Quick Pass

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dad is pup sitting our neighbor Matt's dog Tilly while they go on a quick trip. Dad had his volunteer shift at the hospital so we helped out by watching Tilly for him, for Matt, for a short while. She and Bear got on just fine. 

Undying

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finished Dying Light The Beast, aka Dying Light 3. Like the first two it's just good enough to be entertaining but will never crack the top ten list for great games.  

A Sheriff With A View

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Had to head downtown to the Sheriff's HQ for a meeting with their IT folks. I hadn't been to their new building even though they've been in it for a few years now. Really nice, and the view from the parking lot is pretty too. 

Good Clean Fun

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loved the Book of Mormon, super funny. Not for the faint of heart, but if you aren't easily offended it's a blast. I would see it again. 

Ready To Book It

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Waiting for the show to start. 

Fading Jackson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We've always enjoyed live theater, so we're off to see the Book of Mormon at TPAC. I like the building and the location, so I'm a little bummed they have announced they are going to be moving to a new development across the river over the next few years. But such is life. 

Snuffle Snoozer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For some reason Bear has taken to sleeping on his snuffle mats. I guess whatever makes him happy! 

WOTM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last month was a whirlwind that's going to be hard to top. But there's still plenty to look forward to. Busy year. 

Memorial Meal II

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But of course the real star is always Dad's amazing steak. 

Memorial Meal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We couldn't do the official Memorial Day so we decided to honor it a little late with an Upper Greer BBQ, and what a spread Dad put out for us! 

Looking Good

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He still likes looking out windows. 

Daycare Debutant

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We've never taken our dogs to daycare before, and we don't know about what Bear was like in the three years before we got him. But we think it's important he keeps flexible and socialized. Especially since he's an only dog and will be for the foreseeable future. So this was a new experience for us all, taking him to the Hound Heelton. He proved as adaptable as ever, and came home exhausted having played his little heart out and gotten on fine with the other pups there. So this'll become a regular thing! 

Explorer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was feeding the birds this evening and came back to the storage box to find it occupied. He's an ever curious, fearless little guy. We put the various types of feed in metal bins because critters were sneaking into the box at night and having themselves a midnight snack.

Regardening Growth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I completely redid the flower garden this year, and the new plants seem to be thriving. I only did three rows instead of four since the butterfly bush tends to spread out. I particularly like the purple ones. 

Post Grad Picture

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We're back home after a whirlwind two weeks between the trip to Ohio and the trip to Georgia. It was a lot of driving, but well worth it. Lonnie sent us this picture, which is the official snap the school took after Payton walked off the stage at his graduation. We're excited to see what comes next for him at Mercer!

The Grad Crew

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Megan took this picture so unfortunately she's not in it. But otherwise from left to right. Amanda, Payton, Lonnie, Lonnie Sr, Amanda's husband Tye, Mari and me! 

Grad Talk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Payton, Amanda, and Megan enjoying a post graduation chat. 

The Man With The Scroll

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Payton with his diploma after the ceremony. 

The Diploma Stroll II

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then the person who gave the commencement speech, who's name has unfortunately escaped me. And with that Payton officially graduated from High School and set his sights on Mercer University. 

The Diploma Stroll

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Speeches were made, mostly decent, and then the walk began. And as you can imagine with so many students, it took a minute to get there, but finally it was our turn to cheer for Payton as he gathered his diploma and shook the hand of the principal. 

Sea of Red

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then the traditional music started (which is called "Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1" by Sir Edward Elgar for those curious) and man did they have to play through it a few times as the 800ish graduating students filed into the arena and filled up all the chairs.

Jumbotron Preview

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we waited for things to fill up they were showing pictures of the graduating class on the big screens. I snagged Payton's as it flashed by. 

Archer 2026

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Payton's school and his graduating class. 

Big Ol Graduation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I guess I hadn't thought about it and was internally referencing my small graduation from Bellarmine many moons ago, so I wasn't expecting how massive this event was going to be. Set in a full size arena with three lines of people trying to get in wrapped around the place. Wow. 

Big Ol Mall

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had some time to kill this morning, and no museum to do it in, so we went across from our hotel to the massive Mall of Georgia. At least as big if not bigger than Opry Mills, it had a little bit of everything. Impressive. If we lived in the area I could see this being a frequent visit.

Right Back On The Road Again

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After one day of rest, it was back on the road. First Dayton, Ohio and now Buford, Georgia to spend time with Payton and see him graduate from high school. We got in late but met up with the fam and had an amazing meal at a place called Seasons 52. We wish there was one in Nashville.

Commemorative Coin II

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the back of the coin, showing the different aspects of the program. 

Starting at the bottom and going clockwise around the edge, that square building was the Air Force Satellite Control Building, which everyone in the program called "the Blue Cube." The next represents the launch facilities (like where Dad worked.) Next is a Corona satellite. Then a SIGNIT satellite. Then the Hexagon satellite. And finally the recovery program where they caught the falling film.

In the middle top is a Gambit satellite. And the middle bottom represents the satellite tracking stations they had across the globe.

Commemorative Coin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Home and relaxing for a day before the next adventure. We each got one of these coins at Dad's event. I thought they were pretty cool. 

Trending A Buck

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the way home from Dayton, the festivities complete. Neither Dad nor I had ever been to a Buc-ee's before so we decided to stop. It was...fine. Maybe because it was super crowded, or we were tired and in a bit of a hurry to get back on the road, or maybe I'd built it up too much in my head, but I didn't really see what the fuss was about.

Space Speeches

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a great dinner, Dad and Tom got to talk a lot, there were several speeches by interesting people. All in all a really nice event. 

A Model Satellite

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They had a 3D printed Hexagon model as the centerpiece of each table. 

Hexagon Then

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a picture of Dad and Tom taken when they were both working on Hexagon back in the day. Not the best since it's a side view of both, but you can kind of pick out that they've changed a bit in the last 50 years or so. 

Hexagon Now

 

 

As I mentioned previously Tom invited us to sit at his table during the dinner so he and Dad could spend time catching up.

Rocket Quilt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dad made a special quilt with pictures of the various projects and launches he was a part of and showed it off. 

Time To Dine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They had quite the layout prepared with a place to check in, a large open area with all the tables and a stage with a big screen behind it. The greeting crew were quite the characters.

Dinner In A Hanger

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally it was time for the SAFSP dedication dinner. 

The King's Engine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful things come in all shapes and sizes. 

The King

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course you knew I couldn't go to a museum with a SR-71 or two in it and not take pictures. Still my favorite plane of all time.

Bearachute

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Think we could teach Bear to use one of these? 

The Belle Of The Building

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

May 17th, 1943 was the Memphis Belle's last combat mission. The 17th being tomorrow they were gearing up for a special presentation on it, and had some people there to answer questions about the plane and it's history.  

A Plane Feeling

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Much of the museum was the same but these boards for the blind were new. Not only did it have a braille section explaining what the plane was, there was a little 3d model of the plane so a blind visitor could get a sense of what they were reading bout. Pretty cool. 

Starting Where It Started

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you'd expect the first exhibit is about these two guys. 

Air Map

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here's all the stuff to see. Not including all the monuments out on the lawns.

Killing Air Time

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today we didn't have much on, as the dinner didn't start until 5:30 and there isn't much to do in Dayton. So we decided to have a stroll through the Air Force Museum and see what's changed since our first visit.

Green Screen Getaway

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dad and I and the Memphis Belle. 

Hexavu

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A little more grey, we've both lost weight, and one of us grew a beard, but I think we're still going strong. 

Hexagon Hexahere

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here it is. Again. 

Back To The Flighture

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And so we returned to the museum, there was a luncheon for the memorial attendees in the hangar where they display the Hexagon satellite. 

01851

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dad's plaque forever emblazoned at the Air Force Museum.  

The One

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It took a bit to find since there were so many of them, but we finally spotted Dad's plaque on this one.