APRIL 2009

Where: Sitting on a plane

Weather: overcast and in the 40s (Milwaukee is in the 40s, too!)

It’s Easter! And well, even if it’s 40-something in New London, spring has sprung in New Orleans! This past weekend was such an amazing time. The Fairwinds flew down to Louisiana to sing at the WWII Museum and do a community performance. While we were there, we also took a tour of the Enforcement Department of Sector New Orleans, complete with a tour of the 41-footer and 25-footer. I got to ask a few of the junior and senior officers questions about reporting to a sector and what to expect as an Ensign at Sector Lake Michigan in the Enforcement Department.

Aside from the Coast Guard part of the trip and the performances, we enjoyed our downtime. I toured the French Market and enjoyed tasting the local cuisine-ranging from beignets at Café du Monde to crawfish etouffee. The absolute highlight though was reconnecting with two former Fairwinds and a former Idler, all from the class of 2006. It was quite the wake up call when I realized that it wasn’t too long ago I was a fourth class awing at the fact that they were about to graduate, and now I am the one with only a few weeks left of class. They were such wonderful hosts; a couple of us ran the Crescent City Classic with them (such a huge, fun 10K through New Orleans) and we all had dinner at their house one evening.

Anyway, since last I wrote, life has sped up. Dining In was a wonderful evening, full of military decorum and humor. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor visited last week, and the Chorale had the privilege of singing for her. The Service Academy Student Math Conference (SASMC) is this week at the USCGA. My group will be presenting our Capstone project on hazardous waste disposal. This weekend is also the Castle Dance, so I will get to spend some time in beautiful Newport. I am very excited!

Upcoming Events: SASMC, Castle Dance, Lincoln Tunnel Challenge 5K, Last Day of Classes!