Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Jeff Spotting - Port Vila, Vanuatu

Paul Hamilton anchored in Port Vila, Vanuatu (most visibly known recently for Survivor 9) for liberty. Compared to all the other ports we stopped at, this one had an island style about it (go figure that it’s a group of islands), so was reminiscent of Hawaii, which only augmented my desire to return home all the sooner. We took an opportunity to enjoy the warm island air and explore the outdoor markets the first day, then headed to Eaton Beach the second day for a bit of relaxation and hiking. The beach was just off a little freshwater creek that provided really cold currents to the otherwise incredibly pleasant water, and although it was low tide, there was still some good free diving to see up close some of the most brilliantly blue fish I’ve ever seen (I’ve tried to find a picture online as I didn’t have an underwater camera, and I think they were either Blue Devil Damsels or Fiji Devil Damsels).

-Jeff

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Heart!

Second session of anatomy and physiology is going well; I figured people would probably enjoy the pictures of the model as opposed to the ones my lab partner took of me in full mad-scientist regalia dissecting things.

But speaking of heart, I did something that made mine feel good; I donated my hair to Locks of Love! I've been waiting months for a stylist to tell me it's long enough, so I was super excited. So just in time for Jeff to get back (well, pretty soon, anyway), my hair is too short to get tangly and dries in about ten minutes, which is great in Hawaii. No decent picture yet; you'll see soon enough!

--jess

Friday, July 06, 2007

Jeff Spotting - Catch Up

Contrary to popular belief, I did not fall of the edge of the map (it's not so much a map as a chart, in Navy terminology). We did, however, travel to the underside of the world, where it is now winter.

I had to look back to see which was the last port that I wrote about pulling into since I haven't written in awhile. Busan...


Since then, we stopped in Yokosuka Japan (home of the US Seventh Fleet), Nagoya Japan (where we visited an awesome Toyota factory and I got a picture of a water fountain and giant antenna), and Townsville Australia (the culprit of the pictures with wombats and snakes via the Billabong Animal Sanctuary). I also ate this ridiculous hamburger...


We also conducted the fabled crossing the line ceremony (the Wikipedia entry is poorly written, but it was the best I could find online), as we passed over the equator, in which King Neptune (or Poseidon for those who prefer the Greek nomenclature – the US Navy prefers the Roman variety: Neptunus Rex, Ruler of the Raging Main) and Davy Jones visit the ship to evaluate the seaworthiness of all the slimy pollywogs to become honorable shellbacks. The ceremony has become rather tame in recent years, but it is still an enjoyable experience. I did my first in 2005 aboard the USS PEARL HARBOR.
Additionally, we’ve been participating in a joint US-Australian military exercise called Talisman Saber. I know I haven’t mentioned much (or at all) about the missions we’re conducting out here yet, but I’ll get to that once I am able.

-Jeff

Thursday, July 05, 2007

Fourth of July, Hawaiian style!

Fourth of July was pretty great. Kris's friend Neeli flew in from Atlanta, and the three of us hung out at Kahala Beach (for those of you who haven't heard of Kahala, it's the the neighborhood where ridiculously wealthy people live, and there is this exclusive fancy hotel where the rich and famous stay, fun fun fun). The water was clear and gorgeous; unfortunately I forgot the camera, but pictures were taken and should be emailed later.

Afterward, we went to Island Burger for Lava Flows and (of course) island burgers and watched fireworks from the parking deck at Ala Moana. That wasn't planned well; we were unable to get out of the parking deck afterward because construction clogged traffic up so badly. So we ended up getting dessert; Neeli was practically falling asleep in her ice cream!

And now for another picture of Zeke falling asleep in a very unnatural looking position - I'm going to have to teach him to do his kitty yoga when he's not quite so tired!

--jess