winding it down.....

When I get home it'll be the first time in two weeks that I have access to true hi-speed internet. I'll upload photos, movies, etc. that will blow your mind!!! At the moment, I am in Sigonella, Italy at the airstrip. Our plane is getting loaded up and when it's ready we will fly from here to Shannon, Ireland and on to Nova Scotia where we will spend the night. The next day we will fly from NS to Pennsylvania (maybe D.C.) and on to Nashville and my BEAUTIFUL WIFE!!!!!
 Last night we played our last show of this tour in an airplane hanger. It was the first show we've done at a base that had a lot of wives and kids. It was way cool to look out at the crowd and see a 3 year old in boots & hat dancing around. Spent the day yesterday in Catania, Sicily seeing the sights and shopping in the open air market. Got some great photos and vacation ideas! This is a place I could definitely visit again. Djibouti; not so much. Although, Nathan bought a house on 2 acres there for like $35.00......
 Tim Rushlow has been the coolest ever. He tends to "under-promise & over-deliver" on everything; not just shows. Geno has literally saved the tour on a number of occasions and Nathan has been our resident Chaplain lending deep knowledge of the word at just the right times in just the right ways. Last night after the show we had a chance to counsel a crew member on how to witness to a muslim friend. Pray for that guy. He loves his friend dearly and cares deeply about his soul.
"Rushlow" has already talked to Andy Marshall about doing a 'return home' show at Puckett's in Nashville, Franklin & Leiper's Fork so keep an eye on this blog for details to come!
Nearly time for "wheels up"...
God Bless,


 David, Tim, Nathan & Geno Mysterio
 "Rushlow"

Update

Hi folks!

 Three days ago we went to the American base in Djibouti, Africa. We had an amazing show there and really enjoyed hanging with members of all branches of U.S. military in addition to The Fr For Legion and Japanese Army. From Djibouti we caught a flight back to the mid-east and did a show for some entertainment starved troops (all branches) at the Air Force base in Qatar. Pray for those serving in Djibouti & Qatar. they have some really, really tough living conditions. I have plenty of photos & videos to share but our internet connections have been sparatic at best. Really slow and unreliable. I am hoping that our next location will offer "real" hi-speed internet as it will be Europe rather than Africa or the middle east. Our show in Bahrain last night was kickin'! Killer lights, sound & stage. The best we've had thus far. We have one final show in Italy and then we're headed home. Everyone is ready to see their wife and family; me especially!
I'll try to give another update in a few hours!

David

Another show, another flight!

In my last post we had returned from the USS Abraham Lincoln and were at a hotel in Bahrain. The day before yesterday we flew about 3 hours from Bahrain over to the Arabian Sea and landed on the aircraft carrier USS Harry S Truman. Once again, the tail hook landing was a thrill! We had the most amazing time on the HST. As soon as we arrived we were met by the Captain and his top people in his in-port suite. They had amazing food there waiting for us along with HST ballcap style Captains hats with our names on the back pretty cool! We got settled into our staterooms and then went up on deck to watch the flight ops. We had lunch with some sailors and then had a couple of hours downtime. We had another great show that night with a great stage-lights-sound setup and the ship's media department filmed the show. I am hoping to have a copy of it soon for you all to see. We spent the night onboard the HST and slept like babies. Got catapulted off again yesterday morning and flew to Oman to get on the Admirals Gulf Stream G-20 jet. It was pretty swank! There are only four of this particular plane in the world! Once we got back to base in Bahrain we had some time to do laundry and call home. Then we had some food and went to bed to get up at 3am today for our flight here. Got some killer pictures I'll post later when I get back to my laptop. When we make certain short trips we can only carry a small bag with one or two sets of clothes. Today my big suitcase with all of my stuff (& laptop) is in one country and I am in another. Tomorrow I can tell you what country I am in. Today all I can say is that I am in Africa. The next three days are SLAMMIN'. A show tonight; flight tomorrow back into the middle east; show tomorrow night; fly the next day to another country in the mid-east and do a show that night.
We have some much needed rest time this afternoon, so I am going to try to put my feet up for a few. I look forward to another great show in an AIR-CONDITIONED venue tonight!!
Take Care,
    David

Got to the first show!

Where did I leave off... Made the hops from Canada to Shannon, Ireland over the Alps and into Sigonella, Sicily. Dropped off a squadron riding with us in "Sig" and continued to Bahrain. Night before last, a hotel room bed and hot shower were very much appreciated by our travel weary bunch. About 5 hours of sleep led to us packing an overnight bag of show clothes and sleepwear only to catch a C-2 Greyhound COD flight from Bahrain Naval Air Station out into the middle of the Persian Gulf! We landed on the USS Abraham Lincoln. Yes, I said we landed on an aircraft carrier... tailhook and all!! Directly between Kuwait and Iran. We were escorted off of the flight deck directly to the Captains quarters where we met all the top brass of the ship including the awe inspiring Admiral of the strike force, Rear Admiral Mark D. Guadagnini. They checked us in to officers quarters and toured us around various parts of the ship. Our regular tour plans were quickly changed when 12 fighters were scrambled to respond in support of some guys on the ground in Iraq. The Admiral thought there would be no better tour of a carrier than to actually be on the flight deck as 12 F/18A Super Hornets were catapulted from the deck into full after-burner action. I couldn't agree more :)
With a short safety breifing we put on the gear and started climbing steep aluminum staircases until we came out on the deck surrounded by intimidating jets, deafening noise and intense heat blowing against our goggled faces. The wind alone nearly took me off my feet. The Cheif Petty Officer took us to a yellow line that was as close as anyone is ever allowed to a jet taking off the carrier.

This guy is going from zero to over 180 mph in 2 seconds. In this shot he is at about 130mph.

After watching take-offs we went to the other end of this massive space and watched as planes came in to land by catching a wire with a tail-hook. People had told me that making a landing like that might make you puke. That's not true. Having a "front row" seat to see what you just did an hour ago... that could make you puke!

We had a great autograph session and lunch with about 200 of the ships star crew members (high achievers) and then got ready for the show.

The hangar bay holding about 30 jets and 3000 eager concert attendees was a venue unlike any other. Patriotic with an industrial/warrior vibe. Hard working people having the time of their life listening not just to music, but home. Home being delivered by people from home. People who had set foot on their home ground just days ago and would again just days from now. They wanted to talk to us; touch our hands; listen our accents and have photos made. It's not that they love David Allen or Tim Rushlow or Nathan Westbeld or Geno Mulcahy that much; they love home. Enough to leave it.

After the show we visited and conveyed all of  your love to them for as long as we could. In a while, a fighter pilot call sign "Cricket" came and said that the Admiral of the Strike Force (includes the carrier and all support destroyers, cruisers, etc) had requested our presence on his private bridge. We followed Cricket through dark corridors of dim red light and up what seemed to be 20 flights of the steep and narrow stairs. We came out on a balcony over looking the gulf and the entire ship. The Admiral was waiting there with a handful of the best cigars his world travels had collected. We enjoyed his cigars, his stories, his insights, his character and his courage for more than an hour and a half. We discovered a true American hero and friend for life.

We "hit the rack" for a good night's rest and woke up bright and early; just before our wake-up call from the ship's... somebody (?)... when the phone in our room rang, Tim answered it; "Bridge...".  The reaction he got from the other end of the line was "startled", to say the least. We said our goodbyes to a few teary eyes. They were certainly sad to watch this little bit of home get on another COD flight and leave them, but we'll be back. I promise.

No rollercoaster on the planet has squat on being catapulted and 180 miles per hour in 2 seconds off the front of ship while sitting backwards. That's all I can say. There a no words to describe that feeling. There just aren't.

 Back in Bahrain, we checked into a nice hotel and considered our options for dinner. Bahrain has become very westernized and has McDonald's, Hard Rock Cafe, T.A.I. Friday's, they even have the last Kenny Rogers' Roaster known to be in existence! That's when I ran across this place:

A mexican restaurant in Bahrain?!? Something about that was just so inherently wrong that I had to try it...



It occurs to me now that eating Mexican food in the middle-eastern island nation of Bahrain is as good an idea as eating Cajun cuisine in Canada...

It's Midnight now and I have a wake-up call for 3:15am. Tomorrow morning we leave Bahrain for another great location filled with great Americans eager to be entertained and that is our mission. It will be a couple of days before I can get to an internet connection, or phone for that matter, but check back soon. Hopefully my next connection will be fast enough to upload some of the hundreds of photos and video we are getting on this most excellent adventure.

Our love to you all,

 D, T, N, G

 Rushlow

closer all the time!

We flew out of Newfoundland and headed into the Arctic Circle. It was my first time ever to see the "northern lights" and it was amazing! Never could get a good photo of it but I guess there are some things you are simply meant to enjoy for that moment in time. The pilot of the plane (a C-9) said he'd seen the lights many times but they had never looked that great. Thanks for that, God! Four hours later, about midnight last night Nashville time (5am local time), we landed in Shannon, Ireland. Hung out there for a refueling and then came on to drop off a squadron in here beautiful Sigonella, Sicily, Italy. We hope to see those guys again at a show we're doing soon. Between Ireland and Italy, just after sunrise, we had the most incredible experience of flying over the Alps. I went into the cockpit and the pilot pointed things out to me. Switzerland to the left; France to right; the Mediterranean out front; The Matterhorn. I'll post some photos at our next stop when we finally get to check into a hotel and get out our laptops.

Peace!

 Our C-9 transport overseas with cargo hold in "first-class".

 One of many YUMMY in-flight meals!

Our bus in Shannon, Ireland.

David
Photos are SO har d to upload over here that I may have to wait for a better loction to upload more. Please hang in there!!
D

Slight change of plans...

 Nathan checks out the flight status display for the airfield.

5 Wing was kind enough to offer us shelter from the 20 degree weather for the night.

 In these lovely barracks...

...with this lovely view.about an hour in Nova Scotia when we had an "issue" with our #2 engine. Because of the "issue" we landed and spent the night at Goose Bay, Newfoundland, Canada. Tonight we are getting a new plane and pressing on! Making three stops before we get to our first show location. I'll post photos and more info when

Things I’ll miss while I’m out of the country… in no particular order!

We are 24 hrs from departure and it occurs to me...

The BMI Country Awards Dinner- the first one I’ve missed in 7 years.
election night returns- This is THE SUPER-BOWL for a political junkie like me. SERIOUSLY!!!! It’s going to kill me to miss this.
The final game of The World Series- If Texas doesn’t buck-up, this may be a blessing in disguise.
The first night of Room In The Inn- Sorry guys; I’ll be back soon!!
The Grand Opening of Puckett’s in downtown Nashville- worked hard on coordinating all the talent for the first three nights and I won’t even get to be there! Dang…
The Leiper’s Fork Turkey Shoot- man, I was gonna CLEAN HOUSE at that thing!
TWO Leslie Satcher shows
Taco Night-
My beautiful family
My daughter’s 17^th birthday

That said; I believe with my whole heart that it’s worth it.

D