Iwakuni

Duane spent the week up at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni helping out the branch dental clinic. They don't have any specialists stationed at that base so when patients need specialty care they have to wait until the specialist comes to them. The weather was different from Okinawa. It was snowing when he arrived.

He flew up on a small jet that seated 7, but there were only 3 people on the flight along with 2 pilots. The flight took a little over 2 hours. The base is right on the water and is surrounded by mountains. Very beautiful, but the weather was chilly.

The days were busy and long at the clinic because they had several patients that needed to be seen. At night he was able to get off base to eat dinner.

The clinic director took him out to dinner one night at the "Chicken Shack." It was a really neat restaurant that was up in the mountains. They had amazing chicken that they grilled on big outdoor fire pits.

Another night everyone in the clinic went out to dinner at a "sushi-go-round." Duane was daring and tried a few unusual things: pureed crab livers and pancreas. It wasn't as bad as it sounds. The green tea ice cream was very strong.

He came home Friday night and was happy to get back to warm weather.