Makin' the mark in Manchester

May 26th found us in Manchester, NH, for the very first time ... but hopefully not the last!

I met Bob Welch in Colorado Springs at the Fallen Firefighter Memorial, and he was another who asked us to visit their hometown.  We are very happy that we accepted the invite.

Bob got us to the firehouse, and introduced us to a fun group of guys whose personalities meshed so well.  This was another case of the ones who "got it", when we shared H2H with them.

They shared their amazing memorial with us, and even did their Bad*ss shot in front of it, to represent for their Fallen.

We got to see Manchester from way atop the city when they lifted us up in the 95' bucket ... Great view, cool city.  Seeing the church steeples rising above the rooftops and trees was exactly the picture I had in my head when I envisioned this area.

But back on the ground was the real fun.  We had not one, but two, give the very shirt off their back for our troops.

Rookie took the "brunt" of the visit, in great stride.  He really is a trooper.  I remember thinking, there's just not much more they can do to him ... oh boy, was I wrong!

Meanwhile, Chief is looking more dapper than ever, as the pins and badges accumulate on his uniform.  It's kinda cool for us to do this journal, as far behind as it is, because we can see the growth , and it is really something to see.

Kelly was absolutely impressed with the weight room here, and disappeared for a few minutes.  She may have gotten in a few reps, dunno.

We got to sample some of the local fare, at one of their favorite pubs in the area ... and do a media stop at the same time.  It's all about multi-tasking, ya know?  The food was really good, the staff was spot on, and everything about the evening was just as we had hoped.

Bob and his lovely wife shared their home with us, making us feel right at home with them.  Bob even stayed up late trying to get the computer to cooperate with us so we could post the journal, to no avail ... but not for lack of trying, and we appreciate that he made such an effort.

They have one of the biggest most loveable dogs we have encountered ... and the cat is no lightweight, either!  I woke with the latter sharing my bed, causing a couple vivid dreams of overstuffed pillows.  Ok, probably would have had bizarre dreams with, or without, the cat ... but it makes for a better story.  ( ;

Thank you to the Welch family, and the firefighters of Manchester for making this a memorable stop for us!

Oh, when you look at the pictures, take a gander at the one logo with the horses ... notice anything?

You were great!

( ;

lj & the road crew