Finally flyin'

Well, a dreary Monday in Newcastle, but none-the-less got my first front-seat ride in the AF-18 today.  All was a blast as we rocketed down the coastline at 200 feet from Broughton Island to the Northern tip of the city of Newcastle - seriously - they let you fly 500mph at 200 feet all the way to the city.  They still have some noise restrictions, butting I'm starting to like the flying around here a heckuva lot more than back in Virginia Beach.  Unfortunately I had a more senior ranking officer in the back today so I couldn't get any pics out the window - hopefully only one more ride with a guy in the back and then I can start to really scare myself again.

Enough about work though - Nina and I are making some burritos to offset the inordinate amount of lamb we've been eating for the past few weeks.  Them Aussies love their baby sheep and, well, ya know, when in Rome.  Speaking of meat, we're on the hunt for a Turkey for Thanksgiving, but apparently these folks don't respect the Pilgrims nor Native Americans so we might be eating lambchops for our holiday while watching Rugby instead of the Cowboys.  We have sacrificed sooooo much for the good ole USA in taking this assignment.  Heh heh.

I think we'll survive though - I asked Nina for a surfboard for my birthday - I saw a couple of amazing spots on the flight down the beach today:)