Honeymoon to Alaska -- Finally!

Back before Russ and I had started dating, we'd been at a luncheon with several other co-workers.  Russ had mentioned how he was going to take his wife to Australia on their honeymoon after he got married.  I'd asked when he got engaged, and he mentioned he wasn't engaged, but when he did get married, he was definitely taking his wife to Australia.

Well, here we are on a flight to Alaska.  True, we weren't heading to Australia, but Alaska does start with an A.  So doesn't that count?  Plus, since we got married in January, that was NOT the time to be making a trip to Alaska.  So here's to our "real" honeymoon!

We officially departed Langley on 5 July and drove up to Andrews AFB.  We only stayed one night at lodging and departed for the long flight to Anchorage from Ronald Reagan National Airport.  It was a long, but non-stop, flight.  Of course, Russ had to sit by the window so he could enjoy the view and plot our flight path.

 

 

You wouldn't know it by looking at the level of the sun, but it was after 10 p.m. when this picture was taken.  (This was the rental car we had while in Alaska.)  When we had a hard time finding an open restaurant, we finally figured things out when we looked at the clock on the car to see how late it was.  So for our first meal on our honeymoon, we ate at Arby's.  (It was open!)

 

Visit with Chuck in Rush PA

After dealing with the movers, cleaning up and closing on the sale of our home, Russ and I were ready for some rest and relaxation.  Fortunately for us, our friend Chuck (last name left off for his privacy) invited us up to Rush PA for the long 4th of July weekend.  Don't know where Rush PA is?  You're not alone.  Rush has a population of 14 people, so it doesn't even have its own zip code. 
So we flew up to Tunkhannock, the closest public airport where Russ could land. 

 

Tunkhannock was the first place I'd ever been where I'd seen a vending machine for live bait.  Apparently this town is a perfect match for Chuck, who is an avid outdoorsman.

Chuck will be retiring from the Air Force next year and bought his retirement home ahead of time.  He plans on finishing the basement and making a "family room" location.  Fortunately for Chuck, Russ' background in electrical engineering is helpful for this project.

 

His home is on a lovely piece of land, approximately 9 acres.  It's a great location for his friends and family to come visit and have outdoor barbecues since you can be pretty loud and still not bother his neighbors.

 

Jarret, his cocker spaniel, has plenty of room to run and loves swimming in the creek that runs along the back of the property.

 

It wasn't all work and no play.  We took plenty of time enjoying the slower pace of small town living.  We went to "Podunk Valley" where his father lives on a farm.  (The first time Chuck turned in a leave request and had his dad's Podunk Valley address listed, I thought Chuck was playing a joke on me.  I didn't really believe there would be a town called Podunk anything.)

 

We stopped by his dad's farm and I got to pet the horses and other animals.  

 

 

 

I forgot the name of this bridge, but it was in a really pretty area.  We drove over it first and then found an access road to go exploring underneath it.  

 

Jarrett decided she really liked Russ when she learned he was willing to share some beef jerkey treats.

 

The second night we were in town we stopped by the camp grounds where Chuck's mom, Judy, and stepdad, Larry, were staying.  It was on top of a hill with a great view of the valley.  (Of course, my head is blocking the view, but we enjoyed the sights.)

 

 

Russ and Chuck brought a bunch of fire wood and stacked it for Judy and Larry.  (Chuck did the hard part and had cut and split the wood before our arrival.)  Then we had some dinner.  Larry was cooking some squash in the biggest frying pan I'd ever seen.  (Judy was seasoning it.)  We had a great meal followed by some delicious strawberry shortcake.

What a great change of pace and a great weekend!  Thanks for inviting us, Chuck!

Farewell Flowers from AEOX

My co-workers gave me a beautiful flower arrangement for my going away.  (I forgot to bring the camera to my section's going away luncheon for me yesterday.)  The flowers added a nice shade of color to the otherwise non-descript lodging room on base.

 

AESBO Farewell Luncheon for Russ

Russ' farewell luncheon was held at an Italian restaurant called Johnny Carino's, which had opened a few weeks prior to our departure.  At the luncheon, Russ' co-workers presented his farewell gift, which earned a bunch of laughs.  MSgt Pokornik was never one to mince words and accurately attributed one of Russ' better known quotes of "Accuracy was never a requirement" in the going away photo montage he made for Russ.

 

 

The "boys from AESBO" (the "battle space operations branch" Russ worked in) pictured from left to right are:  Theron McClinton, Bill Geiwitz, Russ Roslewski, MSgt Michael Pokornik and MSgt Leurck.



Saying Goodbye to Butch and Snow

The movers came to load all our boxes onto the moving truck.  As with any moving day, it was pretty stressful.  To help ease my tension, I took some leftover meats from the fridge to give to my next door neighbors' dogs, Snow (front) and Butch.  Fortunately for all of us, I love giving "loveys" to dogs as well as receiving doggy loves.

 

 

It was sad saying goodbye.  I'm going to miss these two.

Preparing the Fish Tank for the Move

Russ had already taken Chompers to a local fish store since they couldn't accept two paku fish this size at once.  The store also said they'd accept the two "sucker fish" we had.  So Russ carefully netted Poky, Rocky and Phil and put them in the cooler for transport.  Russ was really sad to see Poky leave.

Since Rocky and Phil hid a lot, here's a rare shot with all three fish visible.

Bye-bye fish!

Roslewski Family Farewell Party

It's traditional in the Air Force to have farewell parties when one is relocating to a new assignment.  Neither Russ nor I wanted to have big going away luncheons at work.  So we each had a small luncheon with just our work sections and then a combined farewell party at our home.  Since the party was at our house, we figured the people who really wanted to go would make the effort to come.  Plus, we invited families to come along with our co-workers so our co-workers wouldn't miss out on their weekend family time.
In addition to our co-workers, we also invited our neighbors (both sides of our house and the two immediately across the street) since we'd gotten to know them relatively well during our short time in this house.  (I'd only lived there 18 months and Russ had only lived there 5 months.)
As usual, I really over estimated the food.  At least I made several of my co-workers happy by sending them home with lots of food.  Plus Russ' best friend Chad was in "bachelor mode" with his wife out of town.  So Chad also had several meals taken care of.
I only took a few pictures since I actually spent time socializing instead of playing photographer.  Sorry I didn't have more to show!
Here's Russ with Brian Watson and his son Andrew.

And here's Don Brink with his wife and children.