Kuwait Update

Many of you have asked so many questions, and I'll try to answer some of them.

Yes -- we see herds of camels periodically. They are always with a herder (in an SUV!) and usually 15-25 in a herd.

I travel around Kuwait nearly every day, trying to locate equipment that is here, and getting it properly accounted for. The highways are much like those in the U.S. Except, they drive very fast, and very little regard for other drivers.

The Kuwaiti houses are beautiful -- very small palaces. Most of them are three story homes, very pretty concrete/or block and beautiful architecture. My guess is that each floor is in excess of 2,000 sq ft. We aren't allowed to go into the cities -- only observe from the highways.

It has cooled down a little bit. Temperatures reach the teens of the hundreds every day, sometimes tipping over the 120 degree mark. We drink a lot of water. The military has cases of water and gatorade in just about every location you can find a soldier, sailor, airman, or a marine. There are refrigerators or coolers like you'd see in a 7-11 store all over, and they are continually stocked. We never venture anywhere without water, and always have water in our packs or on our desks.

We're still staying in a tent -- it's not as bad as you'd think. We have beds with mattresses. The tents are air conditioned, and it gets "cold" at night! The bathrooms are just down the dirt path, next door to the shower trailer, and next door to the laundry trailer. We should be able to move into our permanent buildings within the next 10-14 days.

There's very little concrete on this base camp -- in fact, only sand in the zone where I live. The working zone of the camp has some paved streets.

Many have asked about sending care packages. Not yet -- please!!! I don't have any room for more stuff; and whatever I get I'll have to pack up and move soon!

One of the Colonels that is leaving shortly (from my unit) has a bicycle here, and she is going to give it to me. She uses it to get all around the camp -- so I'm looking forward to my future mobility! It has a basket on the front, and it will certainly remind me of biking with Chip in my basket! OK, Tom -- you can groan now!

The food in the DFAC is not bad. I'd heard horror stories -- but found them to be a bit exaggerated. So far we've had meals like spaghetti, meat loaf, chicken (fried, baked), salmon, lobster tails, chicken cordon bleu, swiss steak, and many others I can't remember. They switch between rice, potatoes, noodles, or rice -- so I can't really complain about the choices. There is more fresh fruit and vegetables than you can imagine. Many dairy products (yogurt, cottage cheese, milk) for every meal. I person could gain a LOT of weight without trying. They say some come home fit, while other come home fat!!

Which brings me to -- I'm still going to the gym each morning. My muscles quit barking at me and the soreness has subsided -- thank goodness!!!!!

I've rambled long enough.

Til later ~~Candy