On Island

I returned from underway the day before Thanksgiving. Jess had been entertaining my parents and Scott, of course, but due to the lack of preparation time, we ate Thanksgiving lunch in the Paul Hamilton Wardroom with the Captain and his family and a few other of the ship's Officers. Afterward we went to Kaena Point (below) and enjoyed the sunset on the beach.

We spent Friday on the North Shore prior to taking the folks to the airport; it was sad to see them go, but I think we all had a good time together.

The past couple of weeks have flown by; I think we are using the time to get used to each other, and this is the longest stretch we've had together since August. With the exception of a brief trip this weekend, it'll be the longest we'll have together prior to me deploying. We are, of course, looking forward to visiting Gold Coast, Australia in the next few weeks, but since we will be back before the holiday, we're thinking of spending Christmas on the beach.

This is a flower we saw on a black sand beach on Hawaii back in October. It was isolated, and I thought it was amazing to survive where it was.

- Jeff