OldSkool2010: MI & WV

OldSkool2010: Part 2.2
(to Michigan & West Virginia)

After a weekend in Minnesota (and Renee's 25th high school reunion), we headed to my birthplace of Paw Paw, Michigan. But first we stopped in Chicagoland, where we met fellow milblogger Zenpundit (aka Mark Safranski) and his wife Lisa for lunch. Zen is a teacher and historian, and he came bearing gifts for my Antilibrary: Sebastian Junger's War and Dick Couch's Sheriff of Ramadi.


Once in Michigan, we had many reunions with family members. "Kupuna" (great-grandmother to Shelby, Jarrett and Sophie, and a World War II-era Marine) is as spry as ever -- crawling on the floor with Sophie then doing a deep-knee bend to stand back up.


The cousins gathered at Great-Aunt Kerry's (and what a great aunt she is!)...


All of my southwest Michigan relatives came for dinner:


We also paid a visit to Lake View Hospital, where I was born:


After two nights in Michigan, we braved the turnpikes of Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania -- shelling out more than $30.00 for the day's drive to West Virginia and the Acker home. Denise, Tim and their kids were neighbors in Chesapeake, Virginia back in the day:



In Chapter 2.3, OldSkool2010 returns to the Commonwealth of Virginia.

OldSkool2010: MSP

OldSkool2010: Part 2.1 (Minnesota)

After our San Diego trip, we had a couple weeks at home before "OldSkool-Part 2" launched off. After a 1,000+ mile drive in a single day, compounded by losing an hour as we crossed from Mountain Time into Central, Renee paid a visit to the ol' Cell Block, Blaine High School.


Of course, this was in preparation for her 25th High School Reunion. The ladies all looked fab-u-lous:


Gramme took Sophie on many walks through the garden:


Sophie also got to play with Godmother Joelle and her boys, Mateo and Max. Of course, Sophie laid claim to the pink-and-purple soccer ball!


Jarrett with Godfather Kirk:


Sophie's third cousin Ian was not at all shy around girls....


Since Bro-in-Law Kirk is a many-time World Beer Tourist at Old Chicago, we had to complete the local summer mini-tour (featuring the beers of August Schell).


Mission Accomplished!


Another mission accomplished: I visited my 50th state!


A very nice -- albeit brief -- visit! Next up, OldSkool2010 rolls to Michigan and West Virginia!

OldSkool2010: SoCal Reunions

OldSkool2010: Part 1.3 (Reunions)

We were able to catch up with many friends, family members and former neighbors during our month in San Diego -- some of them at the beach!


A colleague from Renee's paralegal days, Kathleen, happened to work in the same building where my class was taking place. She brought extra boogie boards so Jarrett and Shelby could ride the waves at Breakers Beach on Naval Air Station-North Island (the same beach as the famous Hotel Del Coronado, with less people):


Sand Mermaid:


Jarrett got to spend lots of time with his godmother, Andra:


And Shelby got to visit godfather Chip in his law offices in downtown San Diego:


Shelby also got to see godmother Lynne:


Renee's Dad and his wife Sandi came up from Baja California Norte to join us for a pool party with the Hurst family:



And my folks came down from the Bay Area, spending well over a week in San Diego -- plenty of time for visits to the Zoo and LEGOland!



(The LEGOland picture above is from the "Mars Mission" pre-briefing, where Jarrett got to program an RCX LEGO robot to perform various tasks -- rescuing astronauts, recovering rock samples and launching the saved astronauts back to Earth.)

My cousin Ryan graduated from high school while we were in town, so we got to celebrate at the world-famous Potato Shack in Encinitas:


Shelby & Casey, who are only a few weeks apart in age, are growing up wayyyyy too fast....


Casey's dad Kent showed Jarrett and me the labs at his company, BioLegend, in the Golden Triangle:


The Limberg family, neighbors from our first home together in Renaissance-La Jolla:


Russ Vorce, aka "The Coach", who was my field team manager during my Science Advisor tour at Marine Corps Forces Pacific in the late 1990s, had an ample supply of martinis:


Current MDA colleague Scott Ziemke was in San Diego for a conference. We met in the Gaslamp Quarter for pints:


So much socializing wore the Peanut out:


After a great month, we returned home via Utah and Interstate-70. If Mars had Interstates, this is what they would look like....


Next up: OldSkool2010 Part 2, into the Midwest and MidAtlantic!

OldSkool2010: Gator Freighter

OldSkool2010: Part 1.2 (Gator)

One of my classmates at Defense Acquisition U. (the purpose of this June trip to America's Finest City) is a department head aboard USS MAKIN ISLAND (LHD-8), the newest "gator freighter" in the fleet. He sponsored a tour for us -- it's not often that you get to see a U.S. Navy ship with only one coat of paint..... So we invited J-man's Godmother Andra and her husband Brad (a retired USMC Gunnery Sergeant) to join us for a Saturday tour.

At Pier 8, aboard the 32nd Street Naval Station, USS MAKIN ISLAND was moored next to USS BOXER (LHD-4). BOXER has amassed an impressive set of campaign ribbons and honors -- including three crossed-cutlass pirate skulls beneath her "Battle 'E's" from her rotation with Combined Task Force 151 (CTF-151):


Since MAKIN ISLAND is newly commissioned, she has not yet garnered the same accolades.

The quarterdeck is on the hangar deck, with generous acknowledgment of the senior member of our class (a U.S. Navy Captain) by the Officer of the Deck.


As an "Amphibious Assault Ship / Landing Dock" (LHD class), MAKIN ISLAND is designed to fill its aft area (called the "Well Deck") with water and lower a ramp to allow USMC assault vehicles and hovercraft to exit for maneuver to their objectives. Jarrett and my classmate Tyler check out the Well Deck:


Cap'n Sophie!


Sophie mans the helm:


Sophie and Andra at the Quarterdeck:


Andra checks out Marine berthing. Yes, that three-high bunk bed is where they live for more than six months at a time.... Their only personal storage is in the cabinet beneath their mattress:


Old Glory waves over San Diego Bay, with the Coronado Bridge in the background:


Next up: Family Reunions in San Diego.

OldSkool2010: Schoolin'

OldSkool2010: Part 1.1 (School)

Our three-part OldSkool2010 adventure began on Memorial Day (May 31st), when we set off for San Diego, California. San Diego is a special place for us: Renee and I both began our careers there (in 1990, about six miles apart) but didn't meet for another three years. Our wedding was downtown, at the U.S. Grant Hotel, and our eldest Shelby was born at Sharp-Mary Birch. My ultimate destination: the Defense Acquisition University Western Campus, located at the old Anti-Submarine Warfare Training Base between Shelter Island and Harbor Island:

Since my class was a full month in length, this trip included the whole family. En route to San Diego, we stopped for lunch in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where we were pleased to be joined by a very spontaneous Cheryl Rofer (a fellow milblogger whom I had never met in person, and who had all of 20 minutes' warning that we were passing through at lunchtime):

As we passed through the reservations of Arizona, Jarrett explored some cliffs:


Finally, after nearly two days on the road and over 1,200 miles, we arrived at our hotel: the Homewood Suites on the grounds of the old Naval Training Center-San Diego (and easy walking distance to England Hall, where my DAU class was held). This hotel was literally right next door to the USS RECRUIT:


The view from our top-floor corner suite:


Alas, it was not to last.... We did not have a house-sitter to tend to our six pets (two cats and four chinchillas), so we left the chinchillas with a friend and brought the two cats with us. Since our local Homewood Suites is pet-friendly, and since I indicated our traveling cats in the text portion of our online reservation (made in February), I figured there'd be no problem. We checked in, lugged a month's worth of luggage to the top floor, and I returned to the front desk to make housekeeping arrangements due to the cats. To quote Scooby Doo, "Ruh roh!"

It turns out that (1) this particular Homewood Suites is a "Zero Tolerance" facility with respect to pets, (2) that each Homewood Suites is free to make their own decisions on this seemingly important policy, (3) that text entries in online reservations are only provided to the hotel on the day of arrival, (4) and the online reservation system of Homewood Suites only holds text-entered comments for 90 days. To their credit, the Asst. General Manager had his staff make an identical reservation for us at the Marriott Residence Inn three miles away, allowed us to stay that first night, and let us have a late (5pm) checkout the next day.

The new room with a view (albeit not in easy walking distance of class):


Fortunately, we were able to decompress with some quick socializing. Our dear friends the Baldwins were hosting a birthday party for their son Isaac (aka IZ). Sophie does love cake....


And Sophie likes hanging with cool guys like Larry:


And then there are bubbles....


We also got to reunite with the hippest jazz vocalist in the southland, Allison, who was performing with her trio at the Marriott Coronado Island Resort prior to embarking on a Europe-to-Asia world tour:


A great start to the summer, with many wonderful reunions!

Next up, DAU visits the fleet's newest "Gator Freighter", USS MAKIN ISLAND (LHD-8).