Baltimore

Staying at a nice hotel near the Baltimore airport. Last night I had an 11pm salad and an 11 dollar beer (it was a Duvel and yes, it was worth 11 dollars). The waiter/bartender came over and shook my hand, bought me a second beer, and said "thanks." Every few minutes the sounds of airliners arriving and departing rattles the windows. Today I slept in, answered emails, spoke on the phone, dismantled and cleaned my M16 and my M9. In total I'll get about 20 hours here at the hotel. The military is all about hurrying up and then waiting, but this is a decent way to do it. I'm quite sure that the waiting part will be much less pleasant from here on out. I'll have two major layovers in Kyrgyzstan and at Bagram Air Base before I get to my new home. Won't be able to stay at the Hilton in Bishkek, but I think I'll be interested only in getting to the FOB as soon as possible to just get it started.

I guess I'll go take my last shower in a nice bathroom-- it's one of those big glassed-in showers with granite tiles.