Last Outstation Visit

I am currently at another location, far from my camp.  I brought with me a backpack stuffed with a few days' worth of clothes, meds and toiletries.  A smaller pack that held my camera and laptop sat with me on the helicopter.  We would only be at this location for a short time to fulfill one mission.

The helicopter ride is always fun.  I'll never get tired of it.  I really love the part where the aircraft starts.  The blades rotate slowly, then faster and faster.  The whole helo shakes until it stabilizes.  Then the doors are shut and it's time to get going.  Unlike a plane, the helo doesn't speed down the runway til it gains enough speed to lift off.  Nope.  It just lifts off!  It's the coolest experience!  Then it hovers around a little and viola!  You're up high into the sky, slowly sailing over the waters and islands.

Being so high in the sky is amazing.  When you're in flight, you get to see the designs of the earth.  How beautiful everything is!  I love how small everything looks down below.  And I really like how beautiful land looks from a distance.  You would never know that anything bad happens there.  Everything looks peaceful and quiet. 

One thing I do enjoy about the outstations is the fact that the military personnel always adopt the local dogs.  Dogs here aren't taken care of very well.  So the ones on the camp are super spoiled because our troops take a good liking to them.  There's just something about dogs that make people happier.  :) 

My room was cool, I didn't have to share with anyone.  But it isn't the cleanest and the sheets smell.  But it's a small sacrifice.  And it's only a few days. 

So I spent all day yesterday talking with the people assigned here, getting to know them.  They are a cool bunch.  They work hard and play hard... well as much as one can out here, anyway.  Today, I played with the dogs.  LOL  They are really sweet. 

This evening, something sad lingered in my heart.  I'm having some conflict with a friend of mine and I'm sad about it.  So instead of hanging out with the outstation crew during their New Year's Eve celebration, I stayed in the room. 

 And that's when my cell phone rang. 

M called!!  He was wishing me a Happy New Year's at about 8am in his timezone.  How sweet is that?  He just wanted to call and see how I was doing and find out when I was returning home.  My heart just bounced with joy.  This guy, thousands of miles away, called me on a day I was feeling sad.  And now that I think of it, he's getting a little too good at doing that!  lol  If you read Care Package, you'll see that M has an amazing sense of good timing.  When he was here on my deployment with me, he always knew what to say and/or do at the right times.  He knew when I was down or upset and he never let me alone to continue those feelings.  He always did something to cheer me up.  So, just like he always did when he was here, he came at a time I needed some cheering up.

I'll be heading back to camp soon.  Can't wait to sleep in my own bed, eat better food in our chow hall and get back to wrapping up my deployment!  Almost done!