From Fine Wine to the Firing Line...

Hello friends (especially any new friends from my Cambodia PC group)!

I have just returned from a whirlwind tour of Northern VA and Maryland. It was nice to get together with Rick and Jenny once more before I took off on the great adventure! This was a long weekend of great food, great wine (so they tell me), five round bursts and narrow escapes!

Everything started with a afternoon tour of the Maryland wine country. Both Rick and Jenny embrace wine as a hobby. Their near religious appreciation for the excellent vintages was offset nicely by my heathen ignorance as we sauntered from vineyard to vineyard bringing a little madness to the haute couture. As we tasted the grapes, some sour, some sweet, a disturbing pattern began to emerge. Apparently, young ladies that pour wine at tastings (R and J would know some nifty wine-person title for them) are especially susceptible to ill fortune. One poor girl told the story of the runaway fiance that left her with semi-fond memories and a nice ring. At a later stop, another known only as Sweet Katherine told us, in her super-hyper manner, that her fiance (I think the Maryland word for boyfriend) was interested only in her "benefits". Sweet K went on to say that she was available to come with me to Cambodia (R and J loved sharing my plans, especially to Sweek K) and that she could keep the shop open until 9 if we wanted to stay. R and J snickered and turned the knife by suggesting a group photo with Katherine. After, there were many comments along the lines of "Sweet Katherine wants to give you her benefits" which to be fair, seemed none too benevolent. One got the impression that while she was tending the shop, somewhere nearby three goats were crossing her bridge unmolested.

The other highlight of this awesome trip was a trip with R and J to their gun club. There I was introduced to the finer points of the Glock 19, the H&K .45 and 9mm. I really thought I was doing pretty well. Most of my shots were grouped in a nice little six inch circle at 25 feet. After about fifty rounds I stood back to appreciate my handiwork and quickly had my baloon deflated as I watched Jenny put round after round nearly on top of each other. Freaking Lethal Weapon man! Give this girl a few more months and she'll be on the damn Olympic team!

All in all, it was a great weekend. It really was great food, great drink (does PBR make a Merlot?) and especially great friends. Now, it's time for me to put the finishing touches on my packing and get accquainted with my new friends in Cambodia group #2!!

Till next time!

Mitch