Happy Veteran's Day!

Wow, I can't believe I've been in San Diego for two weeks already! Work has been keeping me busy, so I haven't had a whole lot of time for sightseeing or house hunting. No worries though, life at Whit & Kathie's has been great! We all do our own things and enjoy the time we do spend together when we're all home at one time! At least that's my perspective, you may get a different story if you were to ask them! They're in Hawaii right now and will get back just in time to see me head back out to Colorado for some meetings back in the Springs.

Before I went to work yesterday afternoon, I decided to commemorate Veteran's Day by visiting the USS Midway. The aircraft carrier that was the flagship of the Persian Gulf air operations in Operation Desert Storm was decomissioned in 1992 and has been turned into a museum and is permanently docked in San Diego harbor. I only had about an hour and a half, so it was a quick once through- just enough to make me want to go back with more time to spend on board.

Folks are always amused when they find out I spent 8 years on active duty in the U.S. Navy and never stepped foot on a ship! What can I say, P-3s are land-based!! After touring the berthing areas of the USS Midway yesterday, I'm kind of glad I never had to live on a ship!

Since it was Veteran's Day, there were quite a few former crew members of the ship on hand to answer questions and tell sea-stories! Up on deck, there was a former carrier pilot telling stories about his experiences of landing on a carrier. He was a great story teller and had some really good graphics on what the flight deck looked like from the aircraft as it was approaching for a landing. It was very informative and entertaining!

I think I learned more about military history when I was deployed to Diego Garcia than I did through the academic classes in boot camp. AFRTS (Armed Forces Radio & Television Services) controlled the 1 or 2 channels we had access to on the island in 1991. We loved to make fun of AFRTS commercials as military propaganda, but I always learned something new through those commercials. I thought I had learned the origins of most nautical terms used by the Navy, but this sign shows one that I didn't realize had Chinese origins. Who knew that "Geedunk" was a Chinese word?! OK, probably lots of sailors, but I certainly didn't. I'm such a geek, but I really enjoy word history!!

Tomorrow morning I head back to Colorado Springs for a week of meetings. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I won't have any snow to report on a post from there!

To all my military friends and family out there, both veterans and active duty, I say "Thank You!" Never forget. . . All gave some, some gave all.