With all of the accomplishments of the past week or so, and of course the American celebration of Halloween, we sure had a couple of good reasons to BBQ. Throw in the fact that the weather certainly has cooperated, and everyone has taken the opportunity to enjoy every aspect of a launch campaign.

We started the week with an outstanding steak and rib cookout, as an official welcome for all parties involved in the campaign. A couple of the Boeing and ILS folks traded their SC hats for chef’s hats. Boy, do something right once, and you will get picked to do it every time. These same chefs were elected to do it all over again in between SC fueling days, as the American teams gathered for a burger and brat’s night at the FILI Hotel Pavilion. The “Baconater” was the hit burger of the gathering. For those that may have missed the event, that is the bacon cheeseburger on a toasted roll with the works.

And lo and behold, Halloween fell on a weekend out here. Because of the busy Sunday, as joint operations has begun, we decided to hold the annual Halloween Party on Saturday. Many thanks to ILS Reston for the decorations that were sent in for this campaign. The pavilion was very festive and the night was enjoyed by American and Russian alike, nearly 80 folks in attendance. And while they may not have trick or treating in Russia and Kazakhstan, everyone sure did enjoy the party. And while costumes were scarce, a few folks showed their creative sides by making due with what they had. And a huge thanks to the kitchen staff for their continued support of our activities. The carved pumpkin centerpieces were outstanding and the orange and black cake, decorated with chocolate spiders and bats, just fantastic! As we like to say, over and above.

L – 13 and counting. Wonder what we can do for an encore?