It has been a week and a half since I got back from my family vacation in the U.S. We had a great time in Mobile, Austin and Amarillo. Upon return to Hanoi, I took block furlough days to cover me for the next month and some days while I am on an investigation activity in Vietnam. Even though I didn't get paid for the five days I was off, it was nice to have five days to decompress and get over jet lag after the vacay.
I really enjoyed seeing Dad and appreciate his wife for allowing us to stay with them for the days we were in Mobile. And, it was great to hit a couple of good restaurants, notably Blue Gill and Wintzell's Oyster House, with David and his family; even though we didn't see Nicholas Cage while we were in town.
Driving from Mobile to Austin and then onward to Amarillo before returning back to Mobile was quite a long time in the car for Diep and Megan. Diep's initial awe of the immensity of the U.S. quickly waned and turned to boredom after about 1,000 miles of barren plains. To me, the drive was definitely worth it to see my big sis and her family, and then to see one of my oldest, most trusted friends. We got to see the Cadillac Ranch and shoot some guns. I wanted to let Diep and Megan shoot guns on this trip because it might not be so easy to do in the not too distant future.
Megan got some great tours at the University of Texas - Austin and the University of South Alabama. Even if she doesn't go to either school, I think she was able to see both ends of the spectrum with regards to school size, activity, accommodations, etc. She definitely has a better idea of what to expect. She will retake her SAT and send her scores to a couple of schools for consideration. She did great on her first SATs, but I bet she does even better this time!
We ate some great food at home, but Diep was ever vigilant and didn't let Megan and I go full unleashed. It only took a week for me to get back down to pre-departure weight. Getting back in shape may take a little longer because I have been fairly inactive for nearly two months now.
We have already started our advance work portion of 13-4VM. I am coordinating in Hanoi with our counterparts as they prepare work in central provinces, but I will be depating mid-week next week for the central provinces and I will be moving quite a bit until the beginning of September.
What a ride...
