Saturday in San Diego

Cliff brought Coree and Jake to San Diego on Friday for the retirement ceremony of a fellow chaplain. He knew that he needed to stay the night since my flight from Indiana came in the next morning, and since there wasn't a room available at the Q, he did a Priceline and got a room...at the Omni hotel. It gets better...then at the retirement, another chaplain offers him 3 Padres tickets (good seats, too!) so he takes the kids to the game. If that's not enough, he's also invited to a special Padres testimony meeting with the chaplain of the Padres and some of the players, etc. The next morning, I show up all ragged and weary from getting up at the equivalent of 2 am Pacific time to catch a flight, and they are all rested from the Omni! (I honestly don't begrudge them that!) While we were in town, we decided to eat at Anthony's, and the kids REALLY wanted to ride the ferry over to Coronado and visit the Scottish store (what can I say, we are a family of geeks...some kids like Toys R Us...ours like history and warfare...and a Yorkie bar thrown in for good measure doesn't hurt!). We took a peak at the statue of the sailor kissing the girl before we headed back over the mountains to home. It was a beautiful day...and good to be home!!!

Site Directors Conference

I had such a great time going to visit the main campus this week! There were so many high lights. I got to visit my friend Heidi (for the first time in 11 years) since she lives so close by to the campus. (My boss was very kind to allow me to fly in a couple of days early so that I could spend some time with her family.) It was so great to catch up with her. Her kids are so sweet and well mannered. I'm glad that we have stayed in touch so that I could take advantage of an opportunity to see her again. I also had the opportunity (again, thanks to my awesome boss) to present military coin displays to both the President and Provost of the University. It was such a great experience. We had a golf tournament that was SO much fun. We played best ball, and I was blessed to be placed on a team with Vern, who is an amazing golfer. He coaches at the Jr. High level, so he was perfect for me! I seriously loved it, though. I had taken a semester of golf my Sr. year of high school and hadn't done it since, so I had very low expectations. I love the group I work with! We almost never get to see each other, though. The closest we come to interaction is email and conference calls. So when we get together, we are like a bunch of teenagers staying up into the wee hours talking and laughing. We worked hard and played hard...and now I am paying the price...I need a nap!