August 25; Day 3
Las Vegas, Nevada to Cortez, CO

Ok, first off I know this is late, but by the end of this day we were so tired I didn’t feel like writing anything, after all we did step foot in a total of 5 states this day!
We left Las Vegas by 9:00 am and already it was in the 90’s, proving that this was going to be a hot day and something we really needed to start acclimating to. We made our usual stops for lunch and filling up the cars, before arriving at the Grand Canyon. The canyon is a beautiful as ever with many visitors enjoying the rim-side view. We weren’t expecting; however, to pay $25 per car for the privilege to see this view!

Along the way to our final stop for the night, we were able to stop and take pictures at the one place in the U.S. that you can be in four states at one time…that is right Four Corners Monument just happened to be on the way! Arriving just before closing, we did have to hurry and gets those photos snapped before they locked the gate.

We finally reached our stop for the night in Cortez, CO after 8 pm, so we quickly took care of a few things and called it a night.

August 24 Day 2
Reno, Nevada to Las Vegas, Nevada

Today started bright and early with a quick drive to Fallon, Nevada to enjoy breakfast with the 2011 Navy Spouse of the Year Robert Duncan and his wife Donna. The food was delicious and filling, so we decided that there wouldn’t be any stops for lunch as we were stuffed!

The Nevada landscape doesn’t have much variety, some brush, sand and hills. The stops for construction was a little irritating, and the day was hot (my car said at one point it was 114 degrees outside), but we made it to our stay at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel in plenty of time to enjoy a nice dinner and still play a little before calling it a night. Bonus for us, our room looks out on the Bellagio lake, so we get to watch the water show anytime we want to look outside!

August 23rd Day 1

I’m not sure how exciting this blog will be in the days to follow, but it will be a journal of sorts for me…a reminder of the cross-country move we are currently making. I’ll try and include the good, the bad, the views we see, stops made and the people we meet along the way……
Today we said goodbye to family, as we embarked on the true beginning of our move to Washington DC. We have been living out of suitcases for 35 days and I am anxious to get on with this final step.

So, today we head out of Warren, Oregon and drive to Reno, Nevada…our first stop for the night. The day was gorgeous, with the sun shining and no clouds in sight. We stopped a few times including a stop for lunch at a rest stop. With the day so nice, we figured we would sit and enjoy the repast while getting a break from the tediousness of driving. Mt. Shasta was her regal self, with only a few wispy clouds around the summit, an unusual sight for us, as Shasta’s summit is usually hidden from view by clouds when we have traveled this portion of I-5 in the past.

We have eaten, and after some TV, we will be getting a good nights rest in preparation for the next leg of our journey……

Happy 221st Birthday to the United States Coast Guard!

Wow, 221 years! It is hard to imagine being around that long, but yes, the United States Coast Guard has been in existence since August 4, 1790.

My birthday wish for the Coast Guard is that the people of the United States remember the sacrifices that are made by all to ensure that the duties, obligations and responsibilities of the Coast Guard and their members are fulfilled. That our communities continue to support the active duty members and their families, making them feel welcome and part of the community. And that fellow Coasties and their families reach out to their communities, volunteering where they can, and becoming part of the community even if for a brief time, as everyone gains from the experience.

Change of Watch

Yesterday I sat and watched the official “changing of the guard” for the Command Master Chief (CMC) of District 11. The change of watch is a time-honored ceremony where the outgoing CMC passes the baton to the incoming CMC.

I want to invite everyone we know to welcome Master Chief Bushey and his wife Amy (and son Anthony, even if he will be away at college) to the Bay area. Show them they same support and camaraderie that you have showed both Terry and I.

It is a bittersweet moment, listening to my husband thank those that have influenced, supported and worked side by side with him during our two years here in the Bay area, both shipmates and community members alike. These are people we are leaving behind as we transfer to the DC area, people that we have worked and laughed with, and people that have forever left an imprint on our lives.

Saying goodbye is never easy, instead we will just say, “Until we see you again”. If you are ever in the DC area, do not hesitate to stop by and say hello or stay a day or two, our door will always be open.

The lull between the PCS storms

The packers have come and gone, the house was cleaned and the checkout completed.

Now I sit and wait…I’m temporarily homeless, although I have a roof over my head (thanks to a fellow military spouse and friend). My only belongings are those I have in my suitcase as the rest sit in storage at our future destination.

I have two weeks of this quiet lull, two weeks to just be. Then it will be off to visit family before beginning our next leg…our two-week travel from west to east. We’ll be stopping often and enjoying the sites, visiting friends and fellow military families, seeing children and grandchildren and trying not to think of the chaos of what is the end of our PCS.

My next blog will be the adventures of traveling cross country…hopefully I’ll get a chance to get online and share our trip with those that read this blog, perhaps I’ll even have pictures to add…Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, Six Flags Over Texas, New Orleans, the grandkids, WDW, and various other stops along the way. Some may even include good friends we have made over the years, as we stop and say “Hi” along the way.

We interrupt my regularly scheduled blog to bring you…

It’s PCS time!

We have spent this past week going through things in the hopes that we can downsize to a manageable weight and are able to get rid of the things we have been hauling from duty station to duty station.

It is amazing how much of our life is in boxes. As I go through, I find pictures that chronicle our lives, from the time my husband joined the Coast Guard, when the children were babies until they reach adulthood, each of our duty stations, the friends we made, the things we did up until our current home. I sat with my daughter, sharing where each of the pictures were taken, asking her if she knew the people in them, or if she remembered the trips and outings we had went on…of course, being the youngest, she doesn’t remember most of them. “Do you remember this person, she would babysit you when we lived in Kodiak?” or “You loved hanging out with these friends in Kentucky”. No, she has no memory, not of the people in the pictures or of the place, which is a reminder that I should have stayed in closer contact after we moved away. Perhaps I should have kept the memories alive by pulling these pictures out more often, instead of packing them away in a box, putting the duty station behind us, never to be revisited until another PCS forces us to go through the boxes again.

I’ve sorted some of the pictures so that each of the kids can have the memories of past duty stations that were so much a part of their lives. The pictures that show not only the events, and the places they occurred, but the people involved, whether they remember them or not. Perhaps the pictures will trigger memories, or maybe they will talk to each other about them seeing who remembers what. Hopefully, they will learn from them, and as they transfer from one station to the next, they will keep the memories alive for their children, so as they grow their children will remember those that influenced their growing up years.

The movers come on Monday and another duty station with its memories will be put in boxes. I’ll have to remember to bring them out more often.