California or Bust, Part III :: Carwreck

Our next stop on our journey was in Columbus, Ga. to visit our dear friend Jeff Hendrix aka "Carwreck." Mike's first duty assignment was with 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Ky.  The nickname for 3rd Battalion is the "Iron Rakkasans." Rakkasan is a Japanese word which, loosely translated, means falling umbrellas and it dates back to World War II.  Mike met many fine officers and noncommissioned officers (NCOs) while working in Iraq and Kentucky.  They formed a recreational party club and called it the Rakkasan Racing Team (RRT).  They made hats and t-shirts and everyone got a nickname.  Mike's nickname is Overdose and Jeff's is Carwreck.

At our rehearsal dinner, Jeff told one of my favorite stories, the story of how he and Mike came to be such good friends. They were platoon leaders right beside each other (Jeff 1st Platoon, Mike 2nd Platoon in Delta company) during their first deployment, the invasion of Iraq. For those of you that know Mike, know that Mike can be a little loud, a little forthcoming, a little rough around the edges, and first impressions of him can often be deceiving. Jeff's was no different. He thought Mike was a "knucklehead" and would not speak to him or associate throughout the deployment. It wasn't until they were returning from Iraq, waiting in Kuwait they realized they had common interests and so the friendship began.

Jeff is one of Mike's best buddies, and now one of mine too. No matter where Mike is, he does his best to visit (even visited him in Iraq! Of course Jeff was deployed there too though.) This is why it was important for both Mike and me to visit Jeff before we got out to California. And because we just wanted to see our buddy.

Our evening in Columbus was great! Jeff cooked some delicious pepperoni chili for us:

Unfortunately, this is the only picture I got of the visit. I guess I was having too much fun, talking and beating the boys at some intense games of Clue to stop and snap any pictures!

Thank you, Jeff for being such a gracious host to us!!! We love you! Until next time...