The Traveling Pine

(Ross speaking)  Leah's coworkers and leadership have been great about giving her extra free time whenever possible, so that we can capitalize on our days together. Today was no exception, and they basically chased her out of the office mid day, insisting that they'd hold the fort down in her absence - awesome! This was a welcome surprise for me, though it did mean I had to get out of my pajamas and take a shower before noon - boo! The weather here has been chilly, gray, and rainy recently - not suitable for a whole lot of outdoor adventures - so we decided to find an afternoon of indoor activities instead. One of Leah's coworkers mentioned a large " Technik museum " a short drive away - sold! The drive was easy, and as usual I enjoyed the autobahn experience! The museum is large, plenty of exhibits, but is tossed together in a haphazard fashion. You might be reading up on a Panzer tank one minute, then turn the corner and see a dozen tractors and a display ca...

Merry Christmas everyone! (Ross speaking) I've been here for just over a week. The flight in was smooth and uneventful, other than arriving 90 minutes late for a 60 minute layover in Iceland. Luckily, many of the inbound planes were late, so the airline held all connecting flights until we could make it. WOW is definitely a "budget-friendly" Airline -aka- you pay for every little thing beyond the seat you sit in. Checked bag? charge. Carry-on? charge. Pick you own seat? charge. Peanuts or water? Yep, you get the picture! It was still cheaper than competitors even after all the nickel-and-diming, and I got here without incident, so I'm pleased! Thumbs up! The best part of the flight was seeing the northern lights after sundown. They first appeared real faint, I thought "meh" ... but after a few hours the whole horizon was glowing green. Magical! (Note: my camera couldn't capture it well, so the following photo is stolen from elsewhere on the internet!) ...

Travel Buddy! Cheeky learning deployed Finance Last week I had the opportunity to travel back to the states for a few days. A few folks from Ramstein and I, with Cheeky in tow, flew to Shaw AF Base in Sumter, SC. We were there to attend and help facilitate a refresher course for all Finance personnel that are preparing to deploy to various places around the world. We were there for our 6 specific folks that are going to be with me at Ramstein and down in Africa. It was a great opportunity to meet all the incoming people I'll be working with. Everyone finance wise, changes over in the next month or so except for me. So I'll have a whole new crew to work with by the end of January. I'm looking forward to it! Top of the mermaid blanket Mermaid Blanket The class was also a good refresher on how finance works in a deployed arena. We don’t get to do a lot of practice very often, so it was good to brush off the cobwebs. The class is more focused on folks travel...

Today two co-workers, Cheeky, and I went to the Nuremberg Christmas market! It was my first market! Check out the market's website here: Nuremberg Christmas Market   Nuremberg is about 3 1/2 hours from Ramstein, so it was a little bit of a haul. We left around 8am, stopped for some Starbucks, and got on the road. The drive was very uneventful. Once we got the Nuremberg, we had to find parking! Luckily we found a parking structure right near the market. It didn't take too long to get settled. The market was very busy! We got there right around noon. Everyone seemed to be looking up at the big cathedral that's in the square where the market takes place. So, we all stared up at it too waiting to see what would happen. Turns out, some of the statues up on the clock move when noon comes around. One statue was ringing a bell, one was playing a drum, and a handful of others went around the main figure in the middle. After doing some quick reading, the cathedral is The Churc...

Before I get this post started, Cheeky the Traveler has relinquished typing responsibilities to me (Leah) for a little while. I think all the traveling has tired out even the Traveler! Don't worry, he will still be featured in all posts! Moving onto the latest travels! Once again I made a quick trip down to Africa. "Quick" is a relative term though. I spent less than 24 hours on the ground once I got there, but I was traveling for 3 days. Phew! Africa is huge and it takes a long time for anything and anyone to get there. We took the same C-130 flight as last time, and this trip was an adventure from the very start to the very end. Welcome to Niamey!                                           Our flight left early in the morning, so we had to get up at zero-dark-thirty just to make it on time. I had to check a bag this time which is how this adventure kicked off. The folks in t...

(Cheeky the tagged speaking) Let me start by saying I'm thankful for all my great family and fronds - err, FRIENDS! Over the past few weeks, Ross and I have gone on a couple adventures - check it out: Brew City Beatdown  ( LINK ) Brew City Beatdown is 48 hours of friends, food, and fragging - computer nerds in their natural habitat! Tom and Jess did a great job getting the lounge ready for the action, providing grub, and hosting the event for the second year in a row. After popping up all the tables and running all the cables, the players arrived with their gear, and we got to it. We played several games - PUBG, Destiny, Fortnite, Xonotic, and Company of Heroes. Just like last year, Ross (BAKERCO) took second place in the Xonotic tournament - again failing miserably to dethrone the GOAT. Folks also tested their skills with the classics (Joust, Ms. Pac-Man, Rampage, Dig Dug, Track & Field, more) on SOB's Retrocade machine - awesome! I, of course, took firs...