Big ship sailing

"If you noticed an enormous Naval ship on the horizon while watching the air show at Pensacola Beach this weekend, you weren't the only one.

The USS Makin Island, a brand new Navy amphibious assault ship, sailed off the Pensacola coast Saturday on its way from Pascagoula, Miss., to the Atlantic Ocean.

The Makin Island (LHD-8) was built in Pascagoula, Miss., and completed its acceptance trials this spring.

The 844-foot Wasp-class amphibious assault ship is one of the largest Naval ships in the world, second only to aircraft carriers in size, said Alan Baribeau, a Navy spokesman.

"These ships are specifically designed to remain offshore near troubled areas of the world, ready to send forces ashore quickly via helicopters, tilt rotor aircraft and land craft air cushion hovercraft," Baribeau said.

The USS Makin Island is the last of eight Wasp-class amphibious assault ships ordered by the U.S. Navy.

After leaving the Gulf of Mexico, the ship will sail through the Atlantic Ocean, around South America, and through the Pacific Ocean to San Diego, where it will be commissioned in October." This article appeared in the Pensacola Paper on July 12th. Link to article I found it because the captain posted it on Facebook. Yes, in this digital age, the Captain keeps a Facebook page that keeps us all updated throughout the deployment.

AJ and his Ball

About three months ago, I was looking into the Pet Health Care plan that my work offers. It makes sense, since vet bills can get so high, and you never know what’s going to happen to our little bundles of fur. But, it was a little bit more than I wanted to pay, and didn’t cover as much as I wanted it to, so I decided it would be wise to wait. Oh the irony. On Monday night, AJ decided to eat a tennis ball. The entire thing! I was sitting at the computer writing James, and assumed AJ was in the living room sleeping, since it was almost midnight. AJ likes to go to bed early, while I like to stay up late. When we first adopted AJ in Texas, he would always go to bed at 10. We’d be in the dining room or the living room, and AJ would jump down, and walk down the hall and hop in bed. It used to make me laugh so hard! You could hear his little tags jingle down the hall (and it was long because we had a three bedroom) and then silence before the plop. But Monday night, AJ decided to be rebellious. He’s always chewed up his toys, and has sometimes eaten small pieces of them, but he’s never devoured an entire toy. By the time I found him, there were just a few tiny pieces left that he was trying to gulp down. I’m pretty sure that tennis fuzz and rubber could not possibly taste good, but apparently it was the thing to do. I did some googling, and realized that rubber can clog the intestines of dogs, at best, and at worst, can sit in their stomach. Everything said he needed to go to the vet immediately so they could induce vomiting. I called the emergency vet, and the vet said that if he chewed it up into small enough pieces, then he was probably fine until the morning. (It was after midnight after all…and emergency vets are soooo much more expensive than the regular ones.) So I waited until the morning, but didn’t get any sleep because if he started throwing up, I was supposed to take him in right away. I called AJ’s regular vet first thing in the morning, and they said to bring him in right away. He saw a new vet, and she was amazing! She loves poodles, which is always a plus, and AJ didn’t even try to bite her. They took some x-rays, and thankfully, AJ chewed the ball up into tiny pieces so it should all come out naturally. If he hadn’t chewed it into such small pieces, they would have had to have induced vomiting, taken a long thing down his throat and pulled pieces out, or opened him up with surgery to take the pieces out. Eating rubber is not fun and games! So, as you can see, there are pieces of a ball throughout AJ’s insides. Thankfully, they have started to come out. I’ve never been so excited to pick up his poop before! She said that AJ seems to have a great deal of pent up energy that needs to be expressed, which is why he is patient enough to chew balls into tiny pieces. Most dogs she sees eat toys whole or in large pieces, and they have to go in to get them out. She suggested that we do agility training with him, because he is smart and has a lot of energy. How funny would it be if we trained AJ to do show dog stuff? I don’t think he is socialized enough to do it, but it does look like it could be fun. And she also recommended moving AJ to a sweet potato and pinto bean diet?? Weird, but surprisingly not weird after a few minutes of google searching. So maybe we will turn AJ more into a California dog by giving him a specialized healthy diet and taking him to intense gyms. Praise the Lord that AJ is okay! I don’t know what I would do without him out here by myself. And for a few hundred dollars, we got some awesome pictures of his insides.

Anchors Away!

After four months of being apart, James is finally on his way back home to San Diego! The USS Makin Island took to sea for the first time on Friday, July 10th, 2009. Her first voyage! There is something about the sea that draws James and I to it, and there is no wonder he joined the Navy over any of the other branches. As much as I don’t like it at times, it means we will always live next to the sea, which I love! When he returns in September, we are going to take sailing classes, as San Diego is the perfect place to learn to sail. The weather is good all year, so it won’t matter that it is the fall and winter when we begin our classes. The ship will be going all the way around South America, so James will have the opportunity to visit some awesome places like Brazil and Peru. I wish I could go with him, but have requested coffee, jewelry, and paintings to get me by. He’s such an awesome husband! It seems with each passing year that James and I are becoming a bit more connected to the Caribbean and Latin America. Just a little over a year ago, I was in the Dominican Republic, and I have been itching to go back ever since. I might have to make it in my plans for next summer, as I can’t imagine another year going by without doing some kind of volunteer work there. And James spent last summer in Panama. (He hasn’t spent a summer in San Diego yet!) If it wasn’t for the Navy, James and I would probably join the Peace Corps. It has been a dream of mine since I was little, and we actually went and talked to a Peace Corps recruiter right before we were married about opportunities for married couples. (I can’t believe that was over three years ago!) There are actually quite a bit of opportunities for married people in the Peace Corps, but once you have served in the military or have been married to someone serving in the military, you are disqualified! I hope this policy changes, because I would still love to see that in our future!

Back to the Makin Island. I do not know who took these pictures, but all of the rights are theirs. I thank them for the photographs, since I could not be there to watch the beginning of their voyage, and James sent them to me in a PowerPoint presentation. He is the master of PowerPoint’s now. It should be noted that when the captain asked for recommendations on songs to play as they were pulling away from the pier, James requested “I’m on a Boat.” He then proceeded to play it for the captain who had never heard it. (The edited version…of course!) I think it’s a good thing for James that he isn’t planning on doing this forever! It was denied, but I’m sure his division sincerely appreciated his efforts for them! It makes me laugh! Some awesome seafaring quotes to quench your thirst for the sea.

All of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea whether it is to sail or to watch it we are going back from whence we came.
~John F. Kennedy

My soul is full of longing
For the secret of the Sea,
And the heart of the great ocean
Sends a thrilling pulse through me.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Yeah, never thought I'd be on a boat
It's a big blue watery road (yeah)
Poseidon!! Look at me, oh (all hands on deck)
~T-Pain

The MVs honor Stack - 2 years later

It’s hard to believe that it’s been over two years since April 16th, 2007. It is also still hard to believe that it happened, and that our lives have continued despite such a tragic and horrific day. In spite of all of our sadness and hurt, so much good has been done in the name of all 32 Hokies, but especially in Stack’s name. This past weekend, the MV’s dedicated a home they built in Blacksburg in honor of him, for a local family with great need. Check out the story here: Stack's House It is amazing the love and drive that has led the MV’s to dedicate countless hours and thousands of dollars to remember a friend, and to honor the impact he had on all of our lives. Check out pictures of the building process: Construction Photos I am so proud of the MV’s, and so thankful to be a part of such an amazing organization.

A tradition of Excellence

Then, now, and always. Oh how good it is to be in the ACC! I spent a wonderful June afternoon enjoying the great company of my fellow ACC San Diego alumni at the fourth annual San Diego ACC Pig Pickin, featuring North Carolina pulled pork BBQ and the best hush puppies I have ever had. There is something special about enjoying fried food in healthy San Diego, where fried rarely appears on menus. I didn’t realize how many ACC alumni are living in San Diego, but there are a few thousand of us. Boston College and the University of Miami both boast over 800 alumni in the area, and the other alumni sites don’t list numbers, but I am always seeing cars with alumni stickers from those 12 fine universities. By the time I got to the picnic, the Hokie tables were full, but I was invited to sit with the University of Miami, which is quite fitting since we both joined the ACC the same year. Virginia Tech and the U have a special relationship, and Miami is near and dear to mine and James’ heart, as we have made many road trips to the U. The Miami alumni were very welcoming, and invited me and James to Canes (the SD bar where they watch their games) for the VT Miami game this year. They promised to be kind, and I promised to return the favor of kindness. I think we might take them up on it, as their bar is right on the beach, and has plenty of seating, where as Bubs is a few blocks from the water and you have to stand for the entire game. There was a golf tournament before the picnic, and we had a Hokie team in it. As they started to announce the winners, one of the Hokie team members became belligerent, saying the scores were rigged, and we should have gotten 5th place. It was hilarious, as he was going on and on about how Duke and UNC rigged the tournament and how just because we didn’t go to a preppy school didn’t mean we should be left of the rankings if there was a tie. The funniest part is that they had a girl on their team, and hadn’t figured out the handicap correctly, and came in first place! So…this year’s San Diego ACC golf championship goes to the Virginia Tech Hokies! :) Being around so many East Coast natives reminded me how much I miss that side of the country, but I know eventually we will return to cold winters, colorful falls, belligerent drunken football fans, and those beautiful mountains. Only 75 days until football!! Let the countdown begin! (This picture is from my Senior year, during Superman. It is now hanging in Dave's Office!)

“I have… I will… I will!”

Three years ago Angela and I got married on a beautiful summer day. Little did we know what the next few years would entail, but we confidently entered life together. Since then, we have lived apart nearly a third of the time, moved more than I care to remember, dropped out of school, graduated from school, and lived on a boat. Above you see the residences we have had since we wed, but not all of those were together! The point is we have had a busy three years, and can hardly believe it has gone by so fast. We have met many new people in all corners of the country. Though apart often, I am truly blessed with such a great wifey!

Everyday Conversation

Yesterday I was sitting on a rooftop patio at SDSU, where I retreat on my lunch breaks to do some reading and get a few minutes of sun and peace each day. It’s like an oasis, compared to the dark, cold, windowless office I occupy more than 40 hours a week. While I was sitting there yesterday, I got a chill and realized it wasn’t sunny. An older gentleman walked by me and asked me if it was supposed to rain. What an odd question, I thought! Someone in San Diego just asked me about the weather…for the first time in 11 months. I told him I hadn’t checked the weather, but it certainly looked and felt like rain. And then it occurred to me that I haven’t checked the weather more than 4 times since we’ve moved out here. And every time I have checked the weather, it’s because I was traveling somewhere and I needed to know what the weather was like on the other side of the country. But yesterday, I should have checked, because it rained for 3 minutes and there was thunder! I didn’t hear it, but it was all the talk in the office today. For the most part, every day here is about the same. It’s overcast in the morning, with a sea mist engulfing you. By 10:30, the mist has lifted and the sun is shining brightly. By noon, it’s nice and warm, and it stays warm until about 4:00, and then it starts to cool off, getting chilly in the evening. And that happens every single day…winter, spring, summer, fall.