Alaska Trip...A visit to the base...

Now, let me see if I can get our first full day of fun recorded before I forget everything, or before my computer starts acting up again. It took me 24 hours to post the last blog. Very frustrating.

Again, I see my pics are in reverse order and for some strange reason...the vertical ones didn't flip. I wish I was better at all of this. Oh well, I try. At least this time I am going to try and edit as I go, then maybe I can get this posted sooner. I had to edit and reedit my last post several times. One of these days I will get it all right on the first attempt.

This is Saturday morning, it is 0820 here (1230 NC time), the boys are still sleeping and I have been up for over an hour. So much for sleeping in everyday. I have made a pot of coffee and actually have the computer working correctly (I think) and hopefully, will get to finish this post about what all we did on Friday.

We started out our Friday fairly late, in my opinion. It was after 9 before we got up and going. But that's ok, it had been a long night and day before, and Patrick really hadn't had much sleep. So the first place we went was to Ft. Wainwright to see all the places on post that Steven goes. It is a very large base overall, but the actual parts they occupy are all fairly close together and very confusing to find. Sort of like Ft Knox. It's very easy to get lost. Steven showed us so many different things there is no way to keep them all straight...but that's ok, I don't really need to remember where everything is anyway. One of the most impressive buildings was the new hospital. It is big and very non military looking. It might be interesting to see the inside of it at some point, not sure if we will get the chance or not.

We went to his barracks and got the tour of his room, which took all of 10 min. We met some of his buddies, they are all very nice guys, friendly and polite. I would expect nothing less for our countries finest. His room is nice, it was fairly clean. I later learned that his new girlfriend helped him clean before we arrived. I got to meet her too, but that comes later. He has a small kitchen and bathroom that he shares with another soldier, but they have seperate locked rooms for sleeping and such. It is pretty much like a dorm room. They have a microwave and coffee maker, fridge and sink. No stove or toaster, so all the foods they eat have to be microwavable. I imagine that gets old after a while.

After seeing his room, we headed outside to see the ponds that are totally frozen over. It was not too cold, I just had on a hoodie and jeans and was quite comfortable. The boys threw rocks on the pond to see who could get theirs to slide all the way across. I think Steven won. Then we drove over to the Memorial Gardens to see the markers for those who did not come back from Iraq, a few of them were in his unit and good buddies. It is a very nice location, right on the edge of one of the ponds. Steven says it looks nicer in the spring and summer. But it was very surreal for me. I pray for those families who have lost loved ones.

Our next stop was the commissary and grocery store. Steven wanted me to make the rice cassarole I make at home all the time. He just loves it, so we got all the needed ingredients and luckily, it's cold enough that we could leave them in the car while we went bowling. We bowled 2 games, Patrick won the first and Steven the second. I did manage to get 2 strikes in a row, but buckled under the pressure of getting the third. Never fails, I always manage to do that sort of thing. We had a great time bowling, I just love my crazy boys. The only thing that would have made the time better, was if the whole family could have been there. I sure do miss my girls.

After bowling, we came back to the room. I tried to get my computer working right so I could finish the post I had started earlier, Patrick slept, and Steven watched a little TV and texted his girlfriend, Demi. She came over and we all went ice skating. She is very nice, a student at the Univ of Alaska studying sports medicine. She wants to be a trainer/physical therapist for sports teams. I think she was a little nervous about meeting me, but she had no reason to be, I like her very much. We actually have several things in common and she is very personable. When I say we all went ice skating, I actually mean...all the kids went skating. I don't ice skate. I can barely walk down stairs without falling, there is no way I will got on razor thin blades on a slick surface and not fall on my ass. Soooo, I watched and took pictures and they skated. Steven has been going a lot and is really good. He is learning how to play ice hockey and loves it. Patrick started off a little nervous but caught on quickly and did pretty well. He really did have a good time, I think.

We all came back to the room, after a quick run to....guess where Mom? You got it...WAL MART. My mom likes to tease me about all the time I spend in Wally World. It just wouldn't feel right if I didn't make at least one trip to the Fairbanks Walmart. I needed to get a few things, like hair gel that really works ( the travel one I brought just doesn't have the umph I need for the style I like). So we picked up some gel and a few other items and headed back to the room to fix dinner. That was an experience. There are a few dishes in the room, but much smaller than the ones I use at home, so cooking was a bit of a challenge. I managed fine and didn't make too much of a mess and dinner was delicious. Demi even liked it. Steven was happy and that's all I was aiming for anyway.

After dinner, I again tried to get my computer working right and finally gave up. It wasn't until this morning that I think I finally got things figured out. Anyway, I layed down at some point, not sure what time it was because I am all screwed up time wise, and I fell asleep, clothes and all. I did finally get up and get dressed for bed and went back to sleep. I had a lot of weird dreams and that is disturbing, but hopefully I can shake them off today. Not bad dreams, just weird.

Today we are going to see the Pipeline. It should be interesting. I look forward to seeing more of Alaska, and hopefully getting some good pictures. We will end up back here in the room to play cards or games of some type and have pizza for dinner. It has the promise of a fun day. Stay tuned for more...

(Patrick on hockey skates, learning how to stay up. He did very well actually.)

(Steven bowling at Nugget Lanes, on base.)

(Steven's barracks, his is the first in a row of identical buildings.)

(The entrance of Ft. Wainwright, home of the Arctic Wolves.)