Gulf Coast I&i 2019

[Stargrunt6]

 

 

I'm probably only going to make it on Saturday in New Orleans due to work, and also the logistical part of driving from Lafayette to New Orleans and back on Saturday evening.

Weekend traffic that bad?

There is always traffic in Baton Rouge, especially on an LSU game.

[shep854]

LSwho??? Except during the game itself, game-day traffic is indeed a pain.

[FlyingCanOpener]

Baton Rouge traffic is terrible, because I have to travel across the Basin Bridge as well as crossing over the Mississippi. If there's a wreck on the Basin that could be hours of waiting, and because of the big curve of I-10 right after the Mississippi River bridge forming a bottleneck, crossing the bridge can be a pain.

 

I might change my mind between now and then--depending on how late we wrap up Saturday, that is.

[shep854]

Elements deploying to AoA, so far, so good.

[Markus Becker]

The color blind 21st century: Sunday get's his 'brownie'.

 

https://i.imgur.com/y6IaylD.jpg

[Markus Becker]

Exercising to burn calories of the 'brownie'.

 

https://i.imgur.com/JqnyxCp.jpg

 

That is either a poorly balanced gun or we do it wrong. Yes, we probably did it wrong.

[Stargrunt6]

With combatives being used for exercise like cardio kickboxing and tae bo, maybe we should have Flakersize?

[Markus Becker]

Seven Tank Netters walk into a shore battery and find...: https://i.imgur.com/yN65tla.jpg

Edited October 14, 2019 by Markus Becker

[Markus Becker]

Axel, look what we found!

 

https://i.imgur.com/DS9lfeD.jpg

 

https://i.imgur.com/DEIwksU.jpg

[Markus Becker]

I&I update.

 

Schedule: Relocate from Mobile to Orlando.

 

Execution: Departed almost on time at 09:45 in what a guest described as winter weather(aka not steaming hot).

 

The Allan- and Leomobile went straight for Orlando. We took a detour to the Air Force Armament Museum at Eglin and enjoyed the planes, bombs, guns and the shooting of a Pin Up calendar.

 

No major or minor F-ups on route. Encountered a slow moving BWM that owned the left lane and a cashier who asked Sunday where he learned Spanish.

 

Currently we are having dinner at Harold's after not stopping at Harold to see the Church of Harold. Yes, this place exists.

[Markus Becker]

https://i.imgur.com/0ZrZg79.jpg

 

https://i.imgur.com/Hmxkc6H.jpg

[shep854]

https://i.imgur.com/0ZrZg79.jpg

 

https://i.imgur.com/Hmxkc6H.jpg

Fascinating secondary landing gear legs...

----

While visiting the musea and historical sites was memorable, by far the best part was finally meeting and getting to hand out with people I had known over the interwebs for many years. I deeply hope to see them--and other Tanknetters--again! I like 'See Ya Later!' much more than 'good-bye'.

L-R: Shep, Harold, Flying Can Opener, DB, Stargrunt, Sunday, Allen, Leo. Markus Becker was behind the camera.

Edited October 19, 2019 by shep854

[Markus Becker]

I&I update No.2, 2nd, modified try

 

Schedule: Visit the Kennedy Space Center

 

Execution: Leo left to attend the marriage in Mexico. Both cars arrived within five minutes of each other at the KSC, each missing one turn.

 

Once there we scattered faster than convoy PQ17 expecting the Tirpitz.

 

Harold went on the military base tour but the old missiles were undergoing restoration.

 

Jose -who some American thought was Australian- and me went on the launch pad tour and saw a literal observation bunker made from sandbag shaped blocks of concrete. It looked like someone dropped an HE shell on top of it but actually it died of old age, being there since the 50s.

 

Other notable sights: The crawler (2mph, 32gal per mile), a rescue M113, an alligator (the reptile) and plenty of ladies in short shorts and thight pants. And unlike the ones in New Orleans and Mobile they had appropriate the legs and so on for what they were (not) wearing.

 

The way back saw no navigational mishaps but a serious traffic jam because a car transporter had gone off the road, leading to one line being closed.

 

Allan and his future CIC(also known as wife) had to go back to yesterday's restaurant to pick up the credit card left there.

 

The rest of us went 50ish miles with Harold to see his older brother. RTB was 23:00 hours after several slight navigational F-ups, none of which cost any time. We aggred to blame Dave's satnav in memory of it's epic performance last year.

[shep854]

Once there we scattered faster than convoy PQ17 expecting the Tirpitz.

That pretty much describes I&I on objectives... 😄

[Stargrunt6]

what's ironic is that most tank netters seem more interested in Air and Naval warfare and systems. I suppose "Air and Naval Net" doesn't have quite the ring.

[Markus Becker]

Day one of post I and I:

 

Schedule: Shift base to Ft. Harold in Denver.

 

Execution: Left hotel at 05:00 in New Orleans weather.

 

Went through security without any problems(mostly).

 

Took off in time with a fully packed aircraft. Nice one too. Leg space like in the 777 we took from Heathrow.

 

Interesting discovery. There is also heating in America or they just turned the AC off. Either way it is getting warming here. ... Scratch that, they just gave the AC time to cool off and now the temperature is reaching the levels in that rest stop on the way from NO to Mobile. Think peeing little yellow ice cubes.

 

Denver was warm-ish. No clouds, no wind, so the sun could warm you up well. The rest of the day was spend with unpacking, lunch, buying provisions and drinking some of them in the early evening. And petting the dogs, much petting the dogs.

[shep854]

what's ironic is that most tank netters seem more interested in Air and Naval warfare and systems. I suppose "Air and Naval Net" doesn't have quite the ring.

Tolerant and diverse...

[Markus Becker]

Day two of post I and I:

 

Schedule: Railway Museum, Red Rocks and the Gun Show.

 

Execution: Thanks to Dave's never enough to be cursed Satnav* we had navigational errors every single time.

 

That being said, we were almost literally blown away at the museum and Red Rocks. The wind was that bad.

 

The gun show was double amazing. Lot's of old guns and lack of political correctness. We bought T-shirts. MAGA and 'Dont Californicate my Colorado'.

 

Also visited the former home of the very large garden snake. Jose went to holy mass, I went into a bar.

 

*Dave and his never enough to be cursed Satnav are not actually here but we agreed that from this point on all navigational errors are their fault.

[shep854]

Is Dave's navigator a Lucas product??

[Markus Becker]

Day three of post I and I:

 

Schedule: Wings over the Rockies and Railway(Transportation) Museum No.2

 

Execution: No navigational mishaps on the routes, just some rush hour on the way back.

 

WotR has an early B-52 in front of the museum and a surprisingly not crapmed exhibition. The usual AF and Navy planes plus some civilian ones and unusual stuff: a Douglas B-18 Bolo(DC-3 based).

 

The transportation museum has a bit of everything: cars, motorbikes, bicycles and railway rolling stock from a very small to the largest locomotive on earth.

 

So all was almost well. I wasn't, one sided hydration the evening before and the altitude got me pretty good but drugs and time took care of that.

[Stargrunt6]

Day three of post I and I:

 

Schedule: Wings over the Rockies and Railway(Transportation) Museum No.2

 

Execution: No navigational mishaps on the routes, just some rush hour on the way back.

 

WotR has an early B-52 in front of the museum and a surprisingly not crapmed exhibition. The usual AF and Navy planes plus some civilian ones and unusual stuff: a Douglas B-18 Bolo(DC-3 based).

 

The transportation museum has a bit of everything: cars, motorbikes, bicycles and railway rolling stock from a very small to the largest locomotive on earth.

 

So all was almost well. I wasn't, one sided hydration the evening before and the altitude got me pretty good but drugs and time took care of that.

 

Damn I coulda got an IV for ya.

[Markus Becker]

Day gour of post I and I:

 

Schedule: Colorado Springs, AF Academy, Ft. Carson(Harold's old haunting grounds), Garden of God's and the National WW2 Aviation museum.

 

Execution: No navigational mishaps on the routes. Dave's satnav being on a different continent obviously helps.

 

The AF Academy is 'interesting'. The visitor center is not at the gate visitors are allowed to use. Once Harold signed a piece of paper saying he was now responsible for us we drove a wide circle around the facilities far away from any place we could F-up. A coincidence it is not I think.

 

Onwards to lunch and Ft. Carson where they have tanks and recon cars and AIFV, Saddam's golden rilfe and the anti tank bunnies.

 

After that we went to the Garden of God's to see some "Kissing Camels", do a walk and a drive around the very scenic place.

 

Last but not least we had a good view of Cheyenne Mountain where Stargate Command is. Better known by it's cover designation NORAD.

 

Next up more Colorado Springs and Pueblo.

 

PS: No more headache thanks to acclimation (and less beer).

[Markus Becker]

Day five of post I and I:

 

Schedule: Western Mining Museum, National WW2 Aviation Museum, Pueblo Aviation Museum

 

Execution: No navigational mishaps on the routes. Lucky streak or is Murphy giving us a false sense of security?

 

We got a nice tour of the small museum building, tried to pan gold, I got into what looked like a modern Iron Maiden and outside we found the most rusty steam shovel that turned out to be still operational. The rust was from iron ore dust, not the shovel itself. It also had the obligatory bunny underneath.

 

The WW2 Aviation Museum was closed. After lunch meat the Arkansas River we got our daily 'bushel of aircraft' as Harold put it at the Pueblo museum, where we also managed to find both armoured and tracked vehicles.

 

Next stop the rather small town of La Junta where we had dinner at a Mexican place, that wasn't aware Burrito means 'small' donkey. Because that thing was about as small as the Brownie Jose had in New Orleans was brown. Than again large portions of tasty and reasonably priced food are hardly a bad thing.

 

Next up Bent's Old Fort and another try at the WW2 Aviation Museum before RTB.

[Markus Becker]

Day six of post I and I:

 

Schedule: Bent's Old Fort, National WW2 Aviation Museum and Buckhorn Exchange

 

Execution: The now usual lack of navigational mishaps on the routes.

 

After going to bed in the south of Colorado(next to a National Guard armory) we woke up in a White Winter Wonderland that made me wonder if we were in Canada.

 

Arrived at Bent's Fort just before opening together with a family of four and got two tours out of the staff. The usual intro and one with the blacksmith. It's off the beaten track -hardly anyone there- but very well worth visiting. A nice reconstruction of a Wild West fort.

 

Funny encounter. Nationalities were mixed up. A guide told Jose he could buy Spanish playing cards they have on display in the giftshop. Before that, my name was misspelled as usual delaying check out at the hotel.

 

Back to the National WW2 Aviation Museum where we joined a tour that had just started. Mostly the usual planes but all of them were in flying condition, including the very unusual -F Lightning that was parked next to the Thunderbolt(see what they did there?). The tour guide appreciated some of TN's knowledgeable input on inter service relations(what does the Navy do with *enterrandomequipment* they don't want). Jose bought his 23rd T-shirt of the I&I there, me my second.

 

RTB and took a GMC Yukon to the Buckhorn Exchange. Docking USS Gigantic would have taken some time, but a berth was vacated just in time. Jose and Harold rotated the bunks at the stern.

 

The insides of the Exchange were a sight to see. Lot's of stuffed animals, guns and photos. Including that of an Indian that had traditional Indian err 'symbol' at the frame.

 

Jose had another food mishap. He explicitly ordered "no cheese" and guess what kind of backed potato he got wit this steak? Well, me and him traded potatoes (Lithuania?) and I had a nice baked cheese potatoe with my rattlesnake as the main course after the "oysters". Sadly neither dish visually resembled what it actually was. Bummer, that would have made the pics so much more funny.

 

Next up: Phone repair and Science Museum.

[Harold Jones]

what's ironic is that most tank netters seem more interested in Air and Naval warfare and systems. I suppose "Air and Naval Net" doesn't have quite the ring.

We visit the museums we have. Armor museums are few and far between so by long standing tradition we also include any air/naval/military history stuff that is available in the area. Plus after you 300th Sherman m4a3e2abc... the occasional aircraft or ship makes a nice palate cleanser.