My 2 weeks off in a nutshell

So I'm a little late but now that my next course (Phase 4: Mechanized Platoon Commander) is underway and I have the weekend off, here is what I did on my two weeks off for those who missed it.

Once Phase 3 was over, a good friend of mine had us all over for some celebratory beers to bask our in our accomplishments. Here are 4 of us graduates at the start of the night playing washer-toss.

It quickly turned into a fire / hot tub party.

After driving to Newfoundland and arriving at 9:30 PM, my first day was spent at Tara and Jonathan's new house, helping shingle their new roof.

And then I was off to Crab's Beach with my family (who were also in Newfoundland on their vacation) to the cabin, my dad's favourite spot to go in the whole world. We spent 3 days out there on this trip.

The beach/cabins

My old man taking a rest on the shed

On a rainy night, he taught me how to play crib... and then I took him to school on it.

After a trip to my Aunt and Uncle's cabin in Howley (unfortunately, no pics, but it was a good night. My cousin and his wife, with their new-born baby, also flew in from Alberta and met us there),  Labour Day weekend was now in full swing and my good buddy Andrew (shingling the roof with me above) invited me to go camping with some of his friends. No arm-twisting needed, I tagged along, and at some point decided to put a condom on my head.

After arriving back, I decided to drive out to SJ to do some Jiu Jitsu at my old club. It was such a treat to see everyone again and get a chance to roll with them. I'll always contend that Michael Foley's Academy of Martial Arts and the people I met there were the highlight of my 3 year tour of St. John's. Afterwards, I got George-faced on Shit Street with some friends from school and some friends from Ph 3, including the guy in plaid who had flown down just to visit and get drunk on George St with his Newfie budds.

On the way back to Gagetown I spent Saturday night in Sydney, NS, with my buddy who I played hockey with since I first put on skates. Thankfully there is no picture-evidence from this night. And now I'm back in Gagetown, learning how to drive, gun, and command the LAV III. I'm looking forward to sending some hate and discontent down range, 25mm at a time in this puppy.