LAFB
I went to Laughlin, and I actually liked it. Although I was married...I'll be honest...the single life sucks if you're looking for that "special someone". But hey, you're going there to fly airplanes, right?
There's plenty to do...it's just that most people don't know much about the surrounding area. If you're into outdoors stuff, there's alot to do on the weekends. The Texas Hill Country is pretty neat...if nothing else, just to drive through it. You used to be able to take tours of the Mooney plant in Kerrville, which was a 2 hour drive from Del Rio through the hill country. There are a number of small creeks with rafting and fishing possibilities, as well as some decent hiking and camping.
Going west, there's the obvious, Lake Amistad. Between the lake and San Antonio, that's what 90% of all the UPT students would think of doing on weekends. I really only did the lake a few times. San Antonio was a once or twice-a-month adventure for me. Lots to do in that city as well....more than just the Riverwalk...go do some exploring. Austin is another hour up the road, and the nightlife there is actually better than SA's was. It's a college town (UT), so lots of bars and people to mingle with.
Out further west, are the mountains of West Texas. I didn't discover that part of the state until I was flying VR196 through the mountains in the T-1. I was impressed...I managed to spend a long weekend out in Big Bend National Park...a neat place to go. Just avoid it during the summer, because it'll cook your balls off.
Mexico is always fun, if you don't over do it. Some people in my class went there every weekend. I would get pretty tired of it. I went about once a month, or once every other month. There are several decent bars and restaurants over there.
The base itself is pretty clean, although it looks barren, especially in the summer when the heat scorches all of the grass save the few "crop circles" where the grass is green from the sprinkler systems. The weather is usually fairly predictable, more so in the summer. We went for a couple of months without a single drop of rain in August and September, so when it rained in October, it was very welcome.
Housing on base is good too. If you're married, or get to live in one of the duplexes as a single guy, you'll have plenty of room, but you are expected to keep the yard up, and that's no easy task in the summer.
The dorms got alot of complaints, but I didn't think they were too bad....although the air conditioning went out a couple of times.
Another source of info you can tap is the message board at ufly.com. There are alot of present UPT students that visit that board, so you can ask them how things are presently. Just try to avoid the ones trying to elicit flame wars or pissing contests....as a rated guy, sometimes I have a hard time going to that site only to find a bunch of UPT students slinging mud at me. But, for you, I think it would be a good place to find some info.
Good luck.
Work hard and have a good time - I have some great memories from UPT!
