Blogs from Kuwait, Middle East - page 5

The weather is terrible. There is a light sandstorm the wind is voracious and the sand is in everything. My uniform is buttoned up all the way. I have a boonie cap, sun glasses, and bandana tied over my face. Picture a soldier robbing a bank. There is pallets of bottled water in front of every tent. I think that the water has sand in it - all I taste is grit and dirt. Maybe it will whiten my teeth. We stay in large tents made of plastic. The floor is plywood which is nice as my feet don't get to dirty when I get up to go to the bathroom (the bathroom is a little walk from the tent). We had our first experience with 220 voltage. The ourlets here have a funny shape. They ... read more

Today we left Ft. Hood on our great eastward journey. We left for the airfield about 1700. When we got to the airfield we had a briefing on Anti Terrorism which seemed odd as everyone on the plane had a rifle or pistol, and a knife. After the briefing we had dinner, a sandwich and chips. The USO, Salvation Army, adn some churches had many offerings. The USO had snacks, drinks, and gum. The Salvation Army had toiletries and chapstick - they also offered to send our mail home for free. I wrote letters to my family and sent a singing card to Lizzie. We soon boarded our plane, a DC 10. It was a bare bones 1960 era aircraft. The intercom was broken so the flight attendant used a bull horn. We flew to a ... read more

After announcing our plans to travel the World, many folks have asked us how we decided to take an adventure of this grand scale. I’m sure there is a simple answer to these questions, but everyone knows that I have never given a simple answer to any question. Lynne and I pause for a brief moment in our planning and reflect on the primary factors that led us to this fascinating decision. For both of us, it all started in the days of our youth. Although our tales are a little different, the experiences of our youth shaped and molded our adventurous spirit. For me, it started out at a very young age. I was a fearless and curious kid who had to find out what was over the hill or around the next corner. I ... read more

***NEWSFLASH***NEWSFLASH***NEWSFLASH***NEWSFLASH***NEWSFLASH*** On the evening of Wednesday, 13 February 2008, Lynne and I made a decision that would change our lives forever. We have decided that when we leave Kuwait, we will return to the states to visit friends and family as well as take care of business prior to our next GREAT ADVENTURE. Our next great adventure will begin with a flight to Iceland. Iceland will be the first stop on a nine-month Around-the-World adventure of a lifetime. WOW--go ahead and say it outloud--WOW In the 8+ years that Lynne and I have been together, we have capitalized on the opportunity to get out and explore. Our adventure began when she joined me in South Carolina just a few short years ago. We soon found ourselves in Northern Japan which changed our entire outlook on life. ... read more

Hey again all. Well. Just got back from a few days up North. Kuwait city is a very interesting place. We didn't visit there at all when I was coming into the region a few months ago (has it been that long already?) so this chance to see it was jumped at. We had a port visit planned with our unit coming in for a few hours for maintainance. We flew in and headed straight for the hotel. Crowne Plaza. Very nice. 4 star or something ridiculus like that. Meh. All in a days work hehehehe. We were supposed to have that afternoon and the next day working before the ship was arriving the day after. That afternoon however it never showed. We had issues getting the diplomatic clearance through the local authorities. At the moment ... read more