What a wonderful way to spend Christmas in Austin for a sweet little military family in a beautiful suite overlooking the Capitol with all the holiday lights at the Intercontinental Stephen F. Austin Hotel. SSG John Bell, his wife Crystal and daughter Sophie (2 hrs. old) arrived to a giant Christmas tree in the lobby greeted by the General manager, Steve Juscen and two members of the host group, Mary Reynolds and Brad Wiewel of the Rotary Club of Austin.
 
Their weekend started with a gift bag of goodies including park passes to Austin Parks and Pizza and Bowling at Dart Bowl and a large stuffed animal and toys  for Sophie. The hotel hosted all their meals while the family was in town except for  their Saturday nite dinner. It was a special evening out at the County Line on the Hill with BBQ and all the trimmings hosted by County Line. Crystal remarked that her husband had just returned from 9 months oversees and had immediately returned to work with no time off so this weekend was like a miracle and that they all needed the quality time together for Christmas. And John could be quoted saying, “Thank you. We had the best time and felt like we were VIPs everywhere we went. It was truly a wonderful experience.” There is no greater feeling during this holiday season than to remind our soldiers we care about them and appreciate what they do for us and the risks they take every day to provide us a safe world to live in. Thanks to our Operation Vacation sponsors: Rotary Clubs of Austin/ Killeen, Austin Hotel Lodging Association, Greater Austin Restaurant Association, Super Shuttle, Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau, Toyota Killeen, Intercontinental Hotel and County Line