The Inn at Dos Brisas

We had a great time at the Inn at Dos Brisas with the executive team of Jerry's bank.  They needed to have an off-site strategy session and we all wanted to go out to Chappel Hill and stay at Dos Brisas, so we combined the two for a fun 24 hours ... wish we could have stayed longer.

 

We arrived and had a nice lunch in the dining room, then "the girls" hung out on the patio until check-in time while "the guys" were in a meeting.

 

Restaurant, Bar & Meeting Space

Jerry, Mark, Nan, Andy, Brenda, Joe, Mary & Deborah
(Poor Photo by Waiter)



Around 3pm we were able to check-in to our individual haciendas ...

 

Hacienda B

 

as you can see, we were really roughin' it in the country!

 

Looking into Living Room w/Fireplace from Entry

Living Room - Looking Back Towards Front Door

Huge Bedroom Overlooking Private Pool

WITH Fireplace!

Spectacular Bath ... and This is Only Half of It!

Moving outdoors ...

 

Outdoor Shower

Private Pool

View from Out Back

 

Cats would LOVE this huge screened in porch with "hanging bed"

 

Screened-In Porch

We had a lovely dinner, followed by a valiant attempt at a campfire ... the wood was too wet and I checked out earlier than those who actually saw it glowing!

 

Woke up early Saturday morning to watch a spectacular sunrise, then headed out on a long run to the entrance gates and back ... LOTS of hills!

 

 

 

Beautiful scenery on my run ...

 

The Road Less Traveled

Sunrise Over a Beautiful, Friendly Horse

Scarecrow Guarding One of the Many Gardens

Eating Breakfast

 

Each guest receives one activity per day - could be horses, skeet shooting, organic farm tour, wine discussion, etc. We had several guests not participating, so O.K. Estes (local horse expert) put on a Cutting Horse Demo in the arena and afterwards Jerry and I rode for about an hour with one of the staff members. 

 

This Horse Barn is Awesome!

Rolling Hills & Horse Pastures

 

Once the horses were back in the barn, we headed over to watch the Skeet Shooting.

 

Andy Lane was Shooting Clay Like an Expert

Brenda's First Time Skeet Shooting was a Success
(she did confess that her eyes were closed on a few shots)

Joe Stubbs Closed Out the Activity Shooting Lots of Clay

 

It was a short trip, but we had a good time and they actually got a lot of work done on Friday afternoon.  We're ready to go back and stay longer ...



Yours Truly - Tail Gunner

Yesterday, I woke up to an email from a gentleman in California thanking me for my December, 2011 blog post titled Heroes and Regular People.  More specifically, he was grateful for the photos of  Dad's WWII unit pictured with "Little Mike", their B-29 super fortress.  The reason?  His father passed away in July and just one week ago was interred at Arlington National Cemetery.

After studying these photos, he was sure that his father was pictured with Little Mike - top row, third from the right:

Little Mike and Crew - 1942
Dad is front row far left

Seeking confirmation, I pulled out Dad's military file and tried again to read the names written 70 years ago on the back of the picture with the guys on an unknown flight line. 

Ice cold flight line - Dad is far right

The ink was just too old and faded, so I scanned the image and worked in Photoshop to enhance the writing so that I might be able to ferret out the names.

Enhanced scan of the back of the flight line photo

Dad's notes on the back of the tarmac photo said it was taken after a high-altitude flight where the temperature was 32 below.  After listing the men in order from left to right, he makes reference to "the man in the back" and there are several lines that I just can't make out.

 

Maj (Herman F.) Smith - Pilot

Lt (Daniel) Teelin - Copilot

Lt (Richard C., Jr.) Blanton - Bombardier

Lt (Gordon M., Jr.) Gibbs - Navigator

Don (Donald T.) Burner - Right Gunner

Bob (Robert W., Jr.) Walker - Top Gunner

Oscar Knapp - Left Gunner

Yours Truly - Tail Gunner

 

Those words leapt off the screen.  I knew it was Dad at the end of the line in the photo, but seeing his writing and the "Yours Truly" was just SO Dad.  Not the sick, frail dad ... but our younger Dad - with a sense of humor.

Capt. Manuel F. Iglesias - lead crew radar officer for the 444th Bombing Group, assigned to the 677th Bomb Squadron - was not on the list. Disappointing, but since only eight of the original eleven were in this photo I forged on with my research.

And then on the second page of a "restricted document", dated August 3, 1945, titled Central Burma Campaign Credit, I found the connection.  Stunning.

Central Burma Campaign Credit Roster
Page 1

Central Burma Campaign Credit Roster
Page 2

Central Burma Campaign Credit Roster
Page 3

Not only did Manuel Iglesias fly with Dad, I believe that they were friends given the red "tick marks" Dad made on this roster ... he was checking off the names of his team.

I did have one more photo of the group, so I repaired it and want to share it here in their honor.  When I have time, I'll compare the flight line photo with the other photos and attempt to identify the men by name.

Another photo of the 444th Bombing Group - 677th Bomb Squadron

In looking back at that 2011 blog post, someone posted a reply (that I didn't see until yesterday) and I need to follow up on that link to the past. I believe that there is (or was) a mechanic in Tennessee who was responsible for maintaining Little Mike and was stationed with Dad's crew in the "Burma Theatre".

The Lord does work in mysterious ways and I think it's fascinating that a blog post led to a connection with a WWII soldier and provided his family with photos they had never seen.  If there had been a way to make this connection in the last years of his life, I know that Dad would have loved the opportunity to spend a few minutes on the phone with Capt. Iglesias.

I believe they're catching up now.