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!