I ate for free at Applebee's.
On a side note.. I appreciate everyone's thanks for today and I appreciate it a lot. Today made me realize why I love doing what I do. It's the people who give me thanks while in uniform or take their time to talk to me about how much they appreciate what I do to serve the country. (Yes, I've done a HELL of a lot of "things" before I got back to CT.) It makes me smile and feel good about myself when people thank me or offer to pay for my food/drinks; which I politely refuse.
The only downside is, while they thank me, they seem to forget about those who have come before me and given their life, their blood, their sweat, and/or their tears to defend this nation from those who choose to harm us. It saddens me that it takes a day like today for people to honor those who have served us in the past. I spent the morning/afternoon of today with some of those people. The stories I received from some of the submarine sailors of the past are NO comparison to the ones I have. In my opinion, while people thank me for what I do now, it's really the veterans of the past who people should be thanking. I'm just continuing on the tradition.
So if you see a veteran, thank them. Not just today, but any and every day because they helped ensure you are able to do what you are doing right now.
Cheers~