Lemoore, CA - Fallon, NV - Newport, RI - Great Lakes, IL....and back again

Spent the last few weeks traveling around to different leadership schools. From Lemoore traveled to Fallon, NV for the Senior Officer Course, then to Newport, Rhode Island for the Command Leadership School, then for a quick two day trip to Great Lakes, Illinois to visist the Navy's Recruit Training Center (where all our new recruits go through basic training). The top picture is us eating lunch with some of the recruits during their fourth week of training (the training is 8 weeks long). They get only 12 minutes to eat each meal and aren't allowed normally to talk to anyone while eating, so it was a challenge to get them to open up about how their training was going. The second and third picture are of a graduation ceremony where ~800 Sailors graduated from basic training to be sent to their A schools (initial training in rate) or to the Fleet. (Third pic is just of the Texas and Alaska flags beside each other with the US flag in the background - couldn't resist that pic). Great Lakes graduates about 40,000 Navy Sailors each year - a fast and efficient operation. The last pic is of the carrier Saratoga - decommissioned and moored in Newport awaiting disposition. Some carriers will be turned into museums after decommissioning, others will be sunk and turned into underwater reefs. I think the Saratoga is set to become a museum somewhere.

Scenic Newport

Pics from while I was in Newport, Rhode Island for Command Leadership School last week. The last one is of the Naval War College with the Newport Bridge in the background. Lots of scenic picture opportunities around the Naval Station there. Jolene will have to come with me to get professional quality pictures next time I pass through Rhode Island. Reminded me a little of Annapolis.

What does Daddy eat while he's away....

Landon asked me a few weeks ago what I eat when Momma and Grammie aren't there to cook? I thought it was a good question. So Landon, here's some examples of what I eat. The middle few pics are of baby tako (octopus) which I'll eat anytime I'm somewhere that sells it (along with a pic of my famous "octopus squirming to escape being eaten" trick). Didn't get a pic of the massive amount of salmon and tuna sushi I ate while in Newport, but that's also a favorite dish if I have a sushi chef nearby. The bottom picture is what I cook when back in Lemoore - there's a grill outside my room at the BOQ and each Sunday I'll grill up enough chicken drumsticks and sliced potatos to last me through the week. Thank goodness for modern marvels like "I can't believe it's not butter" and "salt substitute" to help it go down. So there you have it, that's what Daddy eats when I'm away from home! I've been away for 4 months now. It's gone fast since I've been traveling so much, and Skype has been a big help in keeping in touch with home. Jolene will be traveling to Reno in a couple of weeks to meet me there for the Tailhook Convention. Then, later in September I'll be flying back to Alaska for a couple weeks of leave. Meanwhile, more flying and training here in Lemoore.

EDIT: Added a pic of my after-workout snack of crackers w/ peanut butter and bannana, and another pic of some of the sushi available here in Lemoore - not as good as the sushi we made from the salmon we catch out of the nearby creek in Alaska, but better than nothing.