Homeward Bound (sort of)

Sitting in the Atlanta Airport waiting for my flight to Kuwait (and eventually Bagram). If I'm lucky, I'll be back at FOB S

hank by the 27th or 28th.

Man...what an incredible break! The highlights speak for themselves:

-A beautiful reunion/trip to Key West with Katie! 48 hours after departing Kuwait, I was swimming next to her, snorkeling around an old Civil War fort (Dry Tortugas), trying to avoid jellyfish and keep my snorkel tube free of water. During our 6 day visit, we golfed, "crawled" through some pubs on Duval Street, checked out some cool museums/attractions, listened to beach music, ate good food, and chilled out. Key West was such a perfect, laid back, low "key" place for us to spend some time together and catch up on the past 9 months of our lives.

-A delicious, welcome home dinner with my Mom and Caroline! The house smelled and looked, well, like home. My sister's cat, Bailey, kept us pretty entertained with her dog-like tendencies.

-We tried to avoid traffic as Katie, my Mom and I rode bikes, "helmetless", down a major road to this remote portion of Gettysburg Park. An absolutely gorgeous, Indian summer kind of day.

-Visiting Basil! The wild, restless beast has "calmed down", as they told me at the farm. It was nice to meet the owners, volunteers, and say thank you to all of the people who have been offering such an awesome service to deployed soldiers' dogs.

-Family Dinner - My Aunt Karyn and Grandma showed off their cooking skills as we all sat down, shared stories, and ate a satisfying dinner with loved ones and friends.

-Golf - Katie and I tried our hands at some golf down in Key West. We hacked up the course pretty good...I think the random Iguanas and birds were the only things that consistently stayed on the greens and fairways. After flying back to Harrisburg, I golfed with my grandfather at the now Public/Private Colonial Country Club. We beat the rain and enjoyed a beautiful day on a beautiful course. The next day we gathered our favorite foursome (myself, grandfather, cousin Greg and cousin Joe) to play at Felicita - the same resort my sister and I hosted my mom's 50th birthday last year. We lost a lot of balls but still had a blast.

-David Garrett - I have to admit that I really enjoyed it! Although I questioned the appeal of seeing a Banana Republic model/violinist woo the crowd on stage, it was a phenomenal show. My mom treated Caroline, Trent, Katie and I to such a memorable night in Harrisburg.

-The Beach House - We always refer to the Lewis's cabin as "The Cabin," so I think "The Beach House" is an appropriate description for their beautiful home on the shores of Avalon, NJ. Jamie was nice enough to host me, Katie, Caroline, Trent, many of my cousins (Joe, Jake, Sarah, Christian, Greg) along with Jeff, Ben, Allison, Joey, Mike, Katie (Jeff's sister), Laura, Andrea and Collette. We lived like kings and had a blast, which included oysters, champagne, dancing, jet skis (I saw Ben and Joe make a 5 foot jump over a wake and wipe out pretty hard. Greg and I couldn't stop laughing), giant tenderloins, and overall good times. It was great seeing everybody again...it felt like we hadn't skipped a beat.

-Greg's house - I spent a night with Greg at his house in Wayne, Pa on the way back from the beach. We treated ourselves to a pretty lavish feast of Sushi/Chinese food.

-Family Dinner - Katie's parents, Lori and Bill, joined my Mom, Katie, Caroline and my dad's parents (Bubba and Pappap) for a fun dinner at the Hershey Links, followed by champagne/puzzle finishing at my mom's. Another special night.

-Lunch for Caroline - Katie and I created a massive, summer sandwich for my sister and brought it to her for lunch at one of her Metro stores. Caroline was recently hired by a regional bank, Metro, and is about 2 months into a year-long training program before she focuses on a specific field. It's an incredible job, but they're just as lucky to have such an incredible person in their ranks!

-Hot Wings at the Eagle - Katie's parents took us out for a few beers and some hot wings at our favorite wing spot, the Eagle. I opted for the "Suicide" sauce, and, as I sit in the airport and think about the long journey I still have to Kuwait, I'm beginning to regret that decision!

-Late night TV back at the house; the last night - Katie, Caroline, Mom and I watched our favorite show, "The Office," and a few others as we kicked back and relaxed on my last night at home.

We said our goodbyes earlier this morning. Katie brought me to the airport, and we delayed until the last possible second before hugging, kissing and continually looking over our shoulders at each other as she walked towards her parked car and I proceeded through the security check point.

It's much easier saying good-bye this time, knowing that I only have a few more months until I'm home for good, with this crazy year behind me. My break was as refreshing and rejuvenating as I could have ever hoped for. I'm ready to get back to Shank, reunite with the friends that I've missed over the past few weeks, and start focusing on my return back to the states and home.