Day 8; Skyway to Tomorrowland

Today we toured Montjuïc (Mountain of the Jews).  The oldest sight on the Montjuïc is the Castell de Montjuïc, a large 18th century fortress. It was built by the Bourbons on the remains of a fort dating back to 1640. 





I read that the castle was originally built for the defense of Barcelona, but now houses the Museu Militar (military museum).  Check out this cannon photo below.  My husband volunteered to be my model in order to give us some perspective to the cannon's size.

In order to get there (unless you are crazy enough to climb the mountain just to save a few bucks ) is by taking a ride on the "Telefèric de Montjuïc."  This is a ski resort-style 4-person gondola lift cable car, which transports visitors up the mountain to the old military fort on Montjuïc.

Riding on the Telefèric reminded me of the 'Skyway to Tomorrowland' at Disneyland (or as we used to call the ride as kids, the "bucket rides"). 

Later on, we met up with Robert and few of his friends for a late dinner at the Attic restaurant on Las Ramblas.  Lots of food and fun.

Finally, I received a text message from my soldier in the middle of the night (of course, I was still awake at 2am, so no big deal...).  

          "I am probably going to have to send one of my soldiers home.  Medically disqualified."

Oh no.  That can't be good news. 



Day 7; A Hike To Remember

No word from my soldier today.  No doubt, he is busy doing his job. 

Last night, my insomnia kept me awake all night.  I finally turned off my computer at 5am and fell asleep.  It seems I am still on L.A. time.

Robert called us at noon and wanted to take us on a tour of Park Güell in Barcelona this afternoon.  Park Güell is another of Gaudi's creations (remember Segrada Familia?) and lies north of Barcelona centre. 
We had another challenging time on the Metro and met up with Robert after only 37 minutes of foot and metro travel.  Not bad, and less than one Euro to travel on the Metro system.

Park Güell is full of narrow twisting pathways which meander through the park and it is quite a hike up several steps.

This park was like nothing I had ever encountered and as we continued to climb, the various foot paths were surrounded by colorful buildings, sculptures, and mosaic tiling.

Robert is a wonderful tour guide, and in addition to his knowledge of Barcelona, he is the perfect translator.  He orders all of meals for us in Catalan!



The views of Barcelona from the top of the park were spectacular. 

I actually got to be in a photo... (barely!)

There is a large stone cross on the highest point of Park Guell. We are told that most people come here to visit the gardens laid out by Gaudi, and far fewer make it to the top of the park. The hike from the gardens up to the stone cross is quite steep, but I thought the view was well-worth the effort.

Upon returning to the hotel, I received a text message from my soldier!

          "Doing entry check point ops.  Basically, vehicle searches, personnel searches, biometric data entry
          (iris and fingerprint scan).  This body armor is friggin heavy."

I sent him a warm "1-4-3" (that's "I love you" in text code for those of you who don't know) and closed my eyes, imagining a "virtual hug."  Sounds corny, but it helps.

We finished off the day by ordering room service and watching the Green Bay Packers and the St. Louis Rams football games on our laptop via TiVo/Slingbox.  You gotta love the Internet.

Day 6; A Whole Lotta Nothin'

Our sleep patterns do not seem to be improving.  My husband was up for a couple hours in the dark checking email during the night, which in turn woke me up, and then we slept in until noon.  I stared out the window at the rain and decided to read a paperback novel I had brought with me.  It was sheer hunger that finally pulled us out of bed at 2pm. 

We took a walk down the boardwalk of Barceloneta and found the familiar pizza restaurant from a couple of days ago.  Familiarity had won out over the challenge of searching for something new to eat in the rain. 

Upon arriving back at the hotel, I returned to my book and it was too good to put down.  I finished it in one day!  (Not the first time I had read this one, either!)  Room service for dinner, Lakers game via SlingBox, and then surfing the Internet.  No wonder I can’t get to sleep at night—sleeping in too late and drinking Diet Cokes all day and night = a recipe for insomnia…!

Here we are in this wonderful city with so much to see and do, and you can draw a big "X" through this day.  Shame, shame, shame on our laziness. 

However, tomorrow is another day; we get to see Robert again.

Day 5; Shop Til I Drop

I knew it was going to be a great day when I woke up to an email from my soldier.  It was a group email to his friends as well as a few family members, but I was grateful nonetheless to hear what was going on:

Sup mofs,

I just got issued a duffel bag full of new crap plus new body armor...and I have to figure out how to fit it into my two already-full duffel bags and my black footlocker...it's like I'm packing for a space shuttle mission.  Anyway, I attached a couple pictures of the new spiffy body armor.  It's called an IOTV (improved outer tactical vest).  Front/back plates designed to stop a 7.62mm AK-47 round, plus side plates, shoulder pads, and a penis guard (that's what I call it, but it's just a flap that comes down kind of like a baseball catcher's pads).  The shoulder pads and penis guard are designed to stop shrapnel but not bullets. With all the pouches and crap I put on it, it carries 270 rounds of ammo (9 mags), 2 frag grenades, 1 flashbang, first aid kit, camelbak, two strap cutters (I had two so I put them in different places so I can reach either one if I'm stuck in a vehicle), multitool, flashlight, among other crap.  The whole thing weighs like 40 pounds dry and probably another 15 with ammo.

The cool part about it is that it has a ripcord in the front which, when pulled, basically makes the whole thing fall apart from you so that if you need to get through a tight space really quick, like exiting a vehicle, or if you are sinking in water, you can drop it without having to unstrap it and pull it over your head.  It takes like 10 minutes to put back together though, and I can imagine that all my soldiers are gonna be pulling each other's ripcords like retards, haha.

Just wanted to keep you guys filled in on what's going on around here.  Besides getting new gear, I'm also the Unit Movement Officer so I have been supervising the loading of tens of millions of dollars worth of my company's equipment into shipping containers to be sent to Iraq.  Kind of a big side-job they're making me do. 

I think we're gonna start convoy ops and mounted gunner qualification next week.  The only lame thing is at this point it sounds like we're gonna be stuck with the Vietnam-era M16A2 rifles we have -- we put in a request for M4s but they don't really want to give us any.  Lame.  Hopefully I can trade that cannon in for an M9 handgun and not have to carry around a rifle on base.

Later mofs,

Richy

Today, Robert took us to La Boqueria market.  Incredible food shopping—fresh fish, fruit and vegetables, and…  miscellany:

What the heck is THAT???

After a quick lunch, we then visited La Rambla, a tree-lined pedestrian mall with shopping, shopping, and more shopping.  Also interesting are the street performers along the way. 

Dinner was at an incredible Italian restaurant where my husband and I dined with Robert and 3 of his friends.  Of course, the photographer is absent from the table… ;)

Another wonderful day in Barcelona to distract me from my pathetic pining.  Don’t know how long this will last, but for now, it is slightly bearable. 

Day 4; Barcelona

Getting used to a 9-hour time change is brutal.  We spent most of the day lying in bed, surfing the Internet, interspersed with 2-hour naps...

We had originally woken up at 4am local time and my husband suggested breakfast.  Unfortunately, breakfast via room service was not available at the hotel until 6am, so we checked our email and caught up on DrudgeReport.com, ee.USAtoday.com, and FoxNews.com.  We have yet to turn on a television here; I do not even know if they offer channels that are in English.

Our breakfast was delicious and I must admit, I over-indulged.  Soon thereafter, came the inevitable "food coma."  For those not familiar with the term "food coma," it is defined in Urban Dictionary as follows:

• A state in which a person is generally lethargic, lazy, and very full from eating a large meal. A large meal shall be defined as a meal containing high amounts of carbohydrates.
• After eating such a meal, a person usually cannot eat anymore because they are too tired to carry on.
• A common cause of such weariness can be directly related to eating turkey at Thanksgiving. Turkey contains Tryptophan, a sleep-inducing chemical. 
• The real cause of Food Coma comes from eating too much carbs that will eventually break down in the stomach, causing an inordinate amount of blood to rush to the system.
• To relieve the effects of food coma, one can unbutton their pants so their stomach can expand beyond normal perameters.
• Also, it is advised that a person take a short nap, followed by a large dessert. 

We finally ventured outside at 2pm and walked along the beach in beautiful Barceloneta.  We meandered several streets and decided upon dining for lunch at a little Italian restaurant.  A few minutes later, my cell phone rang and an instant smile played on my face; my son Robert was finished with class for the day and wanted to meet with us.  I gave him the address of the restaurant and for the next 15 minutes, could not take my eyes off of the doorway, anxious to see my "baby" (note:  subject "baby" is 6'4").

As soon as he walked in the door, I bursted into tears and stood to hug him.  Skype is wonderful for keeping in touch with loved ones, but nothing heals the soul like a good, old-fashioned hug.  I finally broke free and let my husband get a hug from him.  I can share. 

Robert gave us a quickie tour of the metro transit system.  He took us to the Segrada Familia (Sacred Family cathedral), an incredible Roman Catholic church in Barcelona designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi (1852–1926).  More on that later on, as it was too late to enter the cathedral and venture up to the top.  We will definitely revisit.

It has been said that the estimated completion date of this church will be in 2026, but has also been rumored to be completely finished in the next 60 years...

After a brief visit to Robert's dorm room, the three of us headed to a local restaurant favorite for dinner (seems so far, it's all about eating and sleeping!).  Tomorrow, I will check email again, and hope to find something from my soldier. G'nite all.

Day 3; Travel Time

Spent the day traveling...  Left the house at 4pm PT (Pacific Time) and arrived in Barcelona, Spain at 10pm CET (Central European Time).  If I do the math, that's 21 hours.  Ugh.

British Airlines was not such a bad way to go (albeit a 2 hour delay on the originating outbound to Heathrow due to "British fog).  Of course, it helps to be in business class, with fully reclining seats.  I felt guilty for those passengers downstairs in economy who had to try to sleep in an upright position as I propped my pillow and lay on my side.  Well, only for a couple minutes (haha).  Being a not-so-friendly flyer, lying horizontally during a 10-hour redeye flight helped tremendously to tolerate the flight, and I praised my husband for shelling out the extra cash for the upgrade. 

The connecting flight to Barcelona was only a 2-hour flight, and we arrived at our hotel by 11pm CET.  Fully awake at this time (since, in my head, I was still in California) I decided to unpack and decided to send my soldier a quick text message, letting him know we had arrived safely in Barcelona.  Thank God for global cell phones (and honorable mention to Verizon for making it happen this time).  My son sent a text message back to me and only then was I ready to continue unpacking. 

One item I had brought with me was a Ty Beanie Baby named "Hero."  He is a bear soldier in camouflage with an American Flag patch on his arm.  Hero would be my constant reminder of my son and wherever I go, Hero will be a companion to remind me of my son's service (as if I can think of anything else these days).  I set Hero up in front of my hotel window so that he may enjoy the view of Barcelona ;)

I often wondered why I see American Flag patches on military uniforms that are "backwards" (star field on right). It used to bother me.  Then my son told me that the flag is worn backward to give the appearance of rushing forward into battle. The patch is always worn on the right shoulder because in the military, the "place of honor" is to the right, according to U.S. Army regulations and the United States Code.  Okay, I get it, and I like it. 
And while we are on the subject of Beanie Babies, let me tell you about an organization I joined last year.  It's called Operation Gratitude.  The main objective is to send care packages to our troops overseas. 
As of November 2010, Operation Gratitude has sent more than 580,000 care packages individually addressed by name, to our military men and women in combat.  My sister originally told me about the organization.  She is a long-time employee of the Walt Disney corporation and is very involved in volunteering her time for a good cause.  I joined Operation Gratitude not only because my son was in the army, but I believe in the cause.  We meet several times a year to prepare and assemble these packages and send out thousands at a time.  It's an assembly-line type procedure.  Many items that are included in these packages are donated items, which include DVDs, cough drops, sunscreen, candy, energy bars, knitted scarves/hats, hand-written letters from children, cookies, etc.  And Beanie Babies. 

So I asked, why would a soldier want such an item when they are overseas, fighting a war?  The whole idea seemed silly to me.  The answer was chilling. 

Here is the answer:  The soldiers give the stuffed animals to the local kids in Iraq; the kids, in return, tell the soldiers the location of hidden IEDs or Improvised Explosive Devices.  [GULP]  To think that a Beanie Baby could potentially save lives shocked me.  I've been buying/collecting them ever since and donating them for the cause. 

Check out this link:  http://www.opgratitude.com/news.php?p=5

Although I've donated close to a thousand Beanie Babies thus far, "Hero" will remain in my possession until my son returns home from Iraq.

Day 2; Another Day, Another Tear

My first waking thoughts were of my son.  What is he doing right now?  Does he know how much he is missed? 

This morning, I received an email from another military mom.  Apparently, Sunday's send off was televised on ABC News.  I got to watch the boarding of the plane after all, even though I had left the base early to go bawl my eyes out.

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/video?id=7789008&syndicate=syndicate&section=

Tonight, my husband and I leave for Barcelona, Spain.  Our youngest son, attending UCLA, is studying abroad this semester and has been gone for over 2 months.  Now that my soldier is off and running, it is time to switch gears and check in with my baby.  Can't wait to get a long-awaited hug.

Day 1; Cry Me a River

Welcome inside my mind.  Today, day one of the absence of my son, started with tears, fears, and downright depression.  Yesterday, my son, a 1st lieutenant in the U.S. Army, was deployed.  As we sat at Starbucks before reporting to the base, he told me that his deployment could last up to 400 days, but he hoped it would not be that long. 

400 days. 

It didn't seem that long ago that my son was in grade school, preparing to leave for a week-long camp with his 5th grade class.  It was the first time he would be away from home for days with no communication.  I stood with my girlfriend and watched as our two sons boarded the schoolbus.  She had a smile on her face; I was devastated.  She was looking forward to the week with joy; I was dreading each day.  Of course, our sons were quite different.  Her son's absence was looked upon as a break, while my son's absence would be a huge void.  She looked over at me and actually laughed as tears streaked down my face.  I wanted to follow the bus in my car and peer through the fence at my son, hoping to get a glimpse of him in the coming days.  Silly, I know, but when your kid is that wonderful, it's hard to let go. 

Many times since then, I've had to "let go" -- college was quite difficult.  My husband and I helped my son to move into his dorm room, and after the last box was carried into the room, they high-fived and laughed, while I stood at the car, crying.  "Don't worry Mom, I'll be fine," he said.  I wasn't worried about him; I was worried about me.  I was a wreck.  Letting go of him again. 

It's all part of the plan.  Kids grow up.  I get it.  I just don't want to accept it.

Back to yesterday.  Our conversation over coffee at Starbucks was brief.  I tried making small-talk, as I really didn't know what to say to my son.  Uh, good luck...  Kick some ass over there...  Don't forget to brush your teeth before you go to bed (of course, I didn't say any of those things).  He was disengaged.  He apologized for not focusing on our conversation.  He had a lot on his mind.  He said he was anxious to leave.  Anxious to leave...  I excused myself and went to the ladies room.  I talked to myself in the mirror and tried not to cry but seeing my face on the verge of tears, my reflection won out and I burst into tears.  I quickly patted my eyes with a wet paper towel and returned to the table.  "Let's go," I said.  What I really meant was "Let's get this over with."  He made me sit down and said, "You're handling this a lot better than I expected."  That did it.  Waaaaaaah.  I shook my head and said, "No I'm not," and noticed people looking over at our table.  We left Starbucks and headed to the base. 

Now the question was, do I park and walk with him to the tarmac area, or do I drop him off at the curb?  I asked him this question.  He suggested the drop off.  Okay, I anticipated that.  Probably better this way for both of us.  I pulled over and we asked a soldier's wife if she would take our picture.  It was rushed, forced.  A crappy building with rust stains was our background.  It would have to do.  He hugged me, I told him I loved him, he told me he loved me, and then he walked away.  It was like boarding that schoolbus all over again, 100-fold.  I sat in the car for a good 5 minutes and sobbed. 

As I was pulling away, my cell phone rang.  "Go park, and come meet me inside the gates," he said.  "Really?" I replied, incredulously.  "Really."  I parked and tried not to run inside the gate.  There were soldiers and their family members congregating inside the gate.  Some were hugging, others were taking photos.  Many of the soldiers were smiling, laughing, seemingly having a great time.  I asked my son why the soldiers seemed so happy.  He said they were anxious to deploy, as they had been planning this for months and were ready to go.  We took more photos.  I felt like I was surrounded by greatness.  These wonderful, selfless, brave and patriotic men and women were anxious to serve our country.  It was awe-inspiring. 

The plane arrived and it was time for the company to line up for boarding.  I didn't want to make another spectacle of myself sobbing and felt it was time for me to leave before I watched him climb those stairs...  We hugged again, and I said goodbye to my boy. 

Today, Day 1, had no less tears shed than yesterday.  Each time I mentioned to someone that my son had left, the sentence was finished with fresh tears streaming. 

My son sent me a few text messages today from his cell phone.  He realizes that even though he and his fellow soldiers are making the ultimate sacrifice by putting their lives in danger, their families are making sacrifices as well.  We are mothers, fathers, spouses, siblings, friends, children -- just saying a prayer and hoping God will bring them all safely back home to us.