones but for the most part we are flying 6 hours at a time. I know you might be thinking, "A SIX HOUR FLIGHT!!! YOU CALL THAT SHORT?!!" Well for me that is a pretty short flight. The funny part is that it seems even longer when you realize we are really going anywhere. :-)

Well when we aren't flying I work out and sleep mostly. But a guy has got to eat too so my coworkers drag me out to places I would not normally go. We do have the occasional undercook delicacy here, but we are expanding our horizons. We have been to this great Turkish restaurant twice now. The first time we went it was only four of us and we ended up stay a while. After soup, Mesas (an appetizer plate), and a Doner Pita, one of the guys inquired about the hooka (sp) in the window. Turns out smoking was not allowed in the restaurant but he sold the hooka and the tobacco. Well after talking to him and while and since we were sitting outside, he brought is the hooka after all. We sat and talked with him while smoking and then he brought us turkish tea (flavored with Clove and several types of tea leaves). It was a great ending to the meal. We liked it so much we went back yesterday. Tonight I think is Indian or Persian. We'll see where they take me next.

Till then...Kilroy was here!

Settling in for a long one...

So there I was...

Posting my blog when I get an error telling me basically that my entire post had just been deleted. I haven't had that happen in a long time. So frustrating. Blah! What are you gonna do right?

We in case it happens again I will make this one a short one. I am settling in here. I just got my last suitcase off of airlift last night and there are some really nice rooms on base...but we aren't staying in them. Ours are nothing to complain about but the nice ones have kitchens. Instead I bought one of those microwave egg poachers so I could cook eggs in my room. Works ok, but I have to remember to get dish soap next time I go to the store.

There are a bunch of restaurants here and plenty of stuff within walking distance from the base too. I just have to remember to look right first when crossing the road.

I end here for now so I can go read up on your lives before my time runs out. Blue skies and God's speed.

Kilroy was here!

On the road again...

So there I was...half way across the world after a 16 and a half hour flight, checking my email and my blog when I noticed Trey was quite irate about my not posting. So here it is...for now at least. More to come very soon. I'll try to catch on months of your blogs too. So be patient and check all your old comment blocks cause I will try to post on them. God bless you guys! I'll talk to you soon!

Kilroy was here!