missing u all

dear friends,

hope all of you are doing fine, we just miss the good times we had together, god bless you all and your families.

Mimi & Andre

Ok we have grass but . . .

it's about a hundred years old - It's considered "historic" (Army code for REALLY OLD) I'm just glad it's not "quaint" and "historic" (small and really old) At least now it has a great working air conditioner - which was not true the first two weeks living here. It has beautifully silver painted NONfunctioning radiators in the living and dining rooms that can't be removed because - you guessed it -they're part of the history of the house. It's plenty big enough for just the two of us - especially since I have all of Jeremy's "good stuff" in the garage waiting for our trip to Montana in two weeks. He got an apartment and so now he's getting ALL his belongings. (Pokeman cards, virtual pets - you know really valuable stuff that takes about 15 boxes to pack up) Love reading the posts - keep them coming.

Seminar 2 (Mid)

This is our future house (mid Aug I think, Rob is less optimistic: surprised?! ). ;) At least the scenery on post is pretty. Like the rain forest! Lots of trees, bugs, and rain.

Seminar 2 (East)

We had Carol and John join us for our weekly Saturday pool party. Next time we need to get Gil and Jeff F to come. Carol is staying with us while she is house hunting in Alexandria. She is becoming quite the accomplished beer connoisseur. You all are welcome to stop by whenever in the DC area. Its more fun than the Carlisle VFW.

Day 5: Los Quetzales Trail (Hiking)

We hiked uphill for approximately 5 hours on the Los Quetzales trail that unites the two communities of Boquete and Cerro Punta. The trail offered spectacular views of the jungle, waterfalls, Mountains and the Baru Volcano (highest peak of the country at 11,400 feet/3,475 meters above sea level). We then spent the night in a less than one star hotel with a leak in the ceiling (rained all day) and we couldn’t even get a good cup of coffee.

Day 5-8: Bocas Del Toro Isla Colon (Beach & Snorkeling)

We transferred by car and boat to Bocas Del Toro. Bocas Del Toro is an archipelago of islands in the Caribbean consisting of 9 major Islands. The water is aqua blue and beaches are white sand (very different from NJ) and the beaches are set against nature-dense rainforest. At Bocas we swam, snorkeled, saw several dolphins, saw starfish at Star Beach and wondered the streets checking out/buying the handcrafts of the indigenous people.

On the afternoon of day 8 we headed back to Panama City and flew home on day 9.

Rumble In The Jungle Day 3 and 4

Yo - did you know that it rains all the time in the rain forest?

On day 3 we caught a flight to David then transfered by car to Boquete. In Boquete we are staying at a Coffee Plantation high in the mountains.

We went on a zipline adventure for a thrilling traverse on cables from platform to platform dashing through the rainforest (13 ziplines for a total of 3km). The forest is set high above a gurgling river with cascading waterfalls that drip from canyon walls.

In the afternoon, we went for a challenging hike into the mountainous highlands of Boquete. During the hike we saw a black wasp dragging a brown tarantula to its nest. We were told that theTarantula is still alive, and the wasp will lay its eggs inside it.

Day 4 White Water Rafting on the Chiriqui Viejo River. We had a full day of liquid refreshment negotiating frothy standing waves and thrilling drops for 28 km of class 3-4+ rapids. The landscape along the shoreline was beautiful with forests, exotic animals (monkeys, birds, and Iguanas) and waterfalls. This was frikin awesome!

Texas

We made it to Texas safe and sound and have closed on the house, recieved HHG and storage, have completed the move in and are just now getting a chance to relax a bit. The trip was as uneventfull as one can be when you are moving 2 horses, a dog, 2 cars, etc...

Alls well here and will stay on leave for a few more weeks before I head oversees.

Our best to everyone.

Mike & Sheila

In Panama Day 1 & 2

Brian, my brother, and I are currently enjoying an adrenaline junkie Rumble in the Jungle vacation in Panama. We had a tough there. We sat on the runway while our flight was delayed for 5 hours. Then we had 4.5hrs in the air, 1 hr to get luggage and through customs, and then 45min to the hotel. Thus we arrived and got to our rooms to catch sleep at 0230. That night things got worse for Brian who was sick from the airplane food. I was a littl ill as well. The next morning I went on the bike tour while Brian slept. That afternoon and evening we toured Panama City.

Today was much better. We to transfered to Gatun Lake to kayak. We started with a boat ride in the heart of the Panama Canal Zone and then kayaked, with our guide Ian, along the rainforest. We saw birds, monkeys, lots of bugs, maybe a Crocodile (lots of bubbles and it moved quickly - I think I scared him so he didn´t poke his head up), and turtles.

Key West or Bust

Well we have been down in FL since the move out. This week we are in the keys with Rob's sister, her hubby and kids and his Mama. Today I went out on the boat to the reef to go snorkeling for the first time in 23 years. I do believe it will be my last boat ride that is not a cruise ship or a canoe! The 4 ft barracuda was interesting. Puking over the side of the boat, not so much so. The ride out to the reef was reminisent of the roller coaster rides at Hershey park with Carol, Suzie, and Rob. However, no safety bar locked in place and the accute awareness that the bench I was sitting on was not afixed to the boat. ;) Hope everyone is having a good transition back to real life. Sandy

Hello from Boise, ID

Hey gang!

We made the trip (kids, dog, cat and guppies still alive.)  We are hanging at the Marriott for 3 weeks then we go to Pacific Beach for a few days until the house is ready. I have to admit that I am really enjoying the lack of chores.

Best wishes settling in--

Andrea

PS- I love the pics

Question for the computer guru

Carol-is there some way to set this so it will send a message to our email when there's a new posting?

Grandkids are great!

Beth and I are enjoying our grandchildren's visit. We will be heartbroken when it comes time to send them home.

Aloha

This is Leigh Anne (I cannot figure out how to switch to my user thing, and Scott's automatically opens when I go to the blog). Anyway...we arrived in Honolulu on the 15th. Scott went to work yesterday. We've been offered quarters but will not move in until sometime next month. We've been to the North Shore (had shaved ice at Matsumoto's), Turtle Bay, and Waimea Bay. The girls and I explored Waikiki beach all day yesterday (it's our backyard :). Carol - thank you for setting up the blog. I wish you all safe travels and look forward to staying in touch.

Here's a pic of Mike just trying to make it to the top. Forget trying to stay on certain colors - he just wanted to get to the top. Poor Craig didn't understand that at first.

110 degrees here yesterday. So far has only made it to 108 today. BUT it's a dry heat - that's my mantra for this year. Brand new AC got replaced yesterday with a bigger unit. They had one in here that could only handle 1350 sq ft in a 1700 sq ft house. Go figure.

Mike's been doing all his fun in-processing gobbledy gook. He starts with his first case tomorrow at 10 AM. He's happy to have a real office again and not have to share with me.

HHG showed up Saturday and were all organized by Sunday night. Now we await the storage shipment of another 7700 lbs. If it could go into storage, do I really need it? I'm thinking I should call Goodwill and have a truck standing by to receive it all -without unpacking anything first to double check.

Ok - enough rambling. Hope you all had/have a safe move.

Arrived at Fort Bliss

We arrived on Wednesday morning after a long trip - 2200 miles. Signed for quarters and unloaded cars; HHG show up tomorrow. Checked in with the office; mounds of paperwork await. Tried to oversleep, Paul, but the heat. . . . Hope all are doing well -- safe travels all. -- Mike

Last Climb

On Sunday I had a great time climbing in the extreme heat at Climbnasium in Mechanicsburg. It was at least 100 degrees in the bouldering area on the top floor of the gym. The heat presented a new challenge of trying to keep the hands dry enough to finish a climb without slipping.

Mom and Dad were troupers and hung out and took videos and pictures. They always wondered what the heck this indoor climbing was all about.

BTW. Many of you are unaware that Mike Hargis climbed on Thursday evening with Craig (our New Member) and I. Mike did a great job.

I reported to J4 today

Fell asleep on Metro and missed my stop. Was late...any surprise?

It's Been a Great Year

It was a great year at the Army War College with seminar 2 – Deuces. We had many great discussions, played sports together and enjoyed each other’s company at our favorite location (Alibis’) in Carlisle, PA. This blog will help us stay in touch as we move on to our next assignment.