Dang it!

Keeping up with this blog has been harder than I thought!  I often tell Ricki I sit down and write long e-mails in my head, they just never make it to the light of day.  That’s what has happened here somewhat.

 

Enough belly aching though, it’s Sunday underway.  We try to stick to holiday routine on Sunday, it allows everyone to get a little rest, relax and let their hair down, it also allows me time to catch up on e-mail and blogs.

 

Right now we are in the Caribbean driving around doing a fantail cookout (technically a flight deck cookout).  This evening will be burgers and dogs under the oppressive late summer sun.  Hurricane(?) Gustav is to the north and another tropical storm is behind that but the sky is clear and the weather is hot here in the tropics.

 

I was on the bridge wing last night and it was a brilliantly clear, moonless night.  You could see the span of the Milky Way across the sky.  I’ve told more than one person, that’s one good reason to be in the Navy, you’ll never see that ashore…

 

Signs....

that this deployment is almost done.  I finished off my giant bottle of Flintstone’s chewables!  I’ve now switched to the small auxiliary bottle. 

 

While we’re on it, are the Flintstones even on anymore?  Who are these things made for, us or today’s kids (not the goat kind Kris ;-) )?

 

Picture of the moment

Another one of those intriguing pictures... I really
must carry my camera everywhere like Kris does!

Yes, it is off center... that was intentional, no really.

More beer on the pier

We are 22 hours from being done with our current exercise.  It hasn’t been too arduous but it is always nice to check another item off on the “going home” list!

 

Unfortunately, for the port we are going in to, we are limited to liberty on the pier which boils down to cheap beer at one of three bars located on the pier.  Not a bad way to spend an evening but definitely no insight into the local customs and traditions!

 

Here’s to another check mark!

 

Busy days

That does seem to be about all I say sometimes!  This week has been particularly hectic as we have been preparing for a multi-national exercise off the coast of Panama.

 

The problem with these big exercises, or any exercise for that matter, is that no matter how well orchestrated, they are still very hard to keep coordinated.  We spend hours trying to get through the last bit of paperwork, decipher intentions and make everything presentable to the rest of the people on the ship.  Part of Operations is the translation of intentions to a workable plan by the ship, and that seems to have eaten up this week.

 

The good side of that is the week went by quickly and it puts me seven days closer to being home (I’m counting Sundays, some people count Burger Days, some count days inport, etc)

 

Brazilian coffee, the REAL energy drink

Just finished a meeting on a Brazilian ship, those guys know how to make coffee! They serve it in an espresso sized cup but it isn't quite as strong as espresso, it's just very strong coffee. With the coffee they serve a simple sugar sweetener that just enhances the flavor even more. Two of those and there is no stopping for the rest of the day!

Morning, noon and night

Right now that seems to be when I'm working. We are getting ready for an exercise and, as an Operations type, that's when I'm the busiest. It makes the days go by, but I really do hate being so darn tired!

The little things

Sometimes it’s the little things that make you happy. Talking to my wife, knowing what the weather at home is, little things like that.

Through the power of the Internet, I now probably know more about the weather she is having than she does, just using a little add-on for Firefox called Forecastfox!

Hot, hot, hot

We are on our way in to Cristobal, Panama. It is the Caribbean port for the Panama Canal and it is hot and sticky.

We left Cartagena yesterday after a brief port visit. Cartagena was an interesting city but I would have like to have seen more of it. When I’ve deployed to the Mediterranean all I ever saw were the poor, industrial port areas of most of the cities I’ve pulled in to. Here in the north of South America all I’ve seen are the cities, it would be much more interesting to see the local culture and sample the local cuisine.

The resort...

That beach and this resort are at The Riu in Ocho
Rios, Jamaica. That's where I am in the world, how about you?

Almost paradise...

Kind of like the song, but not quite.
The beaches were beautiful, the water was warm, the drinks were free,
all that was missing was my Sweetie.