Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Beautiful spirits in Berkeley

Whew.  Finally got these pix edited thru Berkeley.

What a fun group of heroes there.  We had both Police and Fire share the visit. 

This was one of our toughest starts ... we couldn't get in.  lol  But rest assured, in the City of Berkeley, things are very secure ... at least as far as that fire house goes!  Sheesh!  ( ;

Once inside though, it was smooth sailing, fun, and smiles, all the way.

Oh, something I do not recommend, is having their rookie treat your rookie for a headache ... just ask our Rookie!  BTW, we hear more comments about that particular "treatment method".  hehe  But, seriously we have not heard Rookie complain of a headache since.  Hmmmm ...

This stop was a no-brainer when the planning phase happened.  We had received a really nice collection of shirts from Berkeley, courtesy of Rebecca, one of their police officers.  She went above and beyond, making sure that every shirt had a great letter from the department donating it.  Their messages came from the heart, and were perfect!

In fact, another firefighter from another town, who had flown up for the PackOut last time, saw the shirts and letters and was adamant that we make this stop to let these heroes know how awesome their effort was.  We're glad we did.

There is a great sense of kinship among these heroes.  There was respect between the police and fire, who just made it feel more of a team.  It was nice, and not seen in every department.

Enjoy the photos, editing them brought back some really fun memories ... and yes, we would love to return!  Don't forget ... You are invited to the PackOut, too!

lj & the road crew

Oh and ... This was the stop where we learned about a military hero who got a Purple Heart after some "involvement" with an orangutan.  Now, by this time in the tour we were pretty tired, and I am not sure of the specifics, but I would love to get the story right, and share it here.  So if any of you can send the story, I'll make sure it gets posted here.  lj

Finally, the flag was at half-staff for the nine fallen firefighters in South Carolina.

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