Olmsted Orientation Weekend
June 1-4, 2006
I am finally catching up to
Angela and getting my web-posting training. She has put a tremendous amount
of work into this site - it will be an ideal way to keep a record of our
adventures and share them with friends and family.
To
officially begin our Olmsted Scholar experience, we attended the annual
orientation and banquet at the Westin Embassy Row and the Anderson House in
Washington DC. Although a bit like drinking from a social and informational
fire hose, it was one of the greatest weekends of our married life. Our
dear friends Angel and Christy Farias looked after the kids while Angela and
I traveled to Washington to not only experience the Olmsted orientation, but
also to find a place for us to live starting in July. We ended up renting a
convenient and comfortable townhome in Alexandria's Kingstowne
neighborhood. The home is ideally close to not only the Metrorail, but also
a wide array of shopping, great schools, and other amenities. We will have
access to a community pool (a must for ex-Floridians), and the kids were
excited to see all the arrangements as recorded with our new camcorder (our
first such device in 13 years of wedded bliss). Although contrary to our
original plan to go straight to India, we also see the blessing that living
in DC will be if only for a short while. None of us (except for a few TDY
trips I have over the years) have spent much time in our nation's capitol,
so we plan to visit the many sites, brush up on American History, and have a
few more months to host visits from friends and loved ones.
The Olmsted weekend was
truly amazing. The people we will be associating with, whether past
scholars, our fellow classmates, or other Foundation supporters, are of a
caliber that is rarely found in a single association. The night we arrived,
Ange and I met up with Emily Wisecup, wife of Mike (the other couple going
to India, Bangalore) who was "flying solo" while Mike finishes a tour in
Iraq. Ange and I instantly felt at home with Emily, and we admire her
courage - a truly great lady. We are are especially happy to have another
family in India with us - we plan to travel and visit each other often. We
spent a dizzying day full of briefings and Q&A with Admiral Marsh and Cols
Yablonski and Estep. Gen Smith, Mr. McManus, and other Olmsted Foundation
leaders were also in attendance as we spent a long day going through the
basics of what lie ahead.
First night together at the Taj Mahal
We spent spare moments
getting acquainted with our fellow scholars, but it was not until the day
was through that we were able to spend some "quality" time getting to know
each other. A diverse but animated group of us joined up and headed out to
the Taj Mahal for none other than Indian cuisine! We were 13 total,
represented by all four services. I tried my newly acquired Hindi phrases
on the waiter, and most of them appeared to be intelligible! Angela and I
had only dabbled into Indian food in the past, so this was also a great leap
of culinary faith - a first of many such mind-opening experiences to come.
It was also a smash hit! Ange and I loved everything we tried, and all were
stuffed with dal, Tamboor chicken, raita, lassi, and many other entrees,
desserts, and so forth. Most valuable was getting to know our fellow
scholars - people to whom our home will always be open, and for whom we
developed instant respect and friendship. In attendance we had Emily
Wisecup, Sheryl "Double" Ott, Yoko Miani (husband also deployed), Todd and
Chastity Kishpaugh, Bill and Michele Parmentier, John and Trang Baseel, and
Stephen and Louise Pirrotta.
Banquet at
Anderson House
The
culminating event of the weekend was the banquet and reception, held at the
historic Anderson House. Admiral Marsh convened a review of the
Foundation's doings by introducing the leadership of the Foundation, many
former scholars, and the new class members. We spent the night visiting
with former scholars and supporters, all of whom amazed us with their
experiences and accomplishments. As the hours waned and we said goodbyes to
the guests and our classmates, we could not - and we still cannot - imagine
a more exciting and fulfilling assignment. As far as we can tell, the
Olmsted Scholar Program is the greatest deal going in the entire Defense
Department!
