This year I have been honored to represent Coast Guard spouses as Military Spouse Magazine's 2011 Coast Guard Military Spouse of the Year.  I have tried to be their voice, raising awareness that not only is the Coast Guard a military entity, but that Coast Guard spouses are responsible for a multitude of awesome accomplishments for their fellow spouses and the communities in which they live.  I've also had the opportunity to meet and become friends with some wonderful military spouses within the Coast Guard community and those of the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines, to which we have found a similarity in issues we all face as military spouses regardless of service.

Fellow branch winners: Crystal, Bianca, Megan and
Robert with our Capitol building tour guide

Now is your chance to honor another Coast Guard spouse.  Do you know a spouse that has went above and beyond to do something special for you or for others?  Is there a Coast Guard spouse that advocates for military families or for those in the community?  Do you know someone that you think is a role model for Coast Guard spouses? 

Don’t assume someone else will be that person to nominate them…If you know someone that you feel could represent and speak out for Coast Guard spouses as well as those military spouses in our sister services, please nominate them for Military Spouse Magazine’s 2012 Military Spouse of the Year.

Perhaps that Coast Guard spouse, whose plate is full of family, school, work, and charity will become not only next year’s Coast Guard Spouse of the Year, but also the 2012 Military Spouse of the Year…it cannot happen without your nomination.

Nominations can be submitted at www.milspouse.com/msoy through December 14th.  

The rest of our PCS to DC

Now that I have settled into my new home, the boxes are unpacked and I am becoming familiar not only with the base but have ventured out to various places off base, it is time to return to my blog…

My last post was about our day in Amarillo, TX. There is a reason that was the last post…from this point on we were busy with family and friends. It is one of the advantages that military families have that our civilian counterparts may not…we have connections everywhere!

On the 28th of August we stopped in Slidell, LA where we visited with friends and neighbors that had recently transferred the month before we did. We enjoyed a nice dinner with them and filled them in on things that had occurred since they had transferred.

From Slidell it was a short drive to Hurlburt Field, FL where we were able to stop for a few days and enjoy time spent with my son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren. We were able to go to the beach and play in the water with our grandchildren, see a little bit of the area and play with our grandchildren, and oh yea, play with our grandchildren.

During this time, my daughter, daughter-in-law and myself took a short trip to Fairhope, AL to meet and have lunch with some friends I had known for years and some I only knew online. It was again a nice break from our trip, getting a chance to not only reconnect but also to put faces to names I only knew from my computer screen.

But like any trip, times like these must pass and it was on the road again for us, this time we were taking a side trip to North Port, FL to visit with good friends and CG retirees that we met while in Juneau, AK. We enjoyed seeing the area they now called home and although it rained while we were there, we had a great time.

From here it was time to put our drive to rest, so we headed to the DC area stopping for the night just before Charlotte, NC. We arrived in Alexandria, VA on September 4th and checked into our hotel. We were fortunate and were able to check into housing on Fort Belvoir on September 9th and received our HHG’s on the 15th. Our boxes have all been unpacked (except for those in the garage) and things have been put in their place. It feels and looks like home again.

August 27; Day 6
Amarillo, Texas to Arlington, Texas

Its hot out…we were on the road before 8 am and already my car thermometer said it was 90 degrees out…of course Texas has had a run of triple digits temps so this isn’t unusual.

Our day was planned so we wouldn’t have to spend a long time on the road; we planned on having some fun. After 6 hours on the road we arrive at our hotel in Arlington, quickly bring everything in and head to why I chose this stop….Six Flags Over Texas!

If you love roller-coasters (which I do), you need to ride the new Texas Giant! That first drop is amazing, so we rode it twice. Although it was 106 degrees out, we were able to stay hydrated and enjoy the rides, saving the rapids for last (we figured a good dousing of water to cool down would be just what we needed before heading back to our hotel).

We finished our play and headed back to the hotel, tomorrow is another day and another state.

August 26; Day 5
Cortez, Colorado to Amarillo, Texas

“Amarillo by morning,” oh wait, we don’t want to get there by morning, we need to be there before evening!

Today we were planning on seeing Mesa Verde and the cliff dwellings, but because of the time crunch and the amount of time it takes to get to them from the park entrance, we decided to bypass this plan (we really wouldn’t be able to spend the appropriate amount of time to really enjoy the sites) and head on to Amarillo.

Because we didn’t have any touristy type of stops planned, we just drove and enjoyed the landscape of New Mexico…until it was time to stop for a break.

When we needed this vital stop, it just so happened that there was a nearby casino. Casinos are good stops for us as my husband collects casino chips. The first casino we stopped at (yes, we stopped more than once) we got their players card and were given $20 to play with we were also given t-shirts with the casino’s logo. My husband played and left with about $40 and I left with about $20. Not long after this stop we came to the Route 66 Casino, which became a must stop for chips and the collection. Here they didn’t give us money to play with when we signed up for their players card, instead they gave us each water bottles, a deck of cards and a pair of dice. Off my husband went to play a game and get his requisite chips for the collection and I headed to the slots to try my luck while I waited. My husband unfortunately lost his previous winnings, but I left with $60 of their money!

Because we didn’t want to be on the road too late, we quickly left and continued to our stop at the Best Western in Amarillo.

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……