Cody Hanson...You're an Ironman!

Congratulations to my cousin (in-law) Cody Hanson on completing his first Ironman a few days ago at Ironman Arizona 2008. He came screaming across the finish line in 14:36:05. His dedication to this goal can probably only be matched by other professional athletes, and I am very proud of his accomplishment. His determination and character in making his dream a reality has truly taught me a lesson about continuing on toward your goal no matter what stumbling block may cause you to want to quit.

We're proud of you Cody...great work!

New Secretary in Town?

Well after eight years of having a Secretary of State with integrity and class, it appears we are going to have a new sheriff in town...none other than (as the "Reverend" Jesse Jackson says):

Hillary "RODMAN" Clinton

Trip to the Camel Farm

I took a trip with the MWR travel office today which included both a trip to the camel farm and a chance to travel out on the King Fahd Causeway which connects Bahrain to Saudi Arabia.

The camels were broken into two groups, the first of which is pictured below. These guys were tied to a stake with about ten feet of rope which really limited their movement...pretty miserable if you ask me. The second group was in a smaller pen, but at least they could move around freely. The guy working in the pen said they rotate those guys back and forth.

This guys looks like he likes me, but that was not the case at all. He was trying to get away from me as soon as the picture was snapped.




Below is the King Fahd Causeway restaurant which sits right at the gate to the Saudi side of the causeway.

This is the view of the Bahrain side.

...and this is the view of the Saudi side.

The covered structure near the middle of the picture is the gate you pass through to head into Saudi Arabia. I decided not to make a break for it today...the guards are probably less lenient than those guarding the Texas/Mexico border...maybe another time!

You can't go anywhere in the world without seeing the good ole' golden arches!

Finally Found a Place To Hang My Hat

At long last I found a flat that I will be calling home for the next twelve months. It's in a brand new high-rise building called Juffair Skyview. Juffair is the name of the area in Bahrain where I'll be living. It has a really nice gym and pool, and although it's a small place, it's the perfect size for me. It's right around the corner from a really popular American restaurant called "Ric's," as well as the Al Jazeera Supermarket where I'll likely do all of my shopping.

There is a decent size pool on the first floor...not big enough to do laps, but good for lounging around in the sun (of which there is no shortage).

The gym at the Skyview is really nice and will provide me with a great alternative to working out on base if/when my work schedule is more hectic.

Not all of the houshold furnishings are in the apartment yet, but they will be coming very soon. There are still items such as a TV, sound system, curtains and bedding that will be arriving prior to me moving in. There are two bedrooms, but the spare will have a large computer desk and that's where I'll park my bike maintenance stand.

The kitchen is pretty small, but again, it's only me. The washer/dryer is also in the kitchen and as you can see it's all in one unit...we'll see how well that works!?!

Master Bedroom

Second Bedroom

This is one of two bathrooms...this is the master bath.

A Day at the Souq

I spent the day walking around doing some window shopping at the mall, the gold souq, and the big grocery/department store called Geant (last picture was taken there). A souq is a commercial quarter in an Arab city...it could be focused on jewlery (gold souq) or any other type of goods. The marketplace on base is called the "freedom souq." It's a place where the prices on items are all negotiable...I had so much fun bartering and then leaving if I couldn't get something for next to nothing.

There is even some American flare in the eating establishments in Bahrain. I am thinking the guy at Fuddruckers wouldn't be able to wear that outfit at the Lubbock store unless it was Halloween.

Who can resist a day out on the town without hitting up a bike shop? Not me!

The streets were much busier a few minutes prior to this photo, but the calls for prayer came over the loudspeakers of the mosque right down the street and many people closed up shop or stopped shopping and went to pray. I was going to try and get a video so you could hear it and see the people leaving, but I didn't get it done...will try again later!

These three shots were taken in a mall called Gold City, and the name tells the entire story. The stores were filled with gold jewlery...some more obnoxious than others.

Many stores sell pipes called shishas (shee-shas) or hookah pipes that people use to smoke flavored tobaccos. It's apparently a very popular thing for everyone to do...the pipe is filled with water, and the water actually filters the tobacco smoke rather than a cotton filter like on a cigarette. You smoke the tobacco through the really long tubes you see attached to the middle of the pipe. The really expensive (and preferred) shisha tubes are made of camel skin...definitely different!

This picture was taken just outside the entrance of Geant, which is a really big department/grocery store similar to a super Wal-Mart. Do you get the idea that someone is trying to sell Fanta Sodas?

Welcome to Bahrain!

The flight from Norfolk to Manama was long but definitely still bearable. We stopped in Portugal, Italy, and Greece before finally arriving early on the 30th of Oct...sorry it's taken so long to put something up here about the trip. The shot below was taken as we were flying over Egypt about two hours away from landing in Manama, Bahrain.

We dropped a few folks off (and picked a few up) at each stop as well as taking on fuel and food for the remaining legs. The longest stop was probably in Italy where we spent a little over two hours, but each of the others was only about an hour and a half. The plane was packed leaving Norfolk, so there wasn't much room to spread out and get comfortable...it would have payed to have first class on a trip like that...as long as I wasn't paying!!!

The sky was hazy all morning after the sun came up, as you can easily see from this picture taken right before we landed.

My sponsor booked me at the Gulf Hotel upon arriving. The Gulf Hotel is a very famous 5-star hotel in Manama and not really very far from the base (approx. 2-2.5 miles). The rooms are pretty nice and the rest of the hotel is first-rate (if you're into the first-rate sort of atmosphere...which I am not). One of the big drawbacks is having to pay an outlandish rate for internet access (10BD/day...which comes out to $26.67USD). I am eating less to compensate, which may end up helping me out in the long run since the weight-ins for the physical readiness test are closing in on me.

My hotel room window provides me with a great view of the Grand Mosque which I fully intend to tour during one of the upcoming weekends...probably after I settle in and am fully qualified to stand watch.

Got my tickets and I'm ready to go!

I arrived at the AMC terminal in Norfolk, got my boarding pass for Bahrain, and I am ready to get this year started. I had to change my departing flight into Dallas at the last minute because SATO travel was "confused" when they originally booked my flight. The original flight into Norfolk would have had me arriving to the AMC terminal too late on Tuesday evening, so it's a good thing I called SATO when I did. It was really no problem at all, and it only resulted in me leaving about four hours early.

Bike Trip - Santa Fe to Albuquerque

Amber and I went to Santa Fe with the kids this past weekend to see some of her family. Cody and I did a couple of rides around Santa Fe while I was up, and then we rode from Santa Fe to Albuquerque to meet up for dinner with the rest of Amber’s family. It was a really beautiful ride and the weather was wonderful during the ride.

I was surprised, however, by the unfriendly drivers and cyclists on the road…isn’t this supposed to be the “Land of Enchantment?” You couldn’t pay anyone to say hello to you.

This first picture was taken right outside of Santa Fe on Hwy 14 just as the sun was coming up during the first few miles of our ride. It was still pretty chilly when we began the ride...about 47 degrees.

Another shot of some scenery along Hwy 14 about 15 miles outside of Santa Fe.

This shot was taken in Cerillos, NM. Cerillos is a tiny little town where tourists abound in the summertime...apparently one of the first state capitals of NM. There is very little left of the town now.

This is Maggie's Diner in Madrid, NM. If you have ever see the movie "Wild Hogs," this was the town (and diner) where the movie was shot. This diner was erected specifically for the movie. I'm not sure if it is actually a functional diner anymore or not...I would put my money on "not."

Below are a couple of shots of Cody and I along the ride.

Cody is getting started up "heartbreak hill," which was the steepest climb of the day. It's not really a very long climb at all, but it's pretty steep up near the top.

Flattest Century in the East Bandits

Jason Brianas, a member of my class at the War College, and I rode in the "Flattest Century in the East" last Sunday just as tropical storm Hanna made her way up the coast. It was a very windy morning early on, but by the time the ride started the weather was spectacular. There was very little water or debris on the road, and the temperature was very nice for most of the day. This was Jason's first 100 mile ride, so I rode up front most of the day...except when I had a flat tire. I had a record three flat tires that day on my wonderful rental bike.


The following are a few shots I took of our surroundings during the ride through Massachusetts. The ride began on the University of Mass. campus at Dartmouth. It was a beautiful ride through mostly winding country roads.

Newport is Beautiful..."Yank's Aren't Nice"

Newport is certainly a beautiful place (to visit), but I am quite certain I would not like living here for long. The people aren't very nice, and you guessed it, the roads in close proximity to the base aren't great for cycling. The picture below is taken from the Officer's Club at Newport Naval Base, and the bridge is the Claiborne Pell Bridge connecting Newport and Jamestown. There are usually lots of sailboats in Narragansett Bay in the evenings and on the weekends.

This is a shot of the marina across from the Officer's Club. The sailboats pictured are those used for the sailing classes given during the spring and summertime. I was signed up for the last class, but I decided to drop because of an opportunity to participate in a 100-mile bike ride in Connecticut on one of my weekends...turns out I didn't ride after all and could have sailed instead...oh well!


The U.S. Naval War College campus is pretty small, but it accomodates officers from all branches of the service (the largest percentage being from the Navy of course), DoD civilians, as well as other federal agencies (CIA, NCIS, etc.). It's a pretty nice place.

This building, Evans Hall, is where our MSOC classes are actually held each day. I will be here until 3 Oct and then it's back to Lubbock, TX, for some vacation prior to departing for Bahrain.

Trip to Boston and a Red Sox Game

Rich, a good friend from OCS and school in Virginia, and I went to Boston earlier today to catch a Red Sox game at Fenway. We parked his car at the Coast Guard base which, according to the security guard who gave us a hard time about parking there, was the best parking lot in Boston...can't say I really disagree.

The game was great, except that the Red Sox lost to Chicago 4-2. We purchased the tickets from a scalper for $80 (apiece), but the seats were great behind first base. Fenway Park is not very big, but there is a lot of tradition there, and the fans were incredible. I think you could easily get beat up for bad-mouthing the Red Sox anywhere near Fenway Park.

Following the game we walked back through Boston, which included lots of fantastic people watching. The architecture and layout of the buildings and streets is really breathtaking...but you could cut the liberalism with a knife it was so thick.

There was a guy on the street corner singing a jingle about voting for Obama (aka the "Messiah") if you wanted change. Rich was hysterical when I began yelling back at him in song that all he was going to have left was change if/when Obama had the chance to be in charge.