I've been back in Okinawa since the 10th of February. Amanda picked me up from the terminal and had the pre-Valentine's Day weekend all planned out. She took me up to some nice little cottages on White Beach Naval Station. We spent a couple nights at the cottage and then it was back to work for me. Despite what you might think from reading the global securiy link it's a nice getaway with a good restaurant and white sand beaches just down the road from the cottages. On Sunday, Foundation Day we watched Japanes Naval cruisers leave the port.

Since finishing instructor pilot school I have to be the one with all the answers on the mighty KC-135 Stratotanker. Last weekend I was flying somewhere south of Vietnam and my receiver aircraft, the one scheduled to get gas from us, decided not to show up. If you're curious about my jet it's basically a flying gas tank. It's fun to fly despite being 40-50 years old and I've had a chance to travel all over the world. Ok I'll stop with the Air Force recruiting pitch.

In January I decided to run the Kona Marathon on the big island of Hawaii in June this year. I've been training since the 7th of February. Just the trainig has been kicking my butt! I've lost 10 pounds and my feet were not pretty to begin with. My nipples get raw from shirt rub anytime I run at least 6 miles. Despite all that I can tell I'm in really good shape. Last week I played basketball for my squadron team in the base intramural basketball league and I felt like I could run up and down the court all night, at least until the second half. I also had my annual fitness test for the Air Force last week and ran the mile and a half in 9:32. After the run I just kept going for another three miles to knockout a weekly marathon training session. Unfortunately it's been raining quite a bit lately but that hasn't stopped me from running yet. The photo is the rainy view from my apartment on 25 Feb.