Now N Then

Moved from non sewer to a sewer site. Eighteen days from sewer site to sewer site. Only had to dump the black water tank once (more on this later).

The F-22 has two rear stabilizers that are angled outboard from vertical. The F-15 has two rear vertical stabilizers. Both are twin engine jets. FYI the F-16 is a single engine jet with one rear vertical stabilizer. It is noted that the Navy and Marine Corps like two engines in jets so they still have one if the other quits – especially over water.

F-15

Info on the F-15 (turn head sideways)(I will figure this out eventually)

On February 13th, 40 of the FamCampers (one bus load) were given a tour of the Air Base with permission to take pictures. We saw the F-22, a weapons loading demonstration on an F-15, a high altitude chamber and a Barnay Chair. Somewhere in there we all had lunch at the Heritage Club (old Officers Club). It was a Chinese buffet and was excellent.

Short Gals getting ready to go on tour.

An F-22 Raptor. This war plane has a bigger than you would think bomb bay and two (one on each side) missile compartments (that white rack hold the missiles internally) and therefore the plane has a very small radar signature. In fact in all training exercises to date the plane has not been detected.

The Pensacola Opera put on a performance at the Recreation Center on 14 Feb. It was designed to educate grade schoolers about opera and I guess they thought we had regressed enough to make it worth while. Basically, audience participation directed the opera and the players improvised their roles and made up songs to keep the opera going. As opera terms were used a narrator explained their meaning. This was an interesting, fun and educational hour.

Soprano(highest female voice)(look up Base, Tenor, and Mezzo?)

EI EI O (The name we gave our opera which was situated on MacDonalds Farm.

Other side of Dick, the guy in the gray sweater.

Yesterday was a busy day. Breakfast at the Recreation Center in the AM and Opera in a Trunk in the PM and then I won $16 at Card Bingo.

Making Pancakes

Serving pancakes (turn your head sideways)

Friday was a beautiful day and we had nothing else planned so on the spur of the moment we decided to go to Appalachicola which is 52 miles southeast of here by way of Mexico Beach and Port St Joe. You will be seeing more of Appalachicola but this is the main street.

Friday night we went to the Gazebo after hot dog night(yep it is lent again). John and Ray played lots of country

Navy

Also Navy

The campers here are a patriotic bunch and are proud to show the flag as well as indications of their branch of service.

Army

USMC

Down to 1st on the list for a site. Hot water is still out (since Friday). Base Maintenance must not have heard about Home Depot. No cold water either. I heard that a camper forgot to disconnect his water hose before he pulled away. That at least should be fixed today.

Rt 96 goes right down the middle of Tyndall AFB. The FamCamp is between Rt 96 and Pearl Bayou below.

Pearl Bayou

We started on the site list as number 8 and are now number 4. Still no hot water. Maybe later today. Back a couple of weeks ago six of us from the campground played golf with the Happy Hackers a local group that plays on different courses each month. This time it was at Tyndall.

This should have gone out yesterday  but somehow I must have saved it as a draft. Well here it is.

Before they started using the new overflow sites basically those in overflow were squeezed into two files of 4 campers each and everyone had to move forward each day. What a pain. Now we get an overflow site and stay there until we get a non sewer site. I do miss the opportunity to chat with overflow neighbors each morning to see how many times they got up to turn the circuit breakers back on. But I do not miss it all that much. We were 8th on the list for a site yesterday and now we are 6th. The hot water tank leaked and now there is no hot water (for showers) in the Rec Hall until Monday. The inclination is to blame base maintenance but they probably can’t get whatever they need over the weekend.

Last night we went to the Gazebo for the Friday night hot dog roast. Bring your own hot dogs everything else is there. Guess this is the last one until after Lent for us anyway. Later three of the campers got out guitars (plus John also brought his Fiddle) and they played for the 25 or so of us who were there. Good time. I really wanted to sing but I thought that it was more important not to drive everyone away.

Gazebo

Gazebo, inside with John and his fiddle