As Always, There Was A Plan....

Thursday night on the way to the Milblog conference, Mary and I reviewed what we wanted to get done over the weekend. Friday there were two things planned; our tour of the Pentagon from 1-3 pm and then the evenings festivities beginning at 5 pm.

Seems pretty simple right? Sleep in, relax, blog....then be in the lobby by noon to make the trip to the Pentagon. Run some errands afterwards...maybe sneak in a manicure and be down at the Jake Rademacher event by 5 pm.

Yeah...no...

Thursday night before closing the bar, Bouhammer made us an offer we couldn't refuse! He was going over to Walter Reed the next morning from 10 am to noon. He was also on the Pentagon tour list, so we didn't have to worry about being late for that. It was a small group and he had two spots left for Mary & I if we wanted them. Hell yes!

So, while we had considered being bad.....and finding SK & LL & Blackfive....we went right off to our room and set an early alarm.

The alarm goes off and we both start crying, Team M (Mary & Maggie) is not the morning crew!

But somehow we managed to be in the lobby before the scheduled 9am departure. Bouhammer and Mrs. Bouhammer are morning people. Good thing I like them...grumble, grumble.

So into Bouhammer's SUV we go and it's off to Walter Reed. I have been to Mologne House, but that's it. Mary of course is more familiar with the hospital. We were following another vehicle that was transporting Gina Elise and her friend.

Once in the lobby, we actually got to meet Gina Elise, who is just lovely and her very friendly assistant. What they do with Pin-ups for Vets is just phenomenal. Gina Elise has her own website, she sells pin-up art and she donates tons of money to veteran's hospitals. She also visits the veteran's hospitals and gives out the calenders and in general brings a lot of smiles to a lot of faces.

Our tour guide was Walter, but he barely got in a word because we were there with Big John Miska! Big John is a definite frequent flyer at WRAMC. He was our gracious host as we walked through the wards. I was hoping to pop in on 1st LT Bergan Flannigan, but she was resting. But we did visit some great guys who were more than happy to accept Gina Elise's calendars and T-shirts and posters. She sat and talked with each Soldier or Marine before autographing an item or two for him.

We were in the physical therapy room, talking with the guys, having an enjoyable visit. Mary and I had Soldiers' Angels items to give out thanks to Greta. Mary had asked me what we were going to do at WRAMC, I said "Who cares! No one will notice us in a room with Gina Elise." But we were having a good time too. At one point I was standing in front of Big John and a young kid who was waiting for his therapy to begin. Big John started to make a point about a particular month in Gina Elise's calendar and he looked up and shooed me away! LOL! I had to leave so there could be "man talk".

After that we headed over to Mologne House so that Gina Elise could light up a few more faces. It was a very successful visit.

Next.........The Pentagon! They let me back in!