Our Christmas

Well, now that Christmas is over, the secret is out. Mom and Dad Carcello gave me (Janie) a plane ticket to go see Neal for Christmas. It was a surprise, and he wasn't expecting it in the least. The poor thing thought I was staying with my parents for Christmas, but I had taken a flight out and arrived on base around 4am local time. He was supposed to be working on the gate that night, and I was trying to figure out how to sneak onto base and into his barracks room without him knowing. But he ended up getting the night off, and that solved my problem.

Once the guards on gate knew who I was and that I was surprising Neal, they got one of the security cars to escort me to the barracks, after calling to verify which room he was in. Loving the chance to get one up on one of their own, the guards decided to hide me around the corner and make up a story about Neal needing to come in to work (at 4:30am). But he didn’t buy it, and one of the guards couldn’t keep a straight face anyway. When he asked what was up, I walked around the corner and he was speechless. He just had a completely blank look on his face as if he was trying to figure out if he was still dreaming. Later he told me that he was thinking, “I’m awake, but I have to be dreaming. I’m still in Washington, and my wife is standing right in front of me.” I hugged him, and the guards told him “Merry Christmas!”

The visit was a ton of fun. I managed to schedule it around his work schedule, so he had a few days off. I got there early Sunday morning, and just got home this morning. I had rented a car, so we were able to go to a movie, had dinner out, went to a casino, and even went to Vancouver, Canada for a day trip. I’m posting pictures that we took while there. The scenery in the area is amazing, and makes our mountains here in east Tennessee look like speed bumps! But I won’t deny it was COLD! Luckily, it stayed in the low 40’s while I was there, and the wind wasn’t too bad. But even still, I know I couldn’t handle living there. On Christmas Day, the sun came up at 8am and went down at 4:30! Only 8.5 hours of daylight! But I can see why people love the area, given the scenery.

We hope everyone had a great Christmas! We look forward to seeing everyone soon!


(Mountain view of the seaplane side of base)



(Janie at the Deception Pass Bridge)


(Neal at the Deception Pass Bridge)


(The Peace Arch at the Canada border)


(Leaving the country!)


(Mountain view on the Canada side)


(Vancouver Harbor)


(Vancouver mountain view)


(Garden in Chinatown in Vancouver)


(My man in his security uniform)


(and another)