Camera Numero Cinque

WOOOHOOOO, we are in Wichata Falls TX for the Divisional Air Force Sergeant's Association Conference and it's FUN!!!!!

Yes, here we sit in the Hotel from Hell!  What do I mean by that, well let me explain.

We arrived here a few days ago and we are already on room number 5 (Camera Numero Cinque)....yes you read that CORRECTLY...room number 5!!!!  So let me give you the run down of the room situation...

Room # 1 (302 Already Lived In) - it all started with the first room when we checked in.  We head to the 3rd floor with a room overlooking the indoor pool and jacuzzi...it looked awesome.  When we opened the door, we found that the room was "lived in"!  What does that mean????  Well, there was trash in the trash can and the room was lived in with the towel "pre used".   I guess they just wanted to make us to fill "at home"!

So we headed back down to the front desk to "request" another room.

Room # 2 (322 No A/C) - We checked in and everything seemed to be OKAY!  So we turned on the A/C and headed off for the icebreaker only to come back about 2 hours later to a HOT room...yes, HOT!  The A/C was NOT working properly and it had been on HIGH for over 2 hours.  So, here I go again, back to the front desk for them to give me Room #3 on the first night.

Upon giving me my new keys to room #3, I moved all of our baggage and clothes by myself.  MrsBlue was enjoying herself at the icebreaker.  However, when I was almost done, MrsBlue came looking for me since so many people were asking where I had disappeared to.  She kept telling them I must have received a call or something related to work!!!  No, I was just changing rooms.
Room # 3 - (355 Another A/C problem #2) - We moved into this room since it had, I repeat, HAD a funcational A/C unit which we could control.  This room had A/C but also included a little bit of some other stuff...I couldn't believe the holes in the walls and the mold under the vanity...

However, that wasn't going to last very long.  At about 0500 this morning, the A/C unit acted like our alarm clock or Rooster to notify us it was time to get up.  So I did...get up and TURN OFF the A/C.  So we decided to leave the A/C off for the day and give it a rest.  However, when we returned this afternoon after the conference, we found that the A/C would not turn back on!  You heard that right....we wore out the A/C unit in one night!  We like it cold, but one day!!!!!  How could this be happening?  So, we once again we decided to give the hotel another chance for the maintenance to FIX the issue.  We headed to dinner and some Casino time and returned a few (about 3) hours later only to find NOTHING had been done.  When I called down to the front desk, they had moved us to another room (Room #4) and left the keys in the room...however, no note, no info, no message on the room voice mail....nothing.  Only after I called the front desk did they tell me that the keys were "somewhere" in the room.   After a little "hide and seek", I located the New Room keys and we decided to do some Recon before making the move with all of the bags.  Off to Room #4 we headed...

Room # 4 - (308 Smelly room...musty for sure with an pungent odor) - It didn't take long for us to realize that Room #4 wasn't going to work.  MrsBlue thought she "smelled" something as we approached the room.  But once we opened the door, we knew this would NOT work.  So here I go again...headed to the front desk one more time.

Room #5 - (259 working A/C for now) - We arrived at around 2230 at the NEW room.  The A/C works (for now) and the room is somewhat "clean"!  At least we can take off our shoes on the carpet!  Let's hope the room is good enough for the next two nights!

So once again, the Adventures in Blue continues.

If you get a chance to stay in Wichita Falls Texas...look no further than the HoJo!!!! NOT!  Please pass it and go somewhere else!

Triangle K

What a sight to see!
Today, we are at Sheppard AFB Texas for the AFSA Divisional Conference and we decided to drive around the base. What a surprise to see a B52 with the Triangle K tail flash.
While we didn't have B52s in the 379th while I was there, they were a part of the wing during Desert Storm. So this aircraft must have been one of the BUFFs that struck fear into the Iraqi Army with loads of bombs to drop on them.
This plane had the vertical stab with the desert colors...how cool. But the Triangle K was a real treat to see.

Day 2 GTown

WooooHoooo...another day of starting the day off RIGHT!!!! Surfing :)

We woke up this morning in our hotel on the seawall of Galveston Island and low and behold the surf looked nice. A little on shore wind which turned to off shore. Also, at 59th street pier/jetty made a difference.

I started with a little bump on the northside of the jetty, but several other surfers were on the southside. It wasn't bad, but nothing special! So after a little break (it's been a little while since I surfed and the arms are spaghetti), I headed over to the other side if the pier.

Wowza, what a difference! The pier really cleaned up the bump and it was regular. With the pier and a regular swell coming in, I was in heaven...this is what retirement needs to be like! A morning walking with MrsBlue on the beach followed closely by a little surfing and then relaxing in the afternoon.

While some would say the 3d coast isn't that great for surfing, it's hit the spot the 2 times I've been.

The only drawback is...I realized I'm out of surfing shape. This means I need to head to the gym for some Surf Specific exercises (back and arms). I also need to work on the Twitching Muscles!!! I need to be able to paddle FAST! It didn't take me long to realize I'm a lazy surfer...let the wave do the action!!!!

Tomorrow is another day...hopefully I'll get tomorrow and Sunday in before heading back to LA!!!

"O"fer

After some great swell predictions, I went O for 4 with getting in the water at SPI. It was so disorganized and like a washing machine with LOTS of soap. So I decided it BEST to not drown on the first few days of our Spring Break...MrsBlue and LilBlue would not have been happy to spend time in the hospital or morgue...

However, after 4 days of watching the waves, we arrived a Gtown and some decent swell (more my size and fun size).

So, MrsBlue "allowed" me to get my stoke and hit the water...

Mahalo MrsBlue...it made carrying the surfboard some 1200 miles worth it :)

\m/

SpringBreak SPI

Look at the view from the room!!!!

MrsBlue did GOOD!!!!

Surfboard status update

As I was looking at the bottom surface of the board, I spar was OFF!  So this caused my board to be OFF!  So tried to disassemble it at the tip and it "broke" on me!  Not good.  So I spent all week "playing" with it to fix...but didn't get it to where I wanted it.  So now I'm on VaCaTx and it'll have to wait until I return.  Hopefully, I can straighen it up a little before I decide to put the planks on.

Oh well, at least this week I will get a little wave action.  My timing appears to be OFF (again) and we aren't going to be at the best spots at the best time.  Corpus Christie has some good swells predicted for Tuesday and Wednesday, but we'll be here on Sunday and Monday.  At South Padre Island same luck...off by a day or two.  So I may get some crappy waves, but at least they are waves.

Getting STOKED for some wave action...no matter how good or bad they are!

Vaca

Here's the start ;)

Surf(ace) of the Board

It*s starting to look like a surfboard!!! I wasn't sure I would ever get to this stage of the buildup, but here I am.

It's going to look awesome once I get the top planks on and glued into place. Right now I'm looking for some wood to cut and put on the board. Not sure if I'll add some color with other types of wood or go with one type (right now popular is winning out),.

However, I have stopped by the wood hobby shop on base and they are going to let me use the table saw to cut some strips. We'll see how that turns out. I'm not sure I'm ready for using the Correct tools since the previous parts of the build have been done in the garage with simple hand tools (power and not so much). The best tool I like is the hand planer...it does some great work with very little effort.

Look out you groms, the old man on a short board will be hitting surf alongside you very soon !!!

Memories

Today, I received this very funny photo. It's so my life as the ManInBlue! Yes, GRASS is something I am very worried about. I know who would've thunkit. So now you know that NO, it's not planes flying, people deploying or how many bombs we build...but grass and trash!

The truth is out...

So today when I received this photo, it made me laugh and laugh very hard and out loud! The life of a ManInBlue...it's so much more then you imagined isn't it? Now go cut that grass!

Five Guys -- Now OPEN

I'm HERE!!! Finally, LA has a great burger joint! I just went on a hunch today and drove over that way...luck to find the burger place open for business. So, of course U stopped.

Can't wait to take MrsBlue for a Good Ol' Fashion burger in LA...