WHAT I DID ON MY SUMMER VACATION. PT. 1

THE NATIONAL ARBORETUM

One of my favorite places to visit in the DC area when there is a little free time available to me or visitors are in town is the National Arboretum in NE DC. If there was ever a place that can make you forget about where you are.......and NE DC is definitly a place you want to escape from.....it is the Arboretum. It is the Central Park of the Nations Capital. Once inside the gates, just as you walk out of the parking lot is the Koi pond. These beautiful fish follow you up and down the length of the waterline waiting for handouts. There are gumball machines that dispense food to feed them, perhaps that is how they get so big.

www.usna.usda.gov/

Here they come....looking for handouts.....it's like a stampede....without feet

"You talkin to me?"

This one was actually trying to sell me a knock-off rolex!? Not begging for food.

Next up, the Perennial gardens, this place amazes me and at the same time pisses me off! I am trying to turn our little 2 acre parcel of land into a mini-arboretum and it is just never nearly as beautiful as the real thing. Perennials, for those who do not garden, are plants that, in their ideal zone, will re-grow on a yearly basis. They sometimes spread and can be dug-up and relocated to other areas of the yard easily. I love perennials for that very reason.

And finally over to the Capitol colums. These 22 Corinthian sandstone columns were among 24 that were part of the east central portico if the United States Capitol. Architect Charles Bulfinch oversaw construction of the portico using a design handed down by his predecessors, William Thornton and Benjamin Henry Latrobe. Completed in 1826, these columns provided the backdrop for presidential inaugurations from 1829 (Andrew Jackson) to 1957 (Dwight Eisenhower), and were the site of many speeches, protests and rallies.

In 1958 the columns were dismantled to make way for the east front extension of the Capitol, which is adorned with marble reproductions.

Restorations of the columns was made possible through the efforts of Ethyl Shields Garrett and support from the Friends of the National Arboretum. Garden designer Russell Page selected and designed the new site which was completed and dedicated in 1990.

This is getting a bit lenghty so I am going to break here and continue in a new thread..........

NO, YOU CAN"T GET GEOCACHE FROM AN ATM!

This week has been full of fun and adventure in Iraq, I have been on the Tanker with Mikey so we set off in search of new things whenever possible. While we were out on inspections the other day we headed to Tower 4 which is located next to our companys drill building, building X. This is where we use to come to set fake fires and put them out, some say for practice, most firefighters say to play. Well, the kaboshes were put to that so now the building sits empty and we don't get much fun anymore.

There is a 2nd tower next door and I wanted to take a picture from the top tht showed the layout of the area. When we got upstairs we noticed an ammunition box stuck up on a ledge. At first we thought it might be a IED or bomb of some sort, we were both saying "Not me! You open it up!". Finally after making out some writing on the side we opened it and foound a very cool, yet somewhat sad surprise inside.

Geocache (www.geocaching.com/ ) , is a global scavenger hunt if you will, member set out to find geocache locations and when they do they leave a memento and sign a diary that is in the kit to record their visit. They sometimes are located at specific sights in honor of an event such as a death. The particular sight we found was in honor of Sergeant 1st Class Paul R. Smith, a true American Patriot who made the ultimate sacrifice in the war on terror. Sadly he passed in battle, on the very site we stumbled upon. http://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/smith/

The Cache holds a memorial to Sergeant Paul R. Smith, detailing the battle that took his life, keeping a diary of all that visit and holding small gifts in honor of his sacrifice. This place held a great significance, it makes you stop and think of all that have perished here. What they gave for our way of life, on a national level and on a personal level. The MWR/Gym on our base is dedicated to him, I had seen his picture on the walls but never knew the story behind his heroic life. We should all be in awe of him and those like him.

Here are some visuals.

Building X site, where our training happens, NOT!!

Why is that ammo box up there??????

The Geocache info

A detailed account of Sgt. Smiths battle.

Gifts left in the Geocache.

More info on Sgt. Smith, May he rest in peace

HOG HEAVEN!!

One of the things I am enjoying about my return to Iraq is the weather, it is Fall here, the trees are turning and earthen-toned leaves litter the ground we walk on......er? Wait a minute.........That was back home! Ah shit! Same old lack of color here. Oh well, it is still nice and chilly at night and even tolerable during the day. The temperatures only reach the mid 80's now. Perfect weather to go cruising on Sation 2's new motorcycle! Well, it isn't really ours, the MP's confiscated it from a Lesbian Iraqi Dykes-on-Bikes club.......and you thought they were an urban myth!!

Mikey, myself, Lori and Captain Dewey started a motorcycle club, we are feared, yet respected by the locals, considered equals by the Military and PSD's and we reign havoc across the FOB, all the while, smiles on our faces. We are an unrivaled force-of-nature in the middle-east with one goal in our sights................find a good compressor to put some damn air in our front tire!! Had you goin, LOL!!!

Seriously though, this bike is an antique and we had some fun taking some pictures, enjoy!

The Hip-hopopatomus and his crew

Ladies love the Rhyme-nocerous!

Last time we were playing around like this, we both ended up with a day off!

Damn, Mrs. Robinson strikes again!!!!

I always seem to be driving this guy around

WOULD YOU LIKE SOME CHEESE WITH THAT WINE?? SERIOUSLY!

While I was home I got to go to a wine festival up in Bel Air, Md with my friends Tim and Emily and their family/friends. It was a great day, I had never been been to one and I enjoyed myself thouroughly. While I tend to be more of a beer-man, I do enjoy red wines from time-to-time. On this particular occassion I enjoyed a lot of wine, red and white, and not too much cheese! LOL! I was f-ed up! It was an absolutly beautiful fall day, a slight chill in the air, barely a cloud in the sky. Here are a few pictures...............

YEAH.....YOU HEARD RIGHT, I'M GOING BACK.

Well, my EOC (end of contract) break was really fun and relaxing. I will post a few more details about that later, for now I just want to cover the trip back to Iraq. I have to admit, over the break I did miss some things about Baghdad, mostly the people I work directly with. I have been fortunate to have a great bunch of people with me up until now. Only a few bad apples....Foley.....maybe asshole is a better description. Either way it has been fun working with them and I am looking forward to a great second year as well.

I was ticketed to return to Houston for in-processing on the 28th of October. It was a very early flight so I got up around 04:00 and Ben drove me to the airport, which is nice and close to the house. I made the flight , no problems, and got to my seat to find I was in the very last one, up against a wall. The seat did not even recline. I also noticed when I sat down that I was completely surrounded by teens, all wearing t-shirts that said something like "Jacksonville Christian Academy".......yes I had been booked to sit with the cast of "High School Musical: Christian Academy".......fuck me runnin! Anyway I mainly kept to myself, a few of the kids said hello to me and I introduced myself as Louie Cypher, hehe! They were cool, on their way to Costa Rica or somewhere like that to build a church. A noble cause I am sure, best of luck to them all.

Houston was uneventful, being a returnee there was not a whole lot for me to do. It is possible that in the next year tyhe company is going to do away with passing through Houston all together. I am sure it is expensive and it would be nice to go directly back to Baghdad if at all possible.

The Trip this year was a little different than last. Last year we flew to Atlanta and boarded a Delta 7 direct to Dubai. This year We went straight to London, Heathrow from Houston. While waiting for our flight, the boarding crew called a few of our names. I was sure, mostly sure, I had not done anything wrong and was pleasently surprised to find that Continental had over-sold coach class and upgraded us to first class! Not a bad deal, I figured it was payback for my trip to Houston on "Christian Airlines". We boarded the plane and immediatly the stewardesses were schlepping drinks to us, food, etc. It was a really great experience, too bad I will never be able to afford it again in my life, lol! I shit you not, we were served an eight course meal for dinner and I must have drank two or three bottles of Merlot. I was fat, happy and comfortably numb at 35 thousand feet!! Here are a few pics. The guy sitting next to me was laughing at me for taking pictures of my meals, he obviously flies 1st class all the time.

A few of the sixteen freaking courses on the flight to London

NANA AT 95!!

Well, this is one Sassy German Matriarch, she is in a new atmosphere and making the most out of life, I sure could take a few hints from her. Her new home is a long-term care facility in the Whiting/Toms River area. It is more of an assisted living home where the tennants have a great deal of freedom. The facilities are top notch, the place is only a couple of years old. She is very fortunate to be there, not five minutes from here old house. Here are a few pics of the visit. I cannot wait to see here again in a couple of weeks!

Me and my Nana!

Avi and Nana

John and.....well, you know by now.

Oh look! Ted Kazinsky stopped by, how nice of the DEA and FBI to let him out of jail!

His Uni-bomber days are behind him!

The New Hampshire Posse!

Well, I look a little ,ean in this picture, but it one one of a few that were clear, LOL!

Avi is my little Star Wars/Spider-man buddy!

Avi loves potato chips.....he really loves them!

Overall, she loves her new home, she quickly became comfortable and made a lot of friends. She also gained a little weight, LOL! Three squares a day will do that to you, I know first hand!

SORRY FOR THE HIATUS......

So, year one in Baghdad has come to an end and I have been home for a few weeks now spending so well deserved time with the family and pack as it is around here, LOL! Aside from a trip to the big apple......which I will write about, I swear!!...I have really just been putzing around the house, working around the yard and not much more.

I headed up to New Jersey to John and Christines condo in Ocean Grove, a small, private community right next to Asbury Park. It is really beautiful , great beach and boardwalk to spend the day on. I got there before Mom, Dad and Avi so John, Christine and I strolled the boardwalk over to Asbury. Checked out the Stone Pony and a few other sights, the whole area was bustling with beachcombers, joggers, shoppers, eaters, bums and anyone else you could imagine.

We headed back to the condo to meet Mom and Dad, they only stopped on their way to nanas. I gave Avi his birthday presents and some other gifts Ben had picked up for him, Jocelyn and Brennan. He loved it all, they packed up and went to Toms River.

We went out for dinner, a few drinks and a late-night stroll on the boardwalk, it was beautiful! Back at the condo, a little "Saturday Night live' rounded out the evening. i don't care if it was a repeat, Tina Fey as Sarah Palin is comedic history, I cannot get enough!!!!!

The next morning I got up early and went on a photo tour of the whole area, I hope you enjoy!

The old Casino building that sits on the boardwalk between ocean Grove and Asbury Park

A new building farther down with restaurants and shops

Avi on the boardwalk

A little Jack named Bruno walking his owner at the beach

John and Avi looking for shells....or hyperdermic needles, LOL!

Avi and I


I love this building

I swear I heard this seagull say "mine."

The pier John and Christine tied the knot on

John got the camera

A beautiful garden outside the "Starving Artist", a beautiful restaurant near John and Christines condo

The area is beautiful, it really makes you want to live in a beach town. The people are friendly and the atmosphere is amazing. I am hoping to head up in two weeks to catch Tesla at the Stone Pony with John and maybe stay a couple of days.