In February, we all traveled to Mexico for a vacation (wedding). The vacation was nice. All inclusive is the way to go. We did some parasailing and kayaking. The food and drink wasn't bad at all. We didn't have to leave the complex at all. Everything we needed was right there.
This year was Brandi' turn to go to Arlington Echo. I helped again. It was cold and windy, but everyone had a great time.
We did another Adventure Race (our sixth). This one was in my own home town and was called the Pittsburgh Urban Race Extreme or PURE. It took place all around the city and we had a super good time. We got to rappel off the Panther Hollow bridge. About 200 feet down. Due to high river levels, the first part was changed from a canoe on the river to a bike ride, but other than that, it was a very cool race. Quite an experience to a hometown boy.
Well as a new Master Chief and with my tour coming to an end, it was time again for another adventure. After many negotiations with the detailer, the choice came down to two places. New Orleans or Miami.
I choose New Orleans and started looking for a house. We ended up having a house built. There was a new development in Slidell up above Interstate 12, which didn't flood too much. The price of housing was very cheap in that area, so we had a pretty big house built. It ended up being more house than we needed and it would take me two tanks of gas and a couple hours to cut the grass.
Moving into a brand new house is just like buying a fixer-upper. We had basic white paint on the walls, no gutters or window treatments. Four bedrooms, a living room, dining room and a family room. A breakfast nook and a fireplace. Just a little more house than we needed, but very nice.
I went down ahead of the girls as they did some visiting and followed a couple weeks later. It was just me and the cat for a while. I had closed on the house in May and it had sat empty until the end of June when I arrived and started to settle in. At work, I got started at my new job as the Command Master Chief of the Electronic Systems Support Unit on the East Bank of the Mississippi River.
We tried to settle into the life of New Orleans. We weren't too impressed with the school system and that caused some problems. The were sure to have gym class five days a week, but the math programs were way behind.
It seemed like a lot of hurricanes would set their sights on New Orleans then veer off and hit Florida or Mobile or somewhere else. Ivan was the worst, and Tropical Storm Matthew blew down a large dead tree in our back yard. Luckily I had moved the trampoline to a different part of the yard or it would have been crushed.
Of course the weather was much warmer than we were used to, but on Christmas day I was up early and I looked outside and snow was falling. It quickly turned to sleet, then rain and didn't last long, but it was cool to see.
Year 22: 2005
Life was OK in New Orleans, but not perfect. I got a surprise call from the detailer in January. Apparently a billet had opened up back at CG HQ and my name came up as a good fit. I had helped set up the billet before I left DC. After checking with my work boss and my home boss, I was able to accept the orders and we were headed back to Pasadena, MD after only a one year absence.
Down in the New Orleans area, every parade consists of people throwing beads. We got to see a few and of course experience Mardi Gras from the much calmer Slidell area, but it really is all the same.
Shortly after receiving my orders, we had a knock on the door at home. I had been elected as the President of the Homeowners' Association I really don't know how I got roped into this one. I went to one meeting and asked a few questions. This led to someone nominating me and I should have said no, but couldn't. At least I knew it was going to be only for a short time.
I created a monthly newsletter and worked with the other officers to get things done, but it just reinforced my dislike for homeowners' associations.
We were able to sell the house rather quickly. We actually had one offer before the house went on the market, but they offered low and wouldn't negotiate. We eventually found a buyer and made enough to pay off the realtor and have a few bucks for back up north. We closed on the house at the end of April, but rented back for another month and a half.
Then we packed up all of our stuff in June and headed to Philly and then down to Baltimore to house hunt. When we first came here we didn't want to buy, but now we did. The only problem was it was now a seller's market and prices were high. We made a couple offers during our ten days of house hunting, but nothing took. Lisa headed back to Philly and I headed back to Louisiana to finish out my time. I had about a month left and I rented a furnished apartment right next to Lake Pontchartrain for that time.
Lisa continued to hunt for a place to live and found our house. We put in a generous bid and got the house. It was smaller than the Slidell house, but it was big enough for us. We moved in the middle of August. About a week after we moved in, Hurricane Katrina came ashore in New Orleans and tore the place apart. Our neighborhood had some damage (including some of the roof of our old house) and quite a few of the very tall pines fell, some on houses, but no flooding. We had avoided that "adventure".
While on transfer leave, we did another Adventure Race in PA. This was our seventh race and was a really challenging one. We camped at a place called Blue Rocks the night before. It was a whole valley full of car sized rocks. Very cool. The race had a good mixture of events. Running, orienteering, bike on both road and trail, some canoeing with our bikes in the canoe in very shallow water. Rappelling and ascending and a trek back to the start. We crossed the AT during the race. It was a 12 hour race and we finished in 13 hours. The race director was still waiting for others to finish and a lot stopped when the cut off times passed so we weren't last.
In December, we went to Pittsburgh and attended a Steeler game vs the Bengals. Steelers lost. We still had a great time tailgating and seeing my Steelers with the Pittsburgh Steeler Fan Club of Baltimore. It was cold.
Shortly thereafter we found out that Esther had terminal cancer. We spent that Christmas in Philly, celebrating the holiday with the family as best we could. This would be Esther's last Christmas.
Year 23: 2006
January was a pretty bad month. Esther continued to fade. There was no way to treat the cancer. After a few tries, Esther entered into hospice. I discovered a new thing called GeoCaching. It was basically finding hidden tupperware in the woods and other places using GPS coordinates. Since I didn't have a GPS yet, we used satellite pictures and hints to make the finds. It was a good way to get our mind off of everything for a short while.
Esther passed on the 19th of January. All three of her girls were able to be at her bedside when she left us. I wrote this in my book on the day of her funeral. "
Esther's Laugh. When I first met Esther in 1985, the first thing I noted was her laugh. It was very distinctive and over the last 20 years no matter what was going on in our lives, that laugh was always present. One thing about Esther, she wasn't shy. She would greet anyone and everyone with a smile and that laugh. I never met anyone who wasn't impressed by and immediately drawn to Esther. Everyone always had something good to say about her.
When this sickness befell her and I saw it take hold and start to change her, I feared her laugh was gone forever, but I was wrong. Even when she was feeling her lowest and was in great pain, she would still let that laugh out. I would see the old Esther was still there, shining bright. Even through her pain she was able to reassure Me and comfort Me when I despaired at her condition. I can still hear that laugh and will for the rest of my days. It exists in my heart and everyone's heart who's lives she touched while she was here.
Even though Esther was an Eagles fan, I think she helped out a little when our Steelers went to and won their fifth Super Bowl in February. Bill, Robin and Age came down to our house and we had a great time watching the game and running through the neighborhood full of Ravens fans shouting our victory. Just in case they weren't aware of it.
Shauni started driving this year. Brandi built a trebuchet for school. It really worked. (sorta)
In October I decided to pay back a little to the adventure racing world and I volunteered to help at an all female race called The Buff Betty. It was fun being on that side of the race, helping the racers and cheering them on.
We went to another Steelers game in November and they won this time.
Year 24: 2007
The year started out with Shauni's birthday. We had gone looking for cars and when we saw one that she didn't hate (yet), I went and bought it. We parked it down the street and on her birthday, we left clues for her to follow until she went outside and down the street where it was waiting. We are such cool parents.
In April, Team CooCooChallenged (Me, Lisa and Age) teamed up again for a the GOALS Savage Adventure Race. Lisa had sprained her ankle during the last wallyball season and she was just getting back into shape to race. It was a pretty cool race and we had a great time running it. Canoeing, biking, orienteering and some interesting challenges. We finished in 5 hours and 41 minutes.
Shauni passed her driving test. She did fine in the test. It was good that she could practice the actual course with her driving instructor. We also got a pool for the backyard. At first we were going to get a good aboveground one, but after checking the back yard again, I didn't think it was going to fit too well. We ended up canceling that order and getting one of those easy to install pools. Also, Lisa and Shauni went up to New York to go to Felicia's graduation. It was a long drive, but they had a very nice time and It was great seeing old friends again.
When we were up Conneaut that year, Brandi got the great idea to ride someone's motorized scooter with no shoes and just a bathing suit on. Well, the obvious happened and she got pretty banged up. I called her Crash Brandicoot for a little bit.
I guess last year Momma Kitty had finally passed on the the scratching post in the sky. We buried her out back. In September we went out to Red Lobster for my birthday dinner. After dinner we went over to Petsmart just to "look" at the kittens. We found a nice little girl that agreed to come home with us. I called here My Precious as she was my "birthday present", just like Smeagol and his ring. I didn't have to kill anyone to keep her. (LOTR reference for you non geeks). She got along nicely with Dusti as soon as Dusti understood who was the boss. Her one "endearing" trait is she like to bite. She thinks it is funny or something.
In November we went to PA again to see the great Steelers play. They won again. It rained.
Year 25: 2008
This year we were playing a lot of wallyball. We were playing at Severna Park in our usual two leagues and over at Big Vanilla Pasadena where I had organized a league of our friends who belonged to that club. We had a little scare in February when Lisa twisted her ankle again. We were lucky that it wasn't bad and she was back to playing in about 10 days.
In March, Shauni want to New York City with her Honors Society Club. They took a train up to the city and participated in a mock United Nations event. It was really just a way to get up to NYC for a week long field trip.
In May Mrs I passed away. She was a very important person in Lisa and Esther's lives. She lived across the street from them and was a great friend. There is a story that a woodpecker kept being heard in the neighborhood around the time she passed. People would say it was Esther come back to escort Mrs I back to the light. Cute story, but now, every time we hear a woodpecker, we wonder who is about to go. :)
We also bought a Hot Tub for our back yard in May. It became the perfect thing to loosen up your muscles after a hard night of playing wallyball.
In June it was time for another cruise. This time we sailed out of New York City and we went with my sister and her family. It was interesting leaving from that port. After the little bit of fun we had driving on to Manhattan, we parked at the terminal and got on board. Once we found everyone the party started. I liked the multiple days at sea as we transited to the Caribbean. It reminded me of being underway on the Northland, except there was a pool, and sunbathing and drinks and the food was a little bit different too.
During this trip we did an excursion where we got to swim with dolphins. It cost a bit, but was totally worth it. The last time I did that was out in the wilds of Kure Island when we were shutting down the Loran Station. It was a little different this time.
Lisa and I ran a lot during the trip and I only gained about six pounds from all the eating and drinking.
July brought another Adventure Race. We were going back to Western PA to near where our old camp used to be in Moraine State Park. The Moraine Adventure Dash or MAD was a fun time. In this race we had to cross a part of the lake by swimming. It was faster to walk in the water along the shore up to the point where you had to swim. We finished in 6 hours and 7 minutes. We could have been faster, but near the end we had to separate to find different controls and I didn't pick the best route back to the finish. I guess I lost about 15 minutes or so, but we had a very good time. We came in 7th out of 12 in the Co-ed division.
In August we were back in Pittsburgh for another Adventure Race, but we were volunteering again. It was similar to the PURE we had run a few years ago, but now had a new name. TURFF (The Urban Race For Fifty) I think there were 50 controls and you had to find as many as possible in the time allotted. Our job was to work the kayak input and output. After all the racer finished this part, we headed back to the start/finish for the awards ceremony. I think we got a swag bag for helping out, but it was fun being on that side again, and quite a bit less strenuous.
The day after was a Lowrie Family Reunion. We had a good time and got to play some volleyball. Lisa and I dominated of course.
In September, Pickles, Ester's long black dog with very short legs passed away. I'm pretty sure we could hear Esther's laugh as she welcomed him to the light... I don't think any woodpeckers were sighted before he passed.
In November, it was back to PA again for our annual Steelers game. They played the Chargers and won by a point.
The Steelers were doing great again. Could they actually go to the Super Bowl again?
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