It was a wonderful 30 hours. Mike pulled into the barracks parking lot just as I was walking back after weapons turn in. He got the full experience of CPT Wife, in full gear, sweating like a pig and smelling even worse. And he still managed to find me attractive. :)

I paraded my husband around the barracks, forcing him to shake hands with everybody I recognized. He was a trooper, meeting nearly 20 people before I successfully signed out on pass and we left Fort Riley.

We stayed in a Marriott Courtyard in Junction City. The hotel was absolutely amazing; the bed in our room was easily the most comfortable bed I had ever experienced. We drove around Manhattan on Friday night and settled on Chili's for dinner. We even saw some of my colleagues there, just beginning to get their party on (the following day, we took one of them back to Manhattan to find his car, but that's another story).

On Saturday, we slept in and had breakfast in the hotel restaurant; it was a nice buffet. We headed back to Fort Riley where Mike got a few t-shirts and he supported my decision to buy a better holster for my sidearm. The one I was using was pretty ineffective at securing my weapon and allowing for a quick draw. We went to a wonderful Thai restaurant for lunch, and chilled out in the hotel before returning to my barracks. I had to sign in by 9 pm, so Mike stayed an extra hour after, setting up my computer and packing up gear that I was sending home. We had a floor picnic in my room with our leftovers from dinner the night before. It wasn't the ideal romantic last dinner together, but it was pretty par for the course in our unusual first year of marriage.

When my roommate, Gloria, met Mike, she asked, "Is this the guy that should clone himself to make the female population happy?" Yes, that would be my romantic, selfless husband. It's nice when other people notice how wonderful he is without me telling them!!