Well, Anna and I have finally made it to Germany! I know this isn’t really a trip (unless one can take a multi-year year trip), but I thought it was the appropriate category. 🙂
We’re still in the process of settling in, but we did get out and take a Sunday afternoon drive around the area. It’s funny, I remember dreading Sunday afternoon drives growing up, but this time it was quite enjoyable.
The Mosel River makes its way through the region we now live in. It traces a very scenic, meandering path through steep valleys and idyllic vineyards.
Here are a few typical views of the region.
So, hopefully, that gives you a little idea of what the area around us looks like.
Soon, I will have more (better) pictures of the region and our home.
Until then…
–Jim
Month: October 2006
SOS part 2
Two times during SOS we did what is called Project X. The first time, our flight was … a little less than successful. However, in the second one, we were better prepared and consequently, more successful. You’re probably wondering what is Project X? Well, I can’t speak for why the name was chosen, but basically, it requires a team of six to solve a physical problem in a given scenario within 15 minutes. For example, you may have to move a dummy from one pedestal to another, without touching the ground in between using only a couple pieces of rope.
So, here are some images from our second time.
We got started early in the morning and gathered together as a group.
Each flag represents a flight (about 14 people). Jason (#20) is holding ours.
Phil looks back up at me through a tunnel.
Jason emerges from the same tunnel.
Can you see everyone’s worried about the board falling off?
The group is negotiating their way back with a dummy. Although they look benign, the dummies are very realistic, which means they weigh a ton (or at least 130 pounds). 🙂
Glen helps Lori (who was the only female and civilian student in our flight … and did very well) get across. One other point is that you can’t touch the red parts of the obstacle (or incur a time penalty).
Teamwork is essential to complete the tasks.
I just liked this image.
At the start of each task, the group is given instructions on what is required and what the rules are for the scenario. Here, Eddie reads the instructions to his group.
Joe, Jason, and TJ all work to get this log in the right place.
TJ lifts the log while the rope guides it into the right place from above.
Jason gets a hand as he jumps to safety.
We had a warrior run during the last week. Beside the run, we also had to do a few situps and pushups. So, as was usual, we stretched out as a group.
Again, since was doing the event, Anna was the photographer.
We lined up with a flight from another squadron. In our case, it happened to be the same flight that we had just played in flickerball (Tom’s flight). Fortunately, neither side held a grudge, so it was a friendly reunion.
While we did our pushups, the other flight counted for us.
Same for situps.
Then, we lined up to start the run. It was only a three-mile circuit, so the distance wasn’t tough.
Unfortunately, since I haven’t been training as much as liked, it was tougher than should have been. It took me just over 20 minutes to run it. At least the course was very scenic.
When we finished our presentations later that day, our final graded event was complete.
The course was overall enjoyable and I certainly learned a lot. It was nice that I could attend after we left Guam and before we arrived in Germany though.
As I write this, I am in the airport in Amsterdam (although I am publishing it from the lobby of our hotel in Germany), so we have already embarked on the next phase of our journey. We look forward to many adventures here in Europe.
So, until we have pictures to accompany them…
–Jim
SOS part 1
The last five weeks, as usual, have flown by. However, the difference was I spent these attending a class called Squadron Officer School (SOS) at Maxwell Air Force Base. It is here Air Force officers are taught the tenants of Air Force doctrine and allowed to practice their leadership skills amongst peers (not a common opportunity). So, it’s a mix of classroom lectures, mass lectures, team building and problem solving, and, of course, athletic events. The following two posts are a compilation of the images and stories I thought you may enjoy viewing/reading.
I believe these were made on the second day. They are from our flight room. There were about 500 students total, divided among 36 flights that make up four student squadrons. Our flight had 14 members. This is Jeff and Eddie as they listening attentively. 🙂
Jeff’s expression really summed up what we all felt … it was going to be a tough five weeks.
Greg was our teambuilder, so he had the task of setting up our social events.
Glen’s expression here perhaps summed up the whole course.
On the first Friday, most of the students and instructors got together for a social event at the officer’s club. As you might expect, there was the friendly mock combat going on. This time in the form of pugil stick fights.
After the club, most of the flight headed out to hang out together. I thought this image of Greg was noteworthy just for his expression. 🙂
The next week, we had the opportunity to try our hand at the unique sport called Flickerball. I know you’ve probably never heard of it. I believe it’s an Air Force specific sport that was invented at or for the Academy. However, it’s used at SOS as a field leadership event. So, the idea is to see how well your team works on the athletic field as well as the classroom.
The idea is to take this small rubber ball (it used to be played with a football) and pass it to your teammates. It’s like ultimate Frisbee in that: you can’t let it drop, otherwise possession changes to the other team.
However, there are three referees who are there to enforce the multitudinous rules. Personally, I think there are so many rules just to take all athleticism out of the game, but that’s just my opinion. Most of the refs were very enthusiastic as they called the game. You can see that their uniforms are also very distinctive.
Once your team gets close to the end line, the idea is to throw the ball and hit the center net. If you do, your team scores 2 points. However, even if you just hit the orange edge, it’s a one-point score.
Sounds pretty simple, right? Well, if you don’t correctly follow all the rules, you’ll end up letting the other team take a technical foul shot. In all likelihood, each team will probably end up taking one to a bunch of tech foul shots. So, if you have a good tech foul shooter, you will probably score often (and consequently win as well).
There are three matches total in the course. After the first two (we had won both), my flight was actually tied for the lead among all 36 flights, since we had won by fairly large margins. In the championship match, we met Tom’s flight, which was also undefeated. This is Tom as he warmed up. Anna was the photographer for these flickerball images.
The ball is put into play with a jump ball.
Tom and Glen on the field.
Here I am with the outstretched arms. I was attempting to block the pass (unsuccessfully by the looks of it).
When the referees had to confer for a violation call, the teams had a chance to regroup in a mini-timeout. We liked the balance and symmetry in this picture.
Flickerball is a non-contact sport (in fact if you even inadvertently touch another player, you are sent to the penalty box), Tom’s team played very aggressive defense.
So close…
Unfortunately, my flight didn’t win the last match, but we did end up in 6th place overall. I have to say though, I wasn’t sorry to finish flickerball. Let’s just say, it’s not my favorite sport.
On the next post, I will get into more of the teambuilding part of SOS. I really enjoyed that part.
Until then…
–Jim
Fort Walton Beach, Florida
For our last weekend in the States, Anna and I had the pleasure of visiting the Florida panhandle to visit our good friend, Tom. Since he was at SOS with us, it was convenient to follow him home after we graduated from the class. We drove the less than 3 hours down to the coast. He lives in a very nice condo right on the water in Fort Walton Beach. Since we got there in the late afternoon, we decided to watch the sunset at the Boardwalk. Here’s the pier at the beach.
Tom and Anna enjoying the cool evening.
My supermodelesque wife…
The next morning, Tom took us to the state park where he volunteers from time to time. We rented a canoe for Anna and me, while Tom took a kayak. Our goal was to see the “real” Florida. That meant paddling up a small tributary creek that feed into the bay. As you can see, we found the real Florida.
In the bay, there was lots of life. Fish jumped all around us, while pelicans and other birds worked to gorge themselves on all the fish.
Since Tom had the more nimble craft, we let him go in and explore the possible routes to take. However, after a short while, we found the large river that led us a mile or so up the river. The current wasn’t overwhelming, but it was present. So, that made the trip back down to the bay, very pleasant as we drifted along with the current. We didn’t see any alligators (we were hoping to), but we did find some fish and turtles.
After our workout on the river, we decided that the beach sounded like a perfect destination. The sugar sand there was very enjoyable. When we first got there, dolphins greeted us from the distance. I jumped in the water for a swim, but unfortunately, they had already departed. In fact, I didn’t see any fish. After all my open water swimming in Guam surrounded by aquatic life, it was strange not to see anything in the water.
This couple had decided to take a dip in the water as well.
As Tom and Anna soaked up the sun, I went off to watch the ubiquitous seagulls. I really liked this image shows the distinctive gull wing, forward swept, as it took flight.
This is the sleepy-eyed seagull enjoying his day on the beach as well.
Even though the Gulf doesn’t really produce much in the way of waves, there was a group of teenagers scurfing.
Again, there were more pelicans.
Eventually, we followed the sound of music, and made our way to a nearby hotel. This man was a one-man band who sang his own version of country music, along with various covers of other artists. We listened to him for over an hour as we enjoyed the perfect weather on the beach.
The next morning, we got up and headed back to Montgomery. However, spending the weekend with Tom in Florida was a great send off before we left for Germany. Not only is Tom a good friend and host, we also learned that he’s quite a good tour guide.
Until the next adventure…
–Jim
Montgomery
Although I’ve spent the last 5 weeks in the city of Montgomery, in all honesty, I didn’t get to explore it in as much detail as I would have liked. However, here are a few of the images I made, that I thought you may enjoy.
Of course, Montgomery is the state capital of Alabama. This is the capital building is lit up very well.
This is a similar view, this time with a little “character.” 🙂
I thought this building was fitting, since I am such a fan of history. This is the state department of archives and history.
The 1960’s (as you may recall) brought a lot of national attention to Montgomery. It was the site of Rosa Parks famously defiant bus ride, and here you can see the church where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. first preached to a congregation.
Now, switching from the historic to the personal, these are our friends Tom and Kat.
Here we all are together.
This is our friend Sam whom we first met back in Guam, but now lives in Louisiana. She drove the several hours east to see spend a couple days with us in Alabama. We enjoyed spending time with her. 🙂
If you are a golfer, you have probably heard of a man named Robert Trent Jones. If you’re not, he’s a very famous golf course designer. Supposedly, he designed my favorite course at the Air Force Academy. More importantly, he also has several courses in the region. I was able to experience two while I was in Alabama. The first was with up in Birmingham at a course named Oxmoor Valley with our friends Eric and Sangreal. Here are a couple of images of our round.
The second was with a friend from SOS, Eddie. Eddie and I had already played the base course, which was nice, but no comparison to a RTJ course. This particular one was called Capital Hill and the 18 we played has the intimidating name of “The Judge.” Our golf cart warned us to “be prepared to be judged.” While it wasn’t the toughest course I’ve ever played, it was certainly a challenge and for a mere $40, well worth it.
Here are some of the images from our round there. As you will see, it wasn’t just about the golf. There was plenty of fauna around to entertain us while we waited to take our shots.
This is the first hole that overlooked the Alabama River.
Eddie and I taking our tee shots.
Here is some of that fauna I mentioned. The squirrels were much larger with very unique coloring.
Yes, Eddie did drain this putt. He was playing well. 🙂
However, this tee shot wasn’t “successful,” but at least he could laugh about it. If you recall the final Guam entry, this island green reminded me of hole 12 on Mangilao. Perhaps this one wasn’t quite as tough though. I actually managed to land my ball on the green, relatively close to the flag (although I didn’t make the birdie putt).
There were lots of cranes out on the course. They are very majestic creatures and very good fisher-animals. I watched them snag numerous small fish from the water.
One last image of a green on the course. It was a very enjoyable way to spend the last full day in Montgomery. The next day, we headed down to Florida to spend a couple days with our friend Tom.
Even though we didn’t get to explore Montgomery as much as we’d have liked, we did enjoy our time there.
Until the next adventure…
–Jim
Wichita Falls, Texas
This weekend, Anna and I went home. Well, at least to where our home used to be. We went back to Wichita Falls, Texas and visited our friends there.
Oh, if you’re curious why I added Texas to the title of this post because people invariably confuse Wichita Falls with Wichita, Kansas. 🙂
Aaron and Coree were kind enough to drive two hours down to Dallas to pick us up, then host us at their home. Before we left Texas in 2004, we promised them that we would come back and visit. Since we only had five weeks in the mainland before we left again, we really wanted to make good on our promise.
Something we hadn’t done in entirely too long (at least in my opinion) was go miniature golfing.
So, here are some images from our time on the “course.”
This is Perrin, who accompanied us on the golf outing. This was the first time I met Perrin, as he was born soon after we left in 2004. He’s a very cute little boy, isn’t he?
Here’s Coree.
Perrin again, this time carrying a big load right in front of the pirate ship.
Here is Coree again, with the replica castle of Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland (AKA Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany)
These kids look like they’re having fun, don’t they?? 🙂 OK, perhaps a little too much fun…
After hitting the mini-links, we went over to Lucy Park, where we had spent many enjoyable afternoons. We wanted to go back and see the glorious (ok, perhaps that adjective is a bit strong…) Wichita Falls. Even if they are a man-made replica of the actual falls (made from a beaver dam that apparently washed away some time ago), they are still very pretty.
Here are the mighty Wichita Falls.
Ok, the next 10 images are just of the Franklins and us, so if you prefer the landscape shots, you can skip down to the last image. 🙂
Here is the happy Franklin family at the falls.
Aaron and Perrin:
Coree and Perrin:
Again, Aaron and Perrin. I think it’s fun to see just how much kids want and are able to learn. To use a bit of a clichĂ©, Perrin is like a sponge soaking up everything around him.
Perrin got very excited pushing the stroller…
So, with that, our brief trip back to Wichita Falls drew to a close. We had a great time catching up with our friends there. We only wish we could have spent more time…
Until the next adventure (or trip, as it may be…).
–Jim
Atlanta
This past weekend we took another excursion from our temporary home in Montgomery, Alabama. This one was nice because it meant I go to see Anna and my mother again. I know it was only three weeks of separation, but it felt like forever!
I arrived on Friday night, but we started Saturday off in the Botanical Gardens hanging out with the frogs… 🙂
There were also many pretty flowers. Flowers are always fun because they are so photogenic.
There were many exquisite violet flowers there as well… (my favorite was the one with golden strands at the top)
There were also these wild sculptures throughout the gardens. I thought this one was particularly interesting.
Here’s a self portrait inside the skull.
After the botanical gardens, we headed over to the natural history museum. These are sculptures from the Rome exhibit.
The next morning, we continued our cultural exploration of Atlanta. As we walked to the art museum, we ran into (or rather they rode by) a huge motorcycle caravan.
These are inside the museum. I like how art museums are often a work of art themselves. This one was no exception.
These two beautiful women accompanied me on the tour, and this is us headed back to the hotel to depart. It was another outstanding weekend.
So, until the next adventure…
–Jim
Nashville
Last weekend, my good friend Tom and I decided to take a little trip. The proposal was to go anywhere in driving distance from Montgomery. When he suggested Nashville, Tennessee, we decided that was a perfect destination.
Of course, it’s the epicenter of country music, so our first stop was a show at the Grand Ole Opry. I was really impressed by how the show runs. If you’ve never heard of the Opry, or are unfamiliar, here’s how it works: it’s broadcast as a radio show on 650 AM. The show is complete with announcer, performer, and even commercials. It’s kinda funny, actually, because it feels like the show hasn’t changed since they started it in 1925. The Opry actually encourages you to run down to the stage and take pictures. Unfortunately, I didn’t bring my camera with, but we still got to see/hear some performers like Trace Adkins and Bill Anderson.
Here’s the official logo of the Grand Ole Opry, just to give you a flavor. 🙂
After we had a very enjoyable dinner at Dave and Buster’s (one of my favorite restaurants that I hadn’t been to in a couple years), and watched the college football games on the numerous large screen TVs, we went out to find some local music. We ended up at a place in downtown Nashville.
The next morning, we woke up and headed over to the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Here are some of the images from our visit.
I had fun perusing all the gold and platinum albums.
Inside this room, there were bronze plaques/busts of all the members of the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Here is Tom with a fellow Rhodes Scholar, Kris Kristofferson.
I decided to include this one because Tammy Wynette is indelible in my memory. Her timeless tune, “Stand By Your Man” woke me numerous mornings in northern Wisconsin as part of the yearly deer camp. Of course, there was also my father belting out his rendition. In my opinion, that was more memorable than the song itself. So, every time I hear that song, or see her name, it conjures images from cold, early mornings trudging out through the snow to sit in a tree for a solitary day peering intently into the woods…
That completed our discovery trip to Nashville, but on the way home, just inside the Alabama border, we found this reminder from the past.
It was a great weekend. Tom and I hadn’t been able to spend much time together in the past couple years, so we had a lot to catch up on. Seeing a new, interesting city like Nashville was a great setting to do that.
So, until the next adventure.
–Jim