Air Force Warriors in Nevada

What an inspiring visit to Nellis Airforce Base in Las Vegas, NV. Many thanks to our tireless board member Gen. Norm Lezy (USAF,ret.) for making the arrangements. We braved 108 degree heat with our terrific guide, Lt. Col Tony Millicamp. U R the best, Tony. We began our visit with ThanksUSA scholarship winner Derek Sterling who is a military spouse taking care of his young son while his wife Sara completes her tour of duty. Derek is completing his undergraduate degree in social work. We hope Derek and Sara can attend our ThanksUSA gala in Washington DC this fall once they are settled in their new lives. We also enjoyed meeting Col Greg Dodson who just returned to Nellis from a tour at the Pentagon.

Our day continued with a fascinating tour of the strategic warfare command center where we viewed Soviet and other military aircraft and anti-aircraft weaponry. The highlight of the tour was a visit with the Thunderbirds, the elite Air Force demonstration team. Sgt. Dan Lawson who is about to join the Thunderbird team gave us a firsthand look at their jets and hanger while giving us a real sense of the espirit de corps that permits this group to represent so admirably the world's finest air force, the United States Air Force. You rock, Dan.

As we departed Las Vegas we visited the mobile USO center managed so capably by Pam Fairbanks. The new USO now brings its brand of service to military personnel directly to the troops through one stop shopping mobile vans. We plan another USO visit in Chicago, thanks to Lynly Boor with USO's worldwide headquarters in DC. Thx, Lynly.

Off to the west with visits to awe inspiring national parks in Utah, Wyoming and South Dakota.
We will also see Utah's senior Senator, Orrin Hatch, a strong and early supporter of ThanksUSA's scholarship program for the kids and spouses of the troops.

Enchanting New Mexico

!Hola! from New Mexico, land of true enchantment! We rumbled up to our Aunt Lisa's house on Saturday, August 11th on a dirt road; an everyday-sort-of-magical telltale of the forget-me-not weekend to come.

The town of Truth or Consequences is the true meaning of America to me. You have people of all shapes, sizes, personalities grappling with their own lives and yet still leaving their doors wide open to those who need their neighbors whatever situation it might be. Whether it's more hot chocolate, an extra floaty for swimming, or just a needed "hello!", I was in awe of how close and friendly EVERYONE was in this small town. And to delve into more of the warmth of this town, we visited the town museum.

I guess being a treasure hunter comes in handy at these museums with the ability of plucking facts off their vines of knowledge! Devour these fun facts:

• The town of TorC was originally called Hot Springs


• Hot Springs changed its name to Truth or Consequences after a winning a contest sponsored by Ralph Edwards, star of the hit television and radio show of the same name
  

The great Apache chief, Geronimo, dipped his face into a hot spring well years ago and gave the water a special blessing received by all who relax there.
Just like our trip, this is just a sampler taste of the history of New Mexico and the background of the hidden gem of a town strung on America's jeweled necklace. Learn more about TorC and send it to us! You just might see your fact in Treasure Hunt III!

The next day, we set out for Elephant Butte, a spectacular lake of elegant blue that surrounded an enormous rock formation that looked like a wise old elephant with the rock's texture seeming like his weathered wrinkles. We were once again swept off our feet by the waves of generosity the flowed from my aunt's neighbors, John, Marilyn and Jessie, who provided floaties, laughter, an aborable lab named Bo and most of all their open arms and company. We tried seadoos for the first time -- such a blast!

John grilled a great dinner lakeside and then entertained us with his guitar and country tunes. Both John and Jess are veterans (Jess of Iraqi Freedom and John from Viet Nam), so we enjoyed sharing with them the mission of ThanksUSA.

We are off to Arizona tomorrow after a fun-filled weekend.

More photos from San Antonio

Finally . . . photos are up from second set of San Antonio meetings. Here are Rachel and Kelsi with scholarship recipient James Johnson and our new friend from the USO, and with Sonia Medina from the AT&T Foundation, and with scholarship recipients Robin Butcher, Candice Corte and Courtney Banayad along with Robin's kids and Candice's mom.

Saying good-bye to Texas

August 10: We said good-bye to the Hill Country this morning to return to the USO in San Antonio to meet with another group of awesome scholarship recipients. This group included Robin Butcher who is close to achieving her life long dream to be a RN. She described how both the ThanksUSA scholarship and her two darling kids have helped her go back and complete her education with an active duty spouse.

We also met with Candice Corte and her mom. Candice is attending the University of North Texas and is active ROTC. She has a sister who starts college next fall, and the ThanksUSA scholarship is helping her family achieve their educational goals.

Finally, we met with Courtney Banayad -- a world traveler already -- who is finishing at the University of Texas at Austin. She was so appreciative of having financial assistance to help her make ends meet while finishing her education.

Before walking out of the USO we were approached by one of the volunteers who helps keep the USO looking clean and inviting for visiting military personnel. This volunteer had listened to the girls talk about why we started ThanksUSA. He described his own background and said he did not put an emphasis on education when he was younger, and learned the hard way about its importance. But rather than feeling discouraged, he is now back taking classes and tests to better himself. We wish him every success and than him for all he does to take care of the troops.

We then went to the famous San AntonioRiver Walk and had a TexMex lunch with Sonia Medina of the AT&T Foundation. The AT&T Foundation has been a generous supporter of ThanksUSA and we thanked Sonia for her instrumental role in helping military families everywhere.

Remember the Alamo? Well, now we know a little more about the imporant role played by the Mission in the Texas Revolution. The knarly trees and fortified walls of the Mission gave us an appreciation of how the battle might have gone for those freedom fighters who lost this battle, but not the war for independence.

Now we're on to Interstate 10 across Texas and into New Mexico to start our swing northwest.

Sorry, no photos today. Deanna has tried unsuccessfully to find a wireless network that would let her upload photos. Perhaps we'll have better luck at our next stop.

FInding Heart and Soul in Texas

August 9, San Antonio. It was hard to leave Jackaroo Ranch, in the heart of the Hill Country (Thanks, D'Anna, for the great digs!), where we were surrounded by Texas Longhorns, the beautiful Blanco river, and herds of deer, but we had a busy day ahead.

The day provoked powerful emotions for the entire family. We began with a tour of the Brooke Army Medical Hospital at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio. We were thrilled to meet our former neigbor, Lt. Col. Lanier Ward, who had recovered at this very hospital from severe wounds that he received in Baghdad in '03. The picture is of Lanier with two of the Physical Therapists (Amy and Heather) who helped him recover (he can now jokingly refer to this as the "House of Pain"). Amy and Heather are still helping wounded soldiers today. Lanier was one of our primary inspirations when we launched ThanksUSA nearly two years ago, and he remains an inspiration today. We were delighted that he would come all the way from Kentucky to show us around and we hope he can make a return appearance at the ThanksUSA gala in Washington, D.C. on October 3, 2007. Last year he made wonderful remarks and provided a terrific introduction of former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Meyers.

We toured both the hospital and the recently opened Intrepid Center. Wow, if you ever though you were strong or tough, think again. These wounded warriors are courageous heroes. Seeing this center truly made us appreciate how much these warriors, and all those in uniform, love our nation to risk life and limb so that we can live the life we want in this country. To see so many who had lost legs or arms or suffered severe burns and other injuries, but whose spirits were strong and still fighting touched us deeply. Although it was only a small token, the girls delivered some beautifully decorated letters to many of the wounded.

With a stengthened commitment to do whatever we can to help thank the troops with the gift of education to their families, we went to the USO in downtown San Antonio. Thank you, San Antonio USO for your hospitality! We met with four wonderful ThanksUSA scholars today, and as Rachel said, "They blew us away like a tumbleweed in the Texas wind."

Johana Dowell, with two small children and an active duty husband getting ready to deploy to Iraq, was in a car accident last year with the children and all hope of college seemed to disappear at that time . . . until a ThanksUSA scholarship letter arrived in the mail and gave her the funds to rekindle her dreams to pursue her education at UT. She told us how important our small idea was to her and her family. WOW. It was a double bonus to hear that she is playing the ThanksUSA American History Treasure Hunt with her kids and finds it a terrific family project. We will be thinking of her and sending our prayers for her husband's safe return.

We also met James Johnson and his parents (His Dad is active duty Air Force -- 25 years -- Thank you, Sir, for all you do and God bless!!). James's smile and ideas are bright enough to light up the San Antonio sky. Keep an eye on this Baylor University scholar. He is going places, big time!

Joshua Heaney is an army "brat" now attending Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in part with a ThanksUSA scholarship. He plans to go to flight school and we are sure that when he gets his wings he will rule the sky!

We are so grateful to Ashley Neves who lives and works in San Antonio. She drove all the way to Austin to see us yesterday, and came back to the San Antonio USO today. Ashley, you rock!

Back to the Hill Country to recharge for tomorrow.

Everything is Bigger in Texas - Even our Blog

Bigger blog, but slower, as we have been chasing wi fi connections at various coffee shops without much success. Hope this one stays with us long enough to post blogs from the past few eventful days.

August 8: We awoke in a place called Hope . . . Hope, Arkansas that is. Birthplace of former President Bill Clinton and home of the 150 lb watermelon seen in the photo. Our long drive southward, to Texarkana, took us to Austin, capitol of the Lone Star State.

We met with 2 outstanding young ladies, both ThanksUSA scholarship recipients, at the Austin Recreation Center. We desperately wanted to dive into the Center's big swimming pool to cool off from the 100+ degree heat, but instead we sat down inside with Ashley Neves and Jasmine Jones. We captured their remarkable and heartwarming stories on video, fortunately, and will be putting together a video. They really hit it off with Kelsi and Rachel, who have two new big "sisters" to add to the ThanksUSA family. Ashley, who drove over an hour with her friend Krystal just to meet us, promised to drop by the San Antonio USO tomorrow where we will meet some more scholars from around Texas.

Dinner at the Rio Grande authentic TexMex restaurant, a walk by the waterfront awaiting the flight of the bats under the Bat Bridge at sunset and then a drive to rural Wimberly, located in Hill Country, concluded another marathon day . . . but it was all worth it just to meet Jasmine and Ashley. We all will sleep like babies.

Finding Grace and Hope

This one's for our beagle, Miles: "You ain't nothin' but a hound dog, crying all the time..." Who sang that timeless tune? (We have to have trivia wherever we go right? :) ) Why, none other than Elvis Presley!! Checking out all things Elvis at Graceland, TN was lots of fun, though it was over 100 degrees once again. As our Treasure Hunt clue book last year noted, The King, was born in Mississippi but lived and died in Tennessee.

Now THANKS already covered Elvis, but in the universal game of life, a little more info never hurts! Did you know......

• Elvis's favorite food was fried peanut butter and jelly

• Even though he was famous beyond measure, he will always be remembered for using his talent for good by using his profits to quietly pay off struggling neighbors' debts

Then we left the land of country music and gooey pies and headed west on Interstate 40 and into Arkansas.

We wished we had time to stop and join the thousands who were pouring into the ENORMOUS Little Rock Pentacostal church because we're sure it would have been a great experience, but we were just too hungry for real, rather than spiritual, food so we opted for the turn into downtown Little Rock instead.

This beautiful sculpture, titled Carpe Diem, can be found outside one of Little Rock's newest and finest eating establishments, The Copper Grill. We interviewed lots of nice Arkansans who sent along their warmest wishes for the troops and their families. In fact the owner of the Grill lobbies in Washington, DC with the National Restaurant Association. Now that is grassroots lobbying at its finest.

We ended our day in Hope, Arkansas; birthplace of former President Clinton. We thought it fitting that our motel is right across the street from a WalMart as Sam Walton was from Arkansas. Our distinguished board member Gen Norm Lezy would be proud of us...he used to be an executive with WalMart. Too bad we will miss the Watermelon Festival this weekend in Hope. We did get to see a 150 lb melon displayed at our motel, though.

Back on the road to meet in Austin, TX with several of our Texas scholarship winners. How exciting!