Maine, Shannon and Kuwait

I have finally made it to Kuwait and it is very hot. It is like taking a blow dryer and turning it on high while holding it 6 inches from you face...all the time. With that being said, it isn't that bad. When a country gets blown up they will tend to have new things like roads and buildings. I suppose I can thank Saddam for that.

I have been up for the better part of 60 hours and it looks like I will hit 72. Sleep has been very difficult at every stop but hopefully I will make it to my "bed" soon so that I can rest up. We made a couple of stops on the way over and the first was in Bangor, Maine. I have never been to Maine before and it was beautiful. When we got there we were met by a huge USO group and as we walked into the airport they clapped and shook all of our hands. I have never been that flattered in my life. They had free cell phones to use so that you could call home and they had all sorts of snack and books for us to take with us. It was nice to be treated so well and I believe that the USO will be getting a donation from me.

Our next stop was in Shannon, Ireland and it was also fantastic. I kept talking to the workers in the airport just so I could hear them talk. It took everything in me not to say, "Top of the morning to ya." And we wonder why people are not that fond of us :) The coolest thing that I saw in Shannon was at the main bar (which I did not order from....seriously, it killed me but I didn't). At this bar there was a machine that had a dozen different bottles of whiskey on tap so that the bartenders could easily dispense whiskey. I was in heaven and couldn't partake! I know where I will be going on vacation in the next few years.

Our last stop was in Kuwait and we flew across Europe and down through Saudi Arabia and briefly over the Persian Gulf (which is absolutely gorgeous). We flew into Kuwait City and then bused over to Ali Al Salem (A-le-a-sa-leem...that is the phonetic pronunciation). I got to experience my first convoy! It was exciting but I am hoping it will be my last convoy. We were taken from Kuwait City by bus and we had a convoy with us so that we were safe and secure. And we were. Kuwait hasn't been that bad besides the heat. It is definitely sandy and rocky but thankfully I am going to be departing here in the next couple of hours for an even worse place. It still boggles my mind that I step outside and I see troops taking off in a helicopter and they are hanging out so that they can jump down at a moments notice. This has been a very humbling experience thus far and very eye opening. I have a new appreciation for what our troops do and I haven't even gotten to Leatherneck yet.

I have a boatload of pictures. Some I was allowed to take and others I was not. I will post some on Facebook but if you want to see them all then you will have to come over when I get back. For the first time I can say that I can't do something because of national security reasons.