Lets all go to Hawaii and Remember our WW2 Men.

The Morning was tough. Jay and Janet took us to breakfast and to the Airport. It was a long hard goodbye- though we will see them very soon. We have plans, and they will be in the lower 48 soon.
They have an amazing daughter Jordan who is at NYU now- we will be connected to these guys for life. They are entirely family as far as I'm concerned. I was bummed Jordan is flying into Alaska Monday- we just missed her!!

These Armed Forces Trips are really amazing- I meet guys I know I'll be life long friends with. From Jay, Chris Jones Chief Stoggins (who I haven't seen since retirement... bummed about that), Col. Rogers, Doug Eichorn, and the list could keep going. I love these guys and wish only the best for these wonderful people.

Once we load up onto the plane, it hits me- like every base when we make connections with I get an empty nest syndrome- I sincerely miss these guys. I get it with family- but I know when I'm going home- I don't know the exact next tie I get to see these guys.
I feel depressed, but I also remember I wouldn't have met them, and knowing these people made my life better for meeting them.

I sit on my flight and look at the photos of my little man. I miss him- I miss Angie, and I have a long trip to meditate and think about our family and us- I want to do well by them- I want to teach Axel all the great things I am learning and hope he gets to pursue complete happiness and fulfillment with his life.
All that he is- 22 days of life- he changed the world. I have been the luckiest man in the world- met great people- influenced and looked up to my father and mother, a football coach or two helped me along- great in-laws - great teachers. I notice a lot of people don't have this in their life- I also just keep meeting more people who are life changers.
I am surrounded by love with an amazing wife healthy baby and don't have any negative stuff floating in my pool. I can only hope Axel is so lucky.




Great Airport Bar

We Land in Honolulu. Its raining something crazy, but the air is impressive. I am breathing like a champ- and it smells incredible.

When we landed in Honolulu, I received this email. I think it is Jim!!! It made me laugh so hard, and I hope - if you are following day to day- you get this joke...

 When We get to base, we check-in and drive through the base- Frank, our point man, is impressive and cool as can be.
He is a big deal, but you wouldn't know it just hanging around him.
As always, the accommodations are amazing right on Pearl Harbor. Armed Forces Entertainment is such a great organization. I keep using the word amazing because I am so tired, and the thesaurus in my brain isn't working.

 The hotel overlooks all the ships docked. A pretty lovely time to be here if you are into ww2 History

What a meal. Frank hooked us up!!

Submarine Docked

Carole and I went for a walk around the base, and no matter what You think you know about history, it still is overwhelming to imagine what it was like the day the attack came. These where young 18-25-year-olds who got attacked. I love the history, tradition, and unity the military has.

I'll never forget what happened on 9-11, every generation has the moment that. The era as you know it is over, it has to become adults and life changes as you know it forever.
My Dad's generation had JFK assassination.
My Grandfather has Pearl Harbor.
We need to really remember this, especially as that generation is starting to fade rapidly.

World War 2 is such an incredible time- I want to make sure Axel learns from his great grandfathers and grandfathers. This is something you hope will always be remembered and learned from. I am really looking forward to tomorrow

Getting to hang with my buddy Colonal Jay.

 Travel in the van and looking forward to seeing an old friend of ours and my family- Col. Jay Aanrud. We have been in touch with each other since my first visit to Alaska and hung out in NYC a few times we met each other's families, and his daughter even moved to NY!
I can't lie- I was a bit emotional knowing we were going to hang, and I know he had a lot planned for us- I had no idea how awesome it was going to be.

It is Red Flag Week here and at the airbase. This means pilots from all over the world come and compete in a series of exercises. The best in the world is all in one place, competing and flying. To me, it is like Top Gun except "Mostly Airforce instead of Navy" and "realistic"...

Jay (if you read past blogs) is in charge of what they call the Aggressors... who basically "play" the bad guys. So in my head not only is he Ice Man.. he is Cobra! I bet he is in heaven getting to go at it with these guys. Fighter Pilots seem like a competitive bunch.

Awards ceremony we got invited to

The Army had some guys present.. you have to look close. They are in camo, so they are hard to notice!
 I can't believe we got to be part of this long line of tradition. All the Airmen seemed so cool with us being there. We got a tour of the Airforces "digs" and, of course, Jays "Bad guy area."

Dick Heads Bar

My Favorite Plane the A-10. Don't tell Jay.

Puff the Magic Dragon

Sitting in the cockpit of Jays Fighter Jet. Pretty awesome! They are designed, so you don't have to think about it; you just do it... I was confused and couldn't even think about it... These things are so amazing, and the crew chief showed us how hard it is to keep these maintained.. maybe not hard for them, but it blew my mind someone even thought to build this.

We watched a young Airman get promoted. What a big day for this guy!!!

We went to Another awards ceremony- it was pretty awesome- This was a significant time to be here. All these airmen, not just from the US but other countries as well. It is the Olympics for pilots!

We were invited to go to the officers club for the pilots- what an excellent time. Jay taught us the rules to Crud- played on a pool table, and we did comics vs. the Pilots.

The Comics all got "Call signs," "handles," or nicknames. Usually, it comes from something embarrassing. Mine sounds cool unless you know the story. I am CHARGER: not because of the cool car or something like that... because I am always looking for a plug for my phone charger... I finally found one, and when I plugged in, the power went out.

I can't say why (ask them to hear the story), but the other comics' names are Liz "Hangry" Mieli. Jimmy "the Greek" Mendrinos and Carole "strap on" Montgomery.
Max, who played with the pilots (pilot of a P5) is Max "Throttle" Mayer. And Jay "Hoser" Aanrud.

Still Daylight... I'm going to hallucinate.

Eielson Air Base with Col. Jay

Our buddy Col. Jay Took us out for a fantastic walk- last time we were here, it was around 20 below zero. There was no walking.
We saw the Lady in the Lake- (check past blogs for info on it) and searched for moose.

It became a running joke- everyone seen a moose except Jim- so he doesn't believe there are moose here and is hammering Jay- even Janet (jays wife) is getting in on it.

It is so refreshing to find friends you can just walk and talk for hours and feel so comfortable.
The col. has a diner planned before the show and skeet shooting before that!

Very Large Malamute 120-pound puppy.

WOLF!!! oh no he is cool

I was actually good at this.

Bob was a fantastic instructor

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The shooting I went a little over 60%, I would say, but I did have the shot of the day when I hit 2 clay pigeons in 1 shot.

Right after shooting, we went to the Santa house in North Pole, Alaska, and Santa Remembered me!
I told him about Axel and sent some postcards!

Janet cooked one of the most amazing diners ever! We ate and laughed for hours! After diner, we went to the Yukon and did a show- what a fantastic crowd!!!

We did a great show- The col. introduced us and had us do a Q&A after that was a lot of fun! These guys are lovely in Alaska!