My Mississippi Pictures

One Mississippi...

When the time came for our family to leave Hawaii last year, we had a choice of two places to go: Vance Air Force Base or Keelser Air Force Base in Mississippi. Since Keesler was still recovering from Hurricane Katrina (which hit it full on in 2005 and practically leveled the base), we ended up going to Oklahoma. Since then, the Air Force and the local residents have dedicated themselves to rebuilding the base and making it better than ever; I was excited to get the chance to visit and see the results of all their hard work.

Miss Grace was waiting anxiously for me to arrive in Biloxi and she wasted no time in liberating me from my box! She had planned lots of fun stuff for us to do (after I rested a bit from my long trip, of course). First up, was a visit to Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park. Yes, Yogi, Cindy and Boo boo really live there and I can understand why after seeing all the fun things there are to do. They had camp grounds, pools, fishing, mini golf (okay, it wasn’t quite mini enough for me), volleyball, a theater, a playground, Bingo and my favorite thing of all…crafts! Grace helped me out so I managed to be creative and keep clean all at the same time! They have Jellystone Parks all over the country; if there is one near you, be sure to visit.

I got to see lots of Biloxi (including the WalMart, which made me kind of homesick since it looked just like ours) even though it rained and rained and rained. I especially enjoyed my long awaited trip to Keesler Air Force Base. In fact, I got to be honorary commander of the 336^th Training Squadron, also known as the Red Wolves! (They have the coolest patch. I got my picture taken by the sign so you could all see it.) That was no easy job, either, since the 336^th trains more than 6,000 students a year from all branches of the U.S. active duty and reserve military as well as civilians and military from overseas. It’s a job that requires lots and LOTS of coffee. (According to Miss K’s dad, everyone gets a ginormous coffee cup when they graduate from Command School.)

I was sad to leave Miss Grace and go on to Georgia but I left just in time – Hurricane Gustav is headed their way and this weekend families and non-essential personnel have been evacuated from Keesler. I will be watching the news and praying that all my new friends and everyone at the base and the surrounding area stays safe and weathers the storm. Please keep everyone in the path of the hurricane in your prayers!

My New Mexico Pictures

Hello from The Land of Enchantment

I was a little worried when I found out I was going to visit an Air Force Base in New Mexico, since Miss K’s dad gets a really funny look on his face when he talks about “being held captive in southern New Mexico for six years.” (Supposedly, the only thing that made life worth living then was “his baby.” I thought he meant Miss K or one of her sisters but it turns out they weren’t born yet and the baby was an F-117A, which I’m pretty sure is an airplane. It’s a guy thing.) I got lucky, though, and didn’t have to go to Holloman Air Force Base; instead I visited Cannon Air Force Base near Clovis, New Mexico! Cannon is the home of the Air Force Special Operations Command.

Miss K’s sister is a big fan of Josefina and I can’t wait to tell her all about New Mexico! It is so beautiful, with rose coloured deserts, snowy mountains, and rivers, including the Rio Grande. I got to see sagebrush, cacti (that’s the plural of cactus…cool, huh?), and yuccas.

I was lucky enough to get to make a trip up to Albuquerque with my host family for a swim meet at Kirtland Air Force Base. Jess and I hung out together and cheered and had a great time. Then Jess talked me into taking a ride on the Sandia Peak Tramway, the world's longest passenger aerial tramway, which goes from the edge of Ablbuquerque up, up, UP over 3,800 feet to the top of the mountain. The view was incredible; you can see Albuquerque and 11,000 miles of the New Mexico countryside. It was a little scary, being up so high in a little car held up by a few cables, but it was worth it for the view!

Back in Clovis, Jess and Kit took me to Ned Houk Memorial Park to look for buffalo! We found the donkeys right away (or rather, they found us, then wandered off when they realized we didn’t have any food) but the buffalo took a little longer – and we didn’t get nearly as close! We got our picture taken together in a Zia, too. You see lots of the Zia, a sun symbol of the Zia people, here in New Mexico; there is even one on the state flag. The four lines extending from the ring represent the four directions (north, south, east, west); the four seasons (spring, summer, winter, fall); times of the day (dawn, noon, evening and night); the four stages of life (childhood, youth, adulthood and old age). The circle represents life and love, without beginning, without end. Isn’t that neat? My kind of symbol.

I also got to spend lots of time in the gym while I was here and got gymnastics lessons from one of the girls in my host family. (She placed 5^th in trampoline at Nationals so I got some great tips from her and got to try out a trampoline that was just my size.) I can understand why Ivy loves gymnastics so much. Flying through the air and standing on your head (okay, my teacher gave me a little spot, but still, I loved it!) is so much fun!

I had the best time here and know now why they call New Mexico the Land of Enchantment. I hope I’ll get to come back someday!