Hi! Ed,

On Wed, 19 Feb 14, you wrote to me:

 EV> The USS Lexington CVA-16 is a Essex Class Aircraft Carrier that I've
 EV> served on.

Still in Texas as a museum ship!

 EV> The USS Hancock CVA-19 may also have been a Essex Class, I can't
 EV> remember now, though I think both were about the same size Ships that
 EV> I've been stationed on.

Yes, the Wikipedia agrees.  :)  They're both of the older WWII class of
carriers.  (The new Essex is a smaller USMC assault carrier.)

 PQ>> The closest we have to snow-capped mountains are 'the Alps',
 PQ>> down south, close to Melbourne.  I've been to Melbourne but not
 PQ>> to the snow fields.

 EV> So the coldest you've been is in a Air Conditioned Room?

Well I thought it was in our car yesterday with the aircon going full
blast, in an underground carpark, waiting while Barb was doing a little
shopping.  She said my ear was like a block of ice to her touch.

The coldest place I've been to was during my Army Reserve service (akin to
your National Guard).  During an exercise 'way out west' the morning temps
got down to -3C (~+26F).  It wasn't very pleasant when all we had was
summer clothing & gear; very cold on the ground.  You would probably
think that it was brisk envigorating weather.  :)

Cheers,
Paul.

...  CD driver error: "Mayday!  Mayday!  Mayday!  Eject!  Ejec......"
--- Paul's Win98SE VirtualBox