2005-2007

 How it all began

Where to start? That is quite the question considering the story I have to tell. I had planned to make this one long blog until I started typing. I quickly realized that this was going to take way too long so I've broken it up. Grab something to drink and get comfortable. :)
Let's get this party started. I was 20 years old and living in Memphis, TN waiting tables at an upscale restaurant. I was paying bills and getting things done but could see clearly that I needed a different path if I was ever going to get where I wanted to be in life. My parents were, and still are, Unexploded Ordnance Technicians. Both of my parents had been urging me to go to school and follow in their foots steps.
The decision to go to Unexploded Ordnance School (UXO) was not an easy decision. It was truly a life changer. Imagine that you want to go to a new, wonderful school but in order to do this you must get rid of your home (leaving you essentially homeless) because your "home" will soon be wherever you are at the time, leave all your friends behind, go $10,000.00 into debt and if you fail the school you still owe that money, have no place to live, and would be stuck starting over again! Sounds exciting, huh? It was, and still is! :)
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College Station, TX

College Station, Texas, (590 miles) And so it begins. Almost 2 months after making the call to my parents I was on my way to start my new life. I got rid of a lot of things, stored some stuff, and packed what I needed for 6 weeks of school. I charged my cell phone, packed my car, and I was off to start my new life.
Before leaving Memphis my incredibly thoughtful sister wanted to get me a going away present that would be useful for my new life on the road. What did my brilliant sister buy me? A 2005 road atlas. I thought it was hilarious and brilliant. I had never officially read a map but I was certain I could figure it out and I sure did. In the coming months that Atlas guided me all over the US. Thank you Delsie Sister Friend!
School was intense and cram packed. I didn't know squat about bombs, bullets, landmines or explosives. I had a steep learning curve but did well in class. I remember calling my parents after passing tests and feeling so proud and relieved that I was actually doing this.
Like any great 20 year old I found time to pierce my tongue with my classmate, Sarah. :) Right after piercing my tongue I passed out for the first time. A big, big thank you to my instructor, Ed Fritz, for knowing what was happening and catching me. Otherwise, I would have certainly hit the pavement. Seriously, THANK YOU ED FOR CATCHING ME! Our class was amazing and there was no shortage of fun times. I will never forget my time in College Station. It was epic.
My shining moment. Great, huh?
I passed school in February, 2005 and officially became and Unexploded Ordnance Technician I. I  proud, single, and about to be rolling in the dough. I was ready to see the world and take on anything.
Sarah and I. Proud Graduates.

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Understanding what we do...

Now that I've graduated from Unexploded Ordnance School I should tell you exactly what I will be doing. As a UXO Tech we work as civilians cleaning up old testing facilities. Some of the contracts last as little as 5 days and some as long as 2 years. When the military is finished training, people like us go in and clean up the mess. Our job is to properly locate the ordnance with a metal detector and safely excavate it so the land can be re-used.

Sometimes the ordnance is still "live". We say these pieces of ordnance "failed to function as designed". It may not have functioned at the time of impact but that does not mean it is incapable of functioning as designed. The realization of our job is reiterated daily at morning safety meetings.

At school we are taught to safely excavate the ordnance and we learned how different pieces of ordnance function. This allows us to NOT blow ourselves up. When something is "Full Up" this means that all the parts are still there that could make it function as designed and go BOOM! So, when we find something that is "Full Up" we "Blow it in place", otherwise known as a BIP. It's unsafe to move these items (the BIPS) because all the parts are intact and it could blow up if you move it. So, in order to get rid of the ordnance we blow it up right where we found it. 
Different land is cleaned to different standards. Sometimes the land will be used for new highways, housing, or might just be re-used by the military. The future of the land depends on how thoroughly we clean it. The work areas are sectioned of into "grids". This ensures that all of the land is being cleaned and nothing was missed. They land is precisely mapped out, marked and then broken down into grids.
Sounds exciting, huh? Well, it is but it's also very boring. Imagine swinging a metal detector for 10 hours a day and digging holes over and over again. Often times the holes you are digging have countless roots and rocks in the way. It's not like your digging a pleasant hole on the beach and sometimes the holes can be up to 4 feet deep. It can be painstaking work but it can also be very exciting when you are actually finding ordnance.

When I tell most people what we do they automatically associate it with the movie Hurt Locker and EOD or Bomb Squad. I am not EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal), nor am I part of the Bomb Squad. UXO and EOD are two completely different things. However, many of the people in our field were at one time EOD in the military and actually disarmed bombs, worked in war zones, and protected the President.

One of these wonderful EOD men is my husband. Butch served 10 1/2 years in the Army and he was in fact, EOD. To become EOD is a huge honor and the men and woman that wear this title do so with pride because they worked hard to be called EOD. The school is one of the most intense courses the military has to offer. For various reasons that I won't get into, there is often animosity between UXO Techs and EOD Techs in our career field.

Life on the Grid is full of craziness, life-threatening scenarios, practical jokes, people who think they are still in the military, people who have never been in the military, and people from all walks of life with extreme moral and racial differences. The stress, physical labor, and the diversity between individuals is like no other job.  Sometimes you are stuck on a team with people whom you despise. Everyone has their differences but some level of tolerance and trust must be achieved because one person's bad decision could mean everyone's last day. I've met some people I hope I never see again and I've also met some people that I will never loose contact with. I can say will absolute certainty, you're job is not like ours! :)  Now that you understand, let's carry on...
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Alexandria, Virginia

Alexandria, VA (1,462 miles) After school I went to stay with my parents in VA until I landed my first job. This was the first time I saw Washington, DC and the first time I ever attempted to drive and navigate in a place like this. Being from Mississippi I had only seen limited amounts of snow so something I will never forget about VA was waking up with A LOT of snow on my car and I had no idea how to get it off! I called my Dad and asked him what to do. He laughed and told me to get the broom. Everything was new, exciting and fun. I also learned how to drive on that fun snow after I slid completely through an intersection at 2 in the morning. Thank God the locals knew I was challenged and moved out of the way!
As I said, I was single and ready to see the world. I had just gotten out of a relationship and was not interested in having another one. However, "My new life" on the road quickly turned to "our life" on the road. My second night in VA I went to a Jazz bar to meet some of the guys from my parents work site. I was 21 and bored. Why not go meet a bunch of strangers and tell them I'm a TECH I? This faithful night (Feb 22, 2005) was the night I met my future husband, Leonard "Butch" Mendes III. We couldn't seem to stop talking that night. When it was time to go home Butch was sober and seemed responsible. My parents had talked about him from time to time so I hoped he wouldn't kidnap me and I asked him to drive me home. He was quite the gentlemen. However, He did put his slick moves on me before I got out of the truck and asked for my digits. Butch wants to send a special thanks to Alan Turpin for knowing the man code and getting out of the truck so he could ask for my number.
Soon after this night our first date took place. I broke him in right and had him come eat dinner at my parents apartment and we had mom's homemade deer. He later told me he was sweating bullets because he respected my parents and it was weird to be dating their daughter. It's hilarious for me. He knew my parents at work and then started dating me so the pressure was on! We quickly became inseparable. I did put up a fight though. I was certain that I didn't need a boyfriend to complicate my new found freedom on the road but I just couldn't find a reason to get rid of him and so it began... "Our life" on the road together.
Our first of many pictures together. Virginia Mall.
One of our first dates. He took me to my first comedy club, The Improv, Washington D.C.
On our first date Butch told me he had a son and then braced for my reaction. He later told me that he expected me to bolt out of the truck never to be seen again. Well, that wasn't the case and soon I met Darius for the first time. Darius is an amazingly perceptive child. At barely 7 years old I immediately noticed his intellect. He's a smart cookie.
One Smart Cookie :) - Darius Mendes
After meeting Butch (I mean like 2 weeks after) he asked me if I wanted to go with him to Aberdeen, MD to help a friend move. Maybe this was his way of breaking me in right! It was then when I met most of his family for the first time and we had a chance to do what we loved, ride the 4-wheeler.
Our first 4-wheeler riding together. I scared him half to death.

Sadie is the American Bulldog in the picture below with Butch's big-little brother, Jason. When I first started visiting Butch I would get to his hotel room right before he got off work and Sadie would be there in her crate waiting for someone to let her out. I felt so horrible that I couldn't let her out but I was also slightly terrified of her because I hadn't had much interaction with her yet and she was a 90 pound BULLDOG. I would sit by her crate and pet her through the cage (so she couldn't bite my arm off). When Butch and I tried to watch a movie on the couch Sadie would come and put her head between our legs. She was so jealous of me and it was too cute. She really is an amazing dog. Everyone loves Sadie and she is a part of the entire Mendes Family. Butch was insistent that Sadie be in the blog.
Jason, the brother. Sadie, the dog.
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Buckroe Beach, VA

After meeting the family and hanging out with Butch for a few weeks I got my first UXO job in Buckroe Beach, VA (190 miles). I was hired to help finish up the job so I wasn't there very long. This site was nothing like any UXO job I would ever have again. Apparently little Johnny found some ordnance while playing on the beach in VA and it was turned over to the proper authorities, which in turn shut down the beach until it could be properly cleaned.

It was determined that the sea needed to be dredged near the area where the ordnance was found. A large piping system was set up to filter the sand from out in the sea onto the beach and into a cage, hopefully catching any ordnance that was dredged up. It worked! We found ordnance in the cage. We also swept the beach with our metal detectors to look for any other ordnance that might be lying around in the sand.
This job was bid as a 24 hour, 7 day a week job so that it could be finished as quickly as possible and turned back over to the public. I happily took the night shift. It was my first job so I couldn't care less what hours I was given. Our work largely depended on if the dredging machine was working or not. If the machine wasn't pumping fresh sand for us to filter then there was no work to be done. I was lucky enough to spend a few nights doing absolutely nothing when the machine went down and Butch came to visit me. He got to sit with me and just hang out a few nights. It was really fun having him there and we got to know each other more.

Check out the photos to see what we were required to do when the machine was working. The photos of the piping and cage will help you make more sense of the operation. It's pretty crazy if you stop to think about the fact that this is a public beach where children and families lounge. Our job is like no other.

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Avondale, Arizona

First stop on our journey together - Avondale, AZ, (2,362 miles). My first job in Buckroe Beach, VA was complete and Butch's Virginia job was coming to an end. Neither of us had another job just yet so Butch asked me to join him on his journey to visit his mom and her boyfriend in Arizona.
His mother's apartment would not allow Sadie and they already had a cat in the apartment. So, Butch thought it best to leave his 90 pound, non-cat loving American Bulldog, with his Brother until he got settled at his next job.
With no dog taking up a seat we decided it would be best to tow my car so we could be together in the truck. You can see our set up in the picture below. Along the way we had been driving for about 17 hours straight when we discovered we were exhausted. We were somewhere in New Mexico and there were no hotels within driving distance. Being the brilliant, "get er' done" type of folks we are, we pulled over and turned the back of the truck into a bed. The Titan took good care of us. The temps outside were below freezing but we were nice and toasting all cuddled up in the truck. Little did we know this was one of many crazy stories we would have to tell about our travels?
After finally arriving in Arizona we had a great vacation riding 4-wheelers in the desert, eating well, and spending time with Dave and Rita. We just ran a muck doing whatever wanted and it was great.
We pulled my car 1/2 way across the country so we could ride together in the truck.
Sleeping in the truck, somewhere in New Mexico. The temps were negative when we went to sleep.
Meeting Mom and Dave for the first time. We had an amazing time. 
Riding in the Arizona desert. Some of the best riding, ever! Amazing memories.
We rented a 4-wheeler for me to ride. This was the beginning of "needing" another 4-wheeler.
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Sidney, Nebraska

Sidney, NE, (992 miles) In April 2005 I landed my second job and ventured to Sidney, Nebraska. My parents had finished their work in Virginia and just happened to be working on this same job site so it was nice to see them again. Butch and I were anxiously waiting to see if he got hired for this site also. Roughly a week after I made it to NE Butch called to tell me that he had gotten the job as well and was on his way. WOOHOO! My main squeeze was on his way and I was pumped. Sidney, NE is where the big "L" word was said. We were officially an item! :)

The things that quickly come to mind about our stay in Nebraska are cows, high winds, tumble weeds, tornadoes, people who have never left their tiny little city, and motor sports. Sidney Nebraska is NOT a happening town. It's tiny but for some reason Cabela's Outfitters decided to make Sidney their headquarters. The only things in the town keeping it a float were Cabela's and Wal-Mart. When is the last time you saw a Wal-Mart that had store hours instead of staying open 24 hours? The Sidney Wal-Mart closed at 9:00 pm and the entire town went dead shortly after this. I don't believe there was a movie theater within driving distance. We did get lucky and find a motocross track nearby and we spent the majority of our time there.

Butch called several times to speak to his brother about flying Sadie (the American Bulldog) to him in Nebraska. Unfortunately for Butch, Sadie had already became an important part of the family in Maryland and a special little lady named Alana had fallen completely head over heels in love with Sadie. Butch struggled back and forth but ultimately decided Sadie would be Alana's dog. He couldn't stand the thought of breaking Alana' heart. So, Sadie is now a permanent family member in Maryland.

Alana and Sadie in Maryland


My tongue ring had only been in for a few months at this point but it started acting weird so I took it out. All that non-sense, pain, and passing out and the tongue ring is already gone. Well, been there, done that, never again.

We took a few day trips to the slightly less-lame town of Cheyenne, WY and accidentally purchased another 4-wheeler. -hehe Personally, I was not impressed by Cheyenne either and I was ready to go. So, when I received an offer to work in Jacksonville, FL I was all over it. It wasn't terribly hard to talk Butch into leaving the happening town of Sidney. We accepted the jobs.

A week before leaving Nebraska Butch wrecked his 4-wheeler and severely injured his right hip. (I do have photos but I won't be posting them. It wasn't pretty.) We made it to the ER and they said nothing was broken. Great News! Little did we know that he would have been better off to break something because it would have healed much quicker. The trip across the country was interesting, to say the least. He was in pure misery and being forced to drive across the country in order to start work. Poor Butch! :( The amount of pain he worked through is hard to describe. I loaded and secured the 4-wheelers to the trailer and had to do a lot for him. It was a really hard time for both of us. It took over 3 years for his hip to somewhat be normal again and to this day he still has nerve damage.

Being at the track was the only entertaining thing to do, snowing or not! :)
Our goodbye dinner with my parents before heading to FL. See how Butch isn't using his right leg? It was swollen like a cantaloupe under those shorts! He wasn't able to wear normal jeans for a very long time.
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Jacksonville, Florida

Jacksonville, FL (1,687 miles) Welcome to sunny, HOT Florida! It was SO HOT working in Florida. Did I mention how hot it was in Florida? The heat was only tolerable if you were inside with the air running. Unfortunately for us, bombs, bullets, and explosives don't normally live inside where the air conditioning is. We worked in a swamp like area with few trees so we set up a tent each day for shade. Sweat dripped off you while sitting still under the tent. There was no relief from the heat during our 10 hour work days. Sweat was inevitable. We met plenty of friendly, and unfriendly snakes on a weekly basis. The great thing about this job was that everything was sandy so most of the digging was very easy. I also achieved a pretty sexy farmer's tan!
We quickly found a cottage rental in downtown, historic St. Augustine. Our home address was 56 1/2 Carrera Street. How neat is that? Our official address was 56 1/2. HA! The downtown St. Augustine area was so neat. There were constant carriage rides in front of our house, old-time tours, war reenactments, plenty of amazing places to eat, and the somewhat famous old fort, Castillo de San Marcos. It was a neat place to live.
Midnight nuptials Sounds kinda interesting, right? Well, it wasn't! The cottage we lived in was apparently infested with termites. We were made aware of this when we were awakened by termites landing on our heads. They were everywhere! I can't even explain how many termites were all over our house. It was the grossest experience ever. We went away for the week-end and the cottage was tented. This is where they put a huge tent over the whole house and fumigate it. I could have done without the experience all together.
We visited The Alligator Farm, rode 4-wheelers in the Ocala National Forest, played golf, checked out the beaches, and ate wonderful seafood. I'm sure there are other things but I can't remember much else, which is why I'm writing this blog now. In a few more years I won't remember 1/2 of what I do now. Let's face it, I'm almost 30. I'm aging quickly. -hehe
It was time for our little family to grow. No babies, no thanks! We did the sensible thing and got an adorable dog. :) 
Meet TIDO, our Italian Greyhound.
Meet Bob, the friendly neighborhood crockigator.
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Denver, Colorado

Denver, Colorado, (1,750 miles) I was in complete awe of Colorado. The mountains, the snow, and the scenery were all beautiful. There was something peaceful about Colorado and I adore the quiet mountain towns. We very quickly transitioned from Florida summer to Colorado winter. We were in Denver from August 2005 to January 2006 and the temps we worked through are still the coldest I've ever endured. The ambient temperature was -6. This means the wind chill was about -20. I couldn't feel my toes more than I could feel them throughout the work day. Remember, the bombs don't live inside so rain, shine, 100 degrees or -6 degress, it doesn't matter... we are outside digging up explosives.

Digging in the frozen ground with a hand pick was not an easy task and because of this I developed what's known as trigger finger. My right ring finger began "sticking" and this was very painful. After telling my boss about the pain he sent me to a doctor where I was diagnosed with trigger finger. The doctor explained that the tendon has a tunnel that it slides through and my tendon was overworked and no longer had room to slide in and out of its tunnel.

The first step was to try a cortisone shot in my hand. Believe it or not, NO ONE told me how incredibly painful this was going to be. It was an absolute nightmare and I went there alone thinking it wasn't going to be a big deal. If you've never had a cortisone shot, I am here to tell you, don't do it! I believe the location of my shot added to the pain as well. While the shot was being administered the doctor told me not to lift my hand from the table. I did everything in my power to keep my hand on the table but my bottom half was steadily climbing out of the seat. It was nuts but I'm a beast so I toughed it out... until it was finished and I stood up.

I made it all the way to the reception desk and I felt it coming on. Previously passing out after getting my tongue pierced taught me what it felt like to pass out so this time I knew what was happening. Standing in front of the reception desk I barked out, "I'm going to pass out!!" This quickly got their attention and 3 nurses came running to my rescue. They sat me down, tucked my head between my legs, rubbed cold clothes on my neck and before long I was ready to go. However, I was extremely weak. I remember sitting in my car on the phone because I didn't feel comfortable driving yet. I immediately went to get something to eat because this would help with my blood sugar and the whole passing out thing.

The cortisone shot did help, but not for long. Unfortunately my finger began sticking again because I was constantly using it at work. It was everyone's opinion that I should just get it fixed so that I wouldn't have to deal with it anymore. Getting my hand numbed for the surgery was more painful than the cortisone shot. I actually cried this time. It was not a pleasant experience. The procedure was quick but I was awake and could feel them tugging inside my hand. I hated every moment of it but tried to stay cool.

Butch did a fantastic job of taking care of me. He's so patient and caring. He even washed my hair for me because I couldn't get my hand wet. Such a sweet guy I scored! I do remember the debate whether he should return to work and leave me home alone or not. Of course, I insisted that he should work, "I'll be F-i-n-e" I said! I don't think I'll ever forget that first day alone because it took me forever to get from the bedroom to the bathroom and I literally almost got stuck in the kitchen trying to get something to drink. I was heavily medicated and I should not have been home trying to do everything on my own. I got scared in the bathroom when I realized how out of it I really was and how hard it was for me to even walk to the bathroom. In true Kristen style, I pulled through and the next day I was more prepared and less medicated!

Recovery was slow and I had to learn to stretch my finger out again with time. It was cramped up and stayed curled a lot after surgery. I went back to work pretty quickly but they found different jobs for me and this is how I learned to run the backhoe. Those big machines are pretty intimidating at first but after getting the hang of it I absolutely loved it. Butch had already shown me the ropes in Florida but Colorado is where I really started learning how to run the heavy equipment. I was hooked! I went on to be a certified equipment operator at several work sites. For the record, I must say this. Butch was my teacher and he is still better than me. LOL! :)
My parents were working in Cheyenne, WY, enduring their own winterish hell. We managed to visit them there. As I said before, not a fan of Cheyenne, WY. The next time we visited they came to Denver and we were able to sight see together. We saw the Royal Gorge, took some beautiful scenic drives, visited the continental divide, ate some great food, and had many good laughs together. They came one more time to visit us my sister flew in too. It was pretty awesome being able to show my sister around the mountains. We all went adventuring together. We rode the Cog Railway up the mountain to see Pikes Peak, and we ate at a really fun Fondue Restaurant called The Mona Lisa. It was a busy week-end trying to sight see and visit but it was worth being a little tired.
Butch bought me my first DSLR camera and that was the start of something amazing. I had always loved photography and I had a nice camera but going digital with a good camera was like heaven to me. We didn't have too many pics up to this point because the only camera I had was film and it was just a hassle. This was a high point of Denver, CO for me. I will always remember getting that camera. You can view my latest work on my web site Photos by Kristen
To this day the best restaurant experience we've ever had was in Denver, Colorado at the Buckhorn Exchange. The Buckhorn holds Denver Liquor License 0001. If you are ever in the area I highly recommend you take the time to eat here. The menu is wild game and it is all phenomenal. I want to eat there right now.
Butch and I played golf at the at the amazing Fossil Trace Golf Course while we lived in Denver. It was worth paying the green fees just to see the animals and the scenery. It was truly beautiful. The golf course opened in July of 2003, approximately 64-million years after the first dinosaurs walked where holes 11 through 15 now sit. Triceratops footprints, as well as other prehistoric creatures’ fossils can be viewed adjacent to the golf courses 12th green. Also, located just inside the main doors of the golf course clubhouse is an exhibit that details the rich history of the property and shares information about the dinosaur tracks and other impresive fossils uncovered on the golf course. Westword Magazine recently named Fossil Trace as "Best Golf Course in Denver" for the second time.  Fossil Trace Golf Course
The pictures at the link below are pretty cool and there is a video of my first demolition shot out of school.
Fossil Trace Golf Course. Amazing.
We spent our first Christmas together in Denver, CO and I bribed Butch into taking a Christmas picture with me.
Our first Christmas together, Denver, CO - 2005
A big milestone in my adult life happened in Denver, CO. I signed my first loan for an automobile without a co-signer. This was big news for me. I purchased an all-wheel-drive 2005 Volkswagen Passat. This was a beautiful car and handled like a champ in the Colorado weather.
My first car that I purchased without the help of my parents or a co-signer. I was very proud of this car.
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Elkton, Maryland

Elkton, Maryland, (1,729 miles) January 2006 - June 2006. We accepted an offer in Elkton, MD to be near Butch's son and family. Butch's son lived in Dumfries, VA, 130 miles away from Elkton, and we were able to see him every other week-end.
We visited with Butch's family and so,and overall just hung out with all of our friends and family. My parents were on this job as well. How is it that we move around so much and keep bumping into the parental units? :) 
Remember how I said you could find ordnance in the weirdest places? Well, this job was a field at the end of a regular residential area. Farmers plowed up these "weird things" and just piled them in a big pile in the middle of the field. Well, these "weird things" were ordnance. It's insane the places we find dangerous stuff in the US. We worked so closely to families and homes that we had to properly evacuate to blow anything up.
My parents met the Mendes family for the first time.
Darius with Tido in Elkton, 2006
This is one of my favorite pictures of the Mendes men together. Super Bowl, 2006
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 Seneca Falls, NY

Seneca Falls, NY, (319 Miles) It was only Tido and I who visited Seneca Falls. Butch was offered a position in Puerto Rico and left right before I went to NY. Like always, we wanted to stay together but had to wait and see what happened. It isn't always a given that we would get hired on the same job. We just kept getting lucky.

Many people have never heard of the white deer in Seneca Falls, NY. I hadn't heard of the until going there. I saw many of these deer in my short time at Seneca Falls. They are all over the Army Depot that I was working at. It's a pretty incredible sight. The funniest part is to watch the deer standing still in the woods because they think they are being stealthy and blending in. They have no idea they are the color of snow and "blending in" isn't a possibility in the brown woods! :) You can read more about the deer here: Seneca Falls Deer

I didn't get to do the exploring I had planned for NY because it wasn't long after I arrived that I was offered a position in Culebra, Puerto Rico. I was pretty excited because this meant I would be with Butch again but I had a lot of work ahead of me before I was off to Culebra. Butch and I still had our Elkton, MD apartment packed with our junk and the lease would run out before we made it back from Puerto Rico. So, it was up to me to pack the entire house, get rid of things, put everything in storage and get myself on a plane to Puerto Rico. It was one of the most tiring times in my life. I remember being purely  exhausted. It was not easy doing all that work alone. Butch's brother and good friend, Hassan, came to my rescue and helped me with furniture and big stuff but other than that it was just Tido and I packing everything up.
Going to P.R. also meant that Tido, our Italian Greyhound, couldn't go with me. So, I had to solve that problem before I left also. My sister had agreed to take the dog but it was one of the saddest times in my life when I had to ship him to my sister. It was absolutely horrible. I won't re-live that but I want to send a big thanks to Dessa and Heath for taking great care of our doggy while we frolicked around the islands.
This was my one bedroom "furnished" apartment that I rented in Senca Falls, NY. I could come and go as I pleased, no lease and the rent was right. :)
It has an old time elevator where you had to shut the metal door to make it work. I thought this was the coolest thing ever.
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Culebra, Puerto Rico

Culebra, Puerto Rico, (Approximately 2,600 miles, obviously by air) The Island of Culebra is only 7 miles long and 4 miles wide. It was tiny, no doubt about that. The island is full of mountains, steep inclines and many roaming animals. Because of the steep incline, and thick vegetation we had rough terrain for our job site. Good boots were not an option due to the huge thorns and crazy mountain terrain.
The only flights to Culebra are on tiny planes that you catch on the mainlands, normally from San Juan or Fajardo. From San Juan you walk out on the run way, meet your pilot, and board the plane together. It was very weird. If you are afraid of flying I would not recommend this trip. The pilot is required to pull some pretty crazy maneuvers to dip down behind a mountain before landing safely in Culebra. During Butch's landing the pilot asked if he wanted the man's landing or the women's landing. Naturally he maned up! The pilot made such erratic changes, and dropped altitude so quickly the plane's warning alarms came on. He said he can do without ever experiencing that again. Thankfully, my landing must have been the women's landing.
Groceries were very expensive and if you wanted a "real" store such as Wal-Mart you had to board a ferry or fly to Fajardo, PR. Once you landed in Fajardo you had to find a cab or rent a car to get to Wal-Mart. While shopping you had to keep in mind that you would be dragging everything you purchased back with you. Some people would take coolers and stock up on meats and produce while others were lugging TV's and whatever else they might need. It was quite the spectacle and not at all what we are accustomed to. You either paid retail for what the island could provide or you made the excursion to the main lands to get it yourself.
There were random farm animals roaming the island wherever they please. We had a huge horse in our side yard one morning. The culture shock was pretty significant for me. The chickens and roosters ran wild and no one seemed to own any of them. They just existed. I went jogging one evening and literally almost mauled by a pack of dogs. It was scary. Without some prior bad dog training from Butch and the dog whisperer I'm certain I would have been bitten, at the very least. Then there was Bob the street dog. Bob was the coolest dog ever. He decided he loved all of the UXO team. We would feed him, pat him, play with him, take him to the beach and he even slept inside the house a few nights. For the most part he didn't like it inside. He was a free-roaming street dog. He was the toughest dog I've ever seen and he was literally running the streets.
Our first apartment had no air, no TV and a lot of roosters that made ridiculous noise outside for no reason at all.
The living room of our first apartment.
Transportation while on the island was normally foot, scooter or some type of beat up jeep with no air conditioning. Obviously we didn't want to buy a jeep just for island life so we found a good deal on a pretty snazzy little scooter. I called it the scoot-scoot. :) This was my first 2-wheel, on-road experience. Butch was beyond nervous that I would crash and burn. Thank God, I didn't!
Looking fly on our scoot-scoot. This is how I bought groceries on the island. At times, grocery shopping was difficult on the scoot-scoot. Notice the fixer-upper in the background? This was normal scenery for the island.
The night life and the food were amazing. The place we spent most of our time was called Mamacitas. The food there was awesome. You could spend $6-$12 and get more breakfast than you could possibly eat all while feeding the local iguanas and sitting in the open breeze. The week-end music at Mamacitas was really cool. It was always local people and those fools would dance until they dropped. We had a lot of great times at Mamacitas.
Local nightlife was really awesome. He even has a custom chair. See?
We had good friends in Puerto Rico. One of our closest UXO friends, Todd Hernandez, and his son were there. We were also neighbors for a while. Todd sure can cook. We ate at his house as often as he wanted to cook for us. A few other friends from previous work sites were there as well and we made a few new friends. There was no shortage of work place drama but overall, the people on this site were really amazing.
Taken on Todd's balcony. Todd, you're the man!
It didn't take long before we moved into a nicer house with an air conditioner. This news enticed my brother and his then girlfriend - now wife, Leeanne, to come visit us. They got to experience the fun times trying to land in the little airplane, see the local culture and we took a trip to St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. During this trip we discovered that I get sea sick. The trip was miserable for me but I was so excited to be in St. Thomas. I really love seeing different cultures and different places. I found medicine before returning which made the return trip tolerable. I'd go again any day, by air!
This was the boat that punished me to and from the island of St. Thomas.
There was no shortage of adventures during our short time in Puerto Rico. Butch visited the sophisticated, Culebra, PR Emergency Room on two occasions. The first trip was for chest pain, NOT COOL! The second visit was for stitches. I had the pleasure of watching him gash his arm open with a machete at work. I'm sure you can imagine the quality of health care that he received on such a tiny island. They were ready to stitch him up without even cleaning the wound. He insisted that they disinfect it before stitching it up. INSANE! I was lucky enough to stop by the hospital for a tetanus shot but that was the extent of my medical care, THANK GOD! :)
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Belcamp, Maryland

Belcamp, MD, (Approximately 2,400 miles, obviously by air returning from Puerto Rico) In September 2006 we decided to take a break from the road and "settle down" near Butch's son and family in Maryland. We began seeing Darius every other week-end again and started looking for "real" jobs. Butch had to take one more UXO job in Myrtle Beach, SC before landing his position at Aberdeen Test Center as an Explosive Test Technician IV. His job at ATC keep him steady the entire time we lived in Maryland.
We finally made it to Cape Cod, MA (408 miles) and I was able to meet the rest of Butch's family. We spent our second Christmas (2006) together in Cape Cod with Butch's son and family.

2006 Cape Cod, MA. Darius was so little here.
We lived in Maryland from September 2006-May 2008. This is a very long time for us to stay in one place. We were surrounded by great friends and family. We did a ton of things and had a lot of parties. One of the trips we took was to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with our good friends Matt and Cara. Looking back at these pictures makes me realize how small Darius and Alana were. Alana is the beautiful little girl in the picture below. She is Butch's niece and now she's my niece too!
Alana, Cara and Matt. Good times.
Carriage ride in Philadelphia.
Guess who we bumped into while we were hanging out in Philadelphia? -My sister's whole family! Yep, how cool is that? It was so neat for my sister and her family to be able to visit where we lived. They were on vacation visiting her husband's family and were able to squeeze in a stop to see us.
All of the kids at our apartment after our day in Philadelphia.
We threw Butch his first surprise birthday party. He still swears he was really surprised and had no idea. It wouldn't have been possible without everyone's help. Thank to all my Maryland family for helping surprise Butch.
Ocean City, MD (148 miles) We took a week-end trip to Ocean City with friends and family. There was a lot of food, laughter and non-sense. It was awesome. I wish we could re-live this week-end, right now. We love and miss all of our family when we don't live near them so looking back through these photos and remembering the good times really makes me homesick. 
Who, me? I didn't do it! Ocean City, MD
Chav, being cool! :) Ocean City, MD
 
I had a plethora of jobs while living in Maryland. If you know me well, this should come as no surprise. One of the most interested and educational positions I held was as a Legal Assistant at a Law Firm in downtown Baltimore. My sister in law works at a Law Firm across the street from my job so we began car pulling. This led to a lot of great memories of us acting like complete fools in the car, being stuck in traffic together, lunch dates and early mornings at the gym together. I was definitely in the best shape of my life during this time. Sarah and I drug each other to the gym every single morning before work. I really miss those days.
Christmas 2007 at Iamele and Iamele in downtown Baltimore
Tido, the Italian Greyhound that I told you about before, was having a hard time being potty trained because Butch and I were gone for up to 10-11 hours at a time. We were struggling to survive so the option of paying a dog walker was not really an option for us. We tried so many different things but ultimately I know that it was our fault that he wasn't trained well. When we first got him we crated him thinking he would be ok but he was the wrong breed for crate training. He's a greyhound! What were we thinking?! He's very hyper and needs room to run and play.
After making a poor decision to get him and unsuccessfully crate training him, we tried to make it right and came to the heartbreaking decision that Tido needed a home that was more suitable for his personality. I posted an ad on Craigslist but it wasn't just to "get rid of him." I interviewed people. We met with three people, saw their homes and ultimately told them no thanks. I needed to find the "right" person and family for him. I loved this dog and didn't want to get rid of him but I couldn't provide him the life he deserved.
So, the next person to meet with us was Nina. It turns out she was a photographer and I had recently became more serious about my photography as well. We had that in common so that was cool. She was young, spunky and outgoing so we knew Tido would continue to go on road trips and live an exciting life. After meeting Nina's husband, seeing their home, and learning about their scheduling we knew this was the place for him.
I cried half the way home the day I left Tido with Nina. I got home and cried some more. We continued to visit with Tido regularly over the next few months and Nina and I actually became photography partners and began photographing weddings together. She also took our first family photos. (check out the link at the bottom of this section) Nina and I have both grown as photographers and she later took our wedding photos. They are absolutely gorgeous and you'll see them later. Tido is still happy and healthy and now lives in Indiana. He might be getting a greyhound sibling soon.
Meet Nina, Tido's new mommy.
We didn't do a lot of traveling during this time frame. We mostly stayed in the Maryland area and visited with family and friends. The majority of our good times were in our local area with tons of friends and family and we also visited/partied at the waterfront in Downtown Baltimore . I really miss you guys. It was great having so many friends and family nearby. We normally don't have a large network of friends when we move from job to job so frequently.
Black and White graduation party for Nina
Chrismas 2007 - Epic
The one and only, Don Card
Butch, Cara and Matt. Great people, great times
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Miles Traveled

Are you keeping up with the miles and locations so far? I highly doubt it, so I'll recap for you. In approximately 19 months we lived in 11 locations in 10 states and traveled 14,081 miles by car. (We won't count the air miles to and from Puerto Rico) These 14,081 miles were only from job site to job site, not including small trips to visit family, sightseeing and little mini vacations. If you break it down that's 741 miles by car each month. I'm fairly certain that the coming years will include more miles.


  • College Station, TX
  • Alexandria, VA
  • Bucroe Beach, VA
  • Avondale, AZ
  • Sidney, NE
  • Jacksonville, FL
  • Denver, CO
  • Elkton, MD
  • Seneca Falls, NY
  • Culebra, PR
  • Belcamp, MD
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You did it!

Well, you made it through section one. How was it? Please leave me some feedback at the comment section directly below. I'm putting a lot of work into this. It gets better too. These are the old time-frames that I don't remember so much and didn't take so many pictures. Things will get even more interesting. You can view the next post (when published) at the link below or from the link at the top of the page. It's a work in progress.



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