MELBOURNE, FLORIDA WITH NEW JOB

29 Sep 2012
Melbourne, FL

 The sun rising over the Atlantic Ocean.  Photo taken from my hotel room balcony.  

I reported to Melbourne, FL on the 22 Sep.....the first week here was for the generic HR type classes and in processing.   It went very smoothly…I was impressed with the efficiency of the company in getting all the required stuff done.  I guess they process a lot of people and have it down to a “T”.

So, far DynCorp has been a first class.   All arrangements were completed for the flight down; they had the rental car waiting on me at the airport; I drove to the designated hotel, everything in order, etc.  The hotel was great….beachside, 6th floor, really nice pool, poolside grill, nice restaurant, etc.  Add to that, the weather has been perfect!  

I am scheduled to stay here until the 6 Oct when I travel to North Carolina for a required survival school.  Then on to Quakertown, PA for S-61 training.  That actual training should only take 2 or 3 weeks, but I understand they are backlogged so no telling how long it will really take.  Oh well, go with the flow.    

So……2 more weeks with nothing to do except enjoy the pool, beach, and local restaurants.  Pretty nice!  Dahleen is flying down in a few days to spend some time here until I have to leave.  I am really looking forward to this mini-vacation…we have been traveling at the speed of light to get things accomplished before I leave.  It will do us both good to be able to spend time together with nothing to do but chill.  We will travel the 45 minutes from here to Orlando to spend some time with her parents.  They are fun people to be around.  Looking forward to the visit.

Speaking of restaurants……I love good Thai food, and I have found a great Thai restaurant.  Thai Thai II is just down the road a couple of miles (Indialantic Beach/Satellite Beach Area). Man, I could eat there every other day and not get tired of it. I would weigh 300 pounds, but my taste buds would be happy, happy, happy.

ON THE WAY TO MELBOURNE, FL

21 Sep 12

Melbourne, FL

Maybe our favorite spot at home....morning coffee in the gazebo.  

Well, it has been a hectic couple of weeks.  After leaving South Carolina, I went back home and spent the next couple of weeks helping Dahleen around the house/yard and getting affairs in order to leave.  We got the yard and house looking fairly good, if I don’t say so myself.  There is still some yard work to be done.  We’ve posted a couple of pictures. 

I leave in the morning for Melbourne, FL for in-processing and a bunch of HR type classes.  They told me to come prepared to deploy from Melbourne to Afghanistan, meaning I won't get to come back home first.  We will see.....  

Love the blue sky in this picture.

Japanese maple looking healthy...this is Dahleen's baby.

I have no idea what kind of tree this is, but we love it. 

 Looking up toward the gazebo.

 From the road...all that river rock was back breaking work.

I can still see a couple of bare spots... 

From the front

 Looking down from our deck.

Before the weeding and mulching

Looking up toward our house.