Well, 2012 is winding down and it's time to look back at the places we've been this year! I think I'll divide this up into a couple of posts. This first one will be our April reunions. This year we went to Branson, MO, Washington, DC, Nashville, TN, Cincinnati, OH, in April. Each location was a great place to hold a reunion! Check out some of these pictures:
The first reunion of the year was the USS CAMBRIA in Branson, MO. There is so much to do in Branson. It is truly a city dedicated to our country's veterans. There is a spectacular Veteran's Museum - a must-see for every American. You can see a number of shows, take a ride of the Branson Belle Showboat, and Ride the Ducks. Our group went to the Dixie Stampede and thoroughly enjoyed the show!
The same week we had a group in Branson, we had another group in Washington, DC. I don't have a lot of tour pictures, but this group always has a good time. They've been getting together for years and are more like family than just friends!
We were also privileged to manage the USS TARAWA reunion in Nashville, TN. The highlight of this reunion was a visit to the Grand Ole Opry. We were very fortunate to be there this time for a very big event in country music - the induction of Keith Urban into the GOO. I think I personally may have enjoyed this even more than the reunion attendees. A couple weeks after the reunion, I spoke to one of the Tarawa guys on the phone and he made the comment that "he didn't see why all those young people were so excited to see a singer who couldn't even afford jeans without holes in them, or to get a haircut!" (I know he was just picking, we really did have a great time!). Here's a few pictures from the Grand Ole Opy:
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| USS TARAWA crewmembers waiting for the show to begin |
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| Bus trip over to the Grand Ole Opry |
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| Little Jimmy Dickens! |
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| One half of the duo Love and Theft. They performed one song, and later in 2012 that song was released as their first single - which scored the duo their first CMT Music Awards nomination for Duo Video of the Year. |
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| The other half of the duo Love and Theft |
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| Keith Urban |
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| Josh Turner |
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| Keith Urban, center about to receive his ceremonial microphone stand as a member of the Grand Ole Opry (Trace Adkins is on his left, Josh Turner on his right) |
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| Trace Adkins speaking a few words of welcome |
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And now Keith is thanking the GOO for his induction
We can't promise big names like this every visit to the Grand Ole Opry, but the show is always top notch! (Our tickets are purchase months before the big names are added to the Opry schedule). Other attractions our groups enjoy in Nashville include the General Jackson showboat, tour the Opryland Hotel, the Country Music Hall of Fame, and many more!
The last trip we took in April was to the Cincinnati area. Another great location! An Army Security Agency group that was stationed in Helemano, Hawaii met in Cincinnati for their annual reunion.
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Dina, Thank you for all these trip reviews. We certainly enjoyed the 8605th reunion. The tour of the National Air Force Museum at Wright Field in Dayton was especially interesting. I was born and grew up in Dayton, OH and that is only the 2nd time I've ever been to the museum. This visit was especially great. Thank you for ALL you do for all of us. Roger & Ivette Lakes
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