This is Chris Cunningham, who's also in my reserve unit. This is the view I had from Baltimore to Germany to Italy to my desintation in the Middle East. Chris had to continue on north...
This is a view of the passenger holding area at the air terminal at Aviano AB. The Chief's Spouses' group served up homemade pasta and chili, with tons of snacks, drinks (hot and cold) and magazines, books and activities for us. It was really wonderful...
This is the view from Aviano Air Base, Italy...
It's so gorgeous, here, you can look at it again....
...and again!
This is the plane that took me from Baltimore to my base here. I was sitting near the front, which I guess was the most quiet part of this particular plane...
"The Bra", which I already wrote about...
This is what the brand new "Cadillac" latrine facilities look like on the inside. I'd liken it to the locker room at the fitness center Dave and I were members of in NC.
A bank of hair dryers, which is nice because the voltage is different over here...
One of the showers...
This is Chris Cunningham and me a couple hours before he got on a transport to head further north. Paul pointed out the civilian in the background wearing a red jacket...YES, there are many civilians and contractors here on our base.
There's a mini-fridge in the room, but behind the fridge is a bed standing on its end. I made arrangements to get 2 of the 4 beds in my room removed, and my boss here was impressed that I got it done. My two predecesors allegedly tried, but didn't get the request approved.
There are two wall lockers...all my stuff fits into one of them, but I'm being a diva and spread it among both lockers. I can't open the right door of the locker on the left, they're squeezed to tightly together. You can see the pics of my boys hanging up there, too.
I'm on the night shift, so I'm very grateful for the light-blocking curtain. And the air conditioner...even though it's not super-hot, the room gets warm during the day. On the right you see ANOTHER bed standing up on its side. I'm currently negotiating to have 2 of the 4 beds removed.
All my clothing is in this locker, my non-clothing is in the other one (books, snacks, extra alarm clocks...)
A couple of the trailers that house the dorm rooms like the one I'm in. Each of those windows is one room. Yeah, we're packed in there well...
On the left edge are dorm trailers, on the right are the Cadillacs: the latrine/shower facilities. The foreground one is an "old" Cadillac, from when the base first stood up, but the brown more permanant building in the background is among the first set of "new" Cadillacs. The new one further back is the one I use, YAY! The earlier bathroom pictures are from the new one.
This is the BX: yeah, they're tents. All the shopping on the old side of the base is near here, and I love how close I am to it! There are numerous native vendors selling rugs, jewelry and other...uh...souvenirs from here.
You walk along this sidewalk from the older part of the base to the newer part. I'm living in the older part because I'm not staying that long. The newer stuff is reserved for those who have to stay much longer than me. It's about 3/4 mile. The tallest building in the background is the new BX/Community Center.
Yep...scenic.
What's THIS? Yeah...you REALLY don't have to worry about me here! I'm all set...
For those who know of my weakness for Popeye's Red Beans and Rice...you know how happy I am about this!
I'm not photographing the inside of this place because we're not supposed to photograph any foreigners working in there,but this is a brand new BX and I have to admit, it's nicer than the one at Seymour-Johnson AFB...our nearest BX when we were living in North Carolina. The folks here are very well taken care of...
The new gym. Just opened this summer.
This is the "new" gym.
It may as well be Lifetime Fitness!
Bring your headphones, they have "Broadcast Vision" in there, and we get Foxnews, CNN, ESPN and movie channels over here!
Spinning, anyone?
Aerobics...
This is our water here. One size, it's the only water in my dorm area that's approved for consumption, so I'd better like it!
Combat Crocs!!!! I am allowed to wear this with my physical fitness gear only. Not my duty uniform, of course.
My uniform when it comes back from the laundry service here.
Here's my laundry bag.
This is how the rest of the clothes came back to me...in a somewhat-vacuum-sealed bag.
You can see who's doing our laundry...that must be a nice contract for them.
Each article of clothing has this cloth sticker on it, which stresses the fabric when you rip it off, and the ink seeps through onto the fabric. I made a point to leave my nice clothes at home.
Here's my rarely-made bed...the linens are provided by the laundry people.
I got the extra bunk beds out and was able to nicely arrange my room. I got plenty of hooks with which I can hang up my uniforms or PT gear.
My top bunk = my junk stash! The circle in the middle there is a mirror left in the room, on the left is a radio that was left in here. We get AFN radio, but it's strange here...the DJs can't talk about much (not allowed, probably), so they just announce the music, that's it. I don't remember the last time DJs were that basic.
Hooah! I asked a guy to take my picture, and if he could include the flags. He didn't take it vertical though.
So here's a better picture of me in uniform in the desert. That's about how colorful it gets around here...and yes, my hat makes me look like Gilligan or Inspector Gadget. They're strict about our not being allowed to roll up the sides of the "Boonie Hats" anymore.
This is a "media viewing room" at the library on the base. Dave gave me the Planet Earth DVD box set for Christmas and I've been coming over here to watch episodes. You sign up for the room w/ 2 hour intervals, but there's no door. So I can hear the Ashton Kucher comedy next door blaring during this.
Just like at home, I even have my crochet project!
This is what the community center (WiFi hotspot) looks like on a Saturday night here -- everyone is trying to webcam with their families.
People are even sitting on the floor of the lobby, taking advantage of the outlets. This is where I parked myself briefly this evening.
