Back from Academy!!!

Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinally back! Man I swear I was gone a year. All in all it was a good experience; the training was OK, but the knowledge I gained from the people I met from around the country filled any gaps. My fondest memories will be from all the new places that I got a chance to visit...














One of the first place we went to was Memphis, and our first stop was Graceland. Here is a picture of Elvis' home. I was told that the 2nd floor window in the center is the bathroom where he died.



Unfortunately, they don't allow you to take flash photography inside, so a bunch of my pics just didn't come out. This one you can kind of see, and it was really cool. It was a racquetball court, but it was turned into a display of gold records and some of his costumes.



Elvis' Kenpo gi.



Elvis' grave, along with his parents, still-born twin brother, and grandmother...all buried behind the house in the "reflection garden" (I think that's what it was called.)



The famous gates...the whole sidewalk and brick wall behind me are covered in people's various writings in memory of Elvis.


Next we went to see the Lorraine Hotel where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.


The balcony on the upper floor behind me is where it happened, and there is a monument to my right. We were there the day before MLK day, so there were quite a few people there, and some vendors setting up for what looked like a big event the following day. Attached to the hotel is now a civil rights museum, and part of that museum extends into the hotel, and takes you into the room he was staying in.

It's hard to see, but this is Beale St., which looks similar to Bourbon St. in New Orleans. A lot of neon lights and bars. The big light on the right is BB King's house of blues, where I hear he still frequents.

Another weekend another trip!! I had to take a picture of this sign because i've never been in Texas and I was very excited to be there. This is officially the farthest west I have ever traveled.


The Grassy Knoll in Dallas, TX!! Going to Dealey Plaza may just have been the highlight of the whole experience. To stand in that spot was amazing. It looks absolutely no different today than it did in 1963. However, the whole area in person is a lot smaller than it seems when watching the film. You get a real sense of how vulnerable the President was in this spot.


In the middle of those trees is the corner of the picket fence, where several people ran towards after hearing gunfire from that area. There's a famous picture taken of the people, including a cop, running towards that fence, and I tried to take the picture from that spot far as I could tell.


Behind the fence looking towards the road. It's hard to see, but there are two "X"s in the road marking the location of the two shots.


On this side of the fence were many writings of mourners and such. Very moving to see so much concern so long after it's occurence.


"Seek Truth" "Don't let them fool you twice America; when will they stop killing our prophets?" "May the truth be heard once and for all" "God Bless You JFK"


The book depository is the far left building. The window Oswald supposedly shot from is all the way to the right, one floor down.


View off of a cliff right behind the academy. I really enjoyed this spot because it was close to "home" and I tried to go running there daily. We didn't have any transportation during the week, but here I could still kind of "get away."


Same spot...


A training exercise. The guy on the far left is one of the instructors, next going right is an officer simulating a suicidal subject (he's cutting his wrist). By the police car is the officer, and to the right of him is another instructor.


My home away from home.