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Okay lets start at the very beginning as Sister Maria would have us. I left Australia on 2 January, relieved to see that the dreaded Y2K bug realised unlike most other people that it wasn’t the end of the millennium till next year. New Years Eve itself was spent with Dave and others at Garden Island Naval Base. From there we had a fantastic view of the Harbour and despite the unseasonable chill (it was so bad that Dave and I actually had to cuddle up and share body warmth to survive...oh the shame!) it was an incredible moment when the clock struck midnight. Unfortunately we later ruined our brand spanking New Year (century/millennium if you believe some) by having our first meal at MacDonalds. Funny but when the munchies strike, the Golden Arches beckon – who can explain it?
So Dave said goodbye to me and his alcohol addiction on the first Sunday of the year and I flew via many hops to California where I had a day’s stop over to do the Disney thing. It was a fun day but fighting off the kids so that I could get first in line did become a bit tiresome by the end of the day. And its so irritating to hear them scream as you shove them out of the way. The following day I flew on to Norfolk, Virginia but only after enduring the usual three hour plus delays which I have found pretty standard on all flights I’ve taken over here so far. I eventually arrived at about 10.30pm and was met by Joe, one of my co-workers who took me to my temporary accommodation.
My arrival evening was Tuesday and I then had till the Monday to get myself sorted with things like Social Security number (you virtually can’t even order a pizza without it over here), bank account, sort out my car (I bought Peter’s), find an apartment etc. Of course that wasn’t nearly enough time. The first hurdle was that even though I personally went down to the Department of Social Security they could not even issue me a number till the following Monday. Without this I couldn’t even open a bank account so this stalled my plans somewhat. Peter Clarke my predecessor had warned me that I would suffer many frustrations in getting myself established here but I naively thought he was exaggerating. Uh-uh. It was a nightmare that nearly moved me to tears at one point. But somehow I managed to get everything sorted out…about 3 weeks later.
The one thing that did
run relatively smoothly was finding an apartment. I had seen some apartments I
liked when I visited over here in May last year and had written to the company
but received no response. On my first day here I thought I might as well drive
down and see what they had. Fortunately they had a three bedroom place already
vacant and available. It was second floor as opposed to top floor and at times
the 
clumping
of the neighbours upstairs did may be wonder whether I should have waited
however I think I made the right decision in the end. The place has lovely views
of the water – I look out over Mill Creek, a tributary of Chesapeake Bay and
can also glimpse the larger bay through the trees. The beach is only 5 minutes
walk away. Already the creek has had visits from various aquatic fowl and the
sunsets are magnificent. The thought of sitting out come summer on my rather
large balcony sipping Pina Coladas as evening approaches really does appeal for
some reason ;-)
My first couple of weeks
at work were pretty unproductive, mainly because I was 
busy
doing admin things and I was awash in a sea of USAF specific TLAs (that’s
Three Letter Acronyms for those that didn’t know). It also didn’t help that
I scurried away to Pasadena, California for the huge annual Xena (and Hercules)
convention two weeks after I started work. This was a lot of fun – I met lots
of Xena pals, collected autographs from the co-stars and marvelled at the poor
unfortunates without a life who feel the need to dress up as Xena, Gabrielle or
other cast members. Especially the blokes.
Returning from
Californ-i-ay was quite a shock to the system. I flew out on a beautiful sunny
day and was quite relieved to find that the snow I had left behind at the
Baltimore-Washington airport had all melted away. On the morning I flew out west
I had awoken to find my car covered in snow which was not a happy sight. I
commenced the three hour plus journey back to Hampton at about 10ish expecting
to get home shortly after 1.30 am however just out of Richmond I noticed strange
white stuff falling from the sky. Within minutes I was in a full on snowstorm
with visibility only a few feet and several inches of snow across the road. I
crawled along at about 20 miles an hour and by 3 am I was still north of
Williamsburg and about 45 minutes from home under normal conditions. To make
matters worse I had been on empty for some time. 
Finally I saw a sign to a motel
and pulled off the interstate into the silent small town which resembled a
frosted ghost town. No one answered the door at the first insalubrious looking
establishment. I was convinced if they had Norman Bates would have opened the
door. Just as I was contemplating a night in the car the golden light of an
Eco-lodge loomed into view and I was able to find shelter for the night.
I
finally ventured out just after lunch later that day and had to dig my car out
before finding a gas station and gingerly heading back to Hampton. It was still
snowing and 
very icy but at least this time I could see past the bonnet so I was
able to make a little more headway than in the early hours. In fact I got a
little over confident and about 8 miles from home slid off the interstate, spun
180degrees and ended up facing the way I had come and only inches away from the
guard rail. It certainly got the old blood pumping and I got the whole slow-mo
– "oh no I’m going to crash and be horribly dismembered" thing
happening. Needless to say I was a little more wary after that.
The
base was closed for that day (they ended up getting 6.9 inches of snow which is
the biggest fall since the early 80s) so I didn’t have to go into work when I
finally reached home. Instead I curled up on the couch safe and warm and watched
cable. It was then that I
discovered that what I had driven through was actually officially a blizzard and
that it even had a name – "Winterblast 2000". As I say almost daily
"Only in America". The next day dawned bright and sunny and I
anxiously watch the local news station to see if the base would re-open for the
day. Most of the schools 
were
shut but for Langley AFB it stated an 11am start. Dutifully I drove through the
gorgeous winter landscape with the sun glinting off icicles and the road like a
sheet of glass. I slid every time I braked but at least I was able to deal with
it a little better by now. When I finally tiptoed into work I discovered that
the base was in fact closed down and that the Yanks had decided the roads were
too dangerous to venture out on! I guess we Aussies are just made of sterner
stuff. It turned into
a great day off to - lots of fun and frolicking - even the beach was covered in
snow!
Deciding it was just a little too cold for my liking I headed south for the winter at the end of January for the (it could only be titled this in America) Global Medicine course at Brooks AFB in San Antonio Texas. The course was not too bad – apparently the rest of the world is not like America or so I was told.
I just loved San Antonio and Texas in general – it’s just like Australia with different hats! Actually I think the following sums up Texas. Most places I have been in this country people ask me where I am from. Half the time they think I’m English but all know I’m not American surprise, surprise. Most also say "I just love your accent" and in fact one girl on the weekend told me she wished she had an accent! However in Texas – true story – a man said to me "Are you from Outa State?" There are two types of people in this world – Texans and the rest.
San Antonio is a very
liveable and visitable city. I was entertained whilst there by an old Dip Avmed
classmate of mine who is now the RAF Exchange Officer at Brooks. Roger and his
wife Lynn guided my to the sights and places to go like the Riverwalk, Dirty
Nellies Pub, the Alamo (pictured, of course) and the missions. I also got to go to my
first NBA game – reigning champions Spurs versus the Supersonics. The Spurs
won in a very close one and the local fans nearly raised the roof. One day I
even drove down to Mexico for the day and returned with a bellyful of Corona and
guacamole, and bearing Margarita glasses and tequila.
The second weekend I was there I went with Roger, Lynne and family to the annual stock show and rodeo which was certainly a cultural experience. The previous weekend they had taken me to a nightclub that had a small rodeo arena inside and put on a real live show however this one was the real deal. I was coerced into buying a hat and Lone star buckle in order to blend in – what a sight! Playing after the rodeo was Martina McBride and even though I am no great fan of both types of music (country AND western) I thought she was great.
I spent the rest of the weekend driving through the hill country to the north, visiting LBJ's ranch and over-nighting in Austin. Whilst in Austin I arranged to meet up with some fellow Xena fans and we undertook the pilgrimage to a Xena shrine – Threadgill’s which is owned by Renee (Gabrielle) O’Connor’s ‘mom’ and step dad. It was also the place where Janice Joplin got her start so is quite famous. Here we dined on good ol’ Southern cooking – fried green "tomaters", hush puppies, cornbread, blackeyed peas and the rather curious chicken fried steak with white gravy (i.e. all the fixins).
Since
returning from Texas I have really started to get things in order and have
finally realised I am here to stay at least for the time being. The past few
weekends 
have
been spent discovering the local area – outlet malls, places to eat, cinemas,
theatre (Sunset Boulevard with Petula Clark). I’ve also managed to get my house
in order and my spare bedroom is ready anytime you want to come pay a visit. I
have already had a couple of house guests and they raved about the facilities
;-)
These local explorations were interrupted somewhat by a long weekend in Detroit at the end of February to visit my friend Lisa. I arrived in the middle of a snow storm but it fined up nicely the next couple of days, therefore Lisa was able to introduce me to some of the finer points of snow playing in Michigan – making snow angels, sledding, tracking squirrels and throwing the cats in the snow.
I’ve
also managed a trip out onto Chesapeake Bay/Hampton Roads. The weekend before
last I went out whale watching and believe it or not saw a spectacle rarely
witnessed in these parts – or anywhere for that matter. An adolescent humpback
whale who was on his way out of the area to re-join his mates for the journey
north, look a liking to us and began breaching…and kept on doing so for half
an hour and 2.5 miles. The incredible thing was that the water was only about 35
feet 
deep
and he was 30 feet long. The naturalist on board and the boat’s crew were just
as excited. This was the first time the naturalist had ever seen a whale breach
and the captain had never seen one put on such a show in his four years of
taking trips.
Although initially a
little unsure about what my job would entail and felt like a fish out of water
for the first few weeks, things are really shaping up well. The folks at
work have been great and I am already working on many and varied tasks. I am
based at Langley
AFB in Virginia and work for Headquarters Air
Combat Command in flight medicine. I'm really enjoying myself so far and
still hoping for a ride in one of these things.
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