Yesterday was a visit to Hanauma Bay for some afternoon snorkeling.
We went farther out where the waters were less populated and offered a rougher ride, but had more fish to watch. The colors of the fish were vivid and beautiful. I swallowed too much salt water and got an upset stomach which was later remedied by a coke and french fries and McDonald's.
From the Bay we drove back over to the Australian Consulate's house for a barbecue. We had a great visit and some interesting discussions. I felt a little insecure because I still had my bikini on with just a white shirt over the top. Larry said I looked good, but he's a guy and my husband, so I'm not so sure his opinion is a good one. Thankfully Australians are much more laid back than Americans, so they didn't think anything of it. Around 9:30 I had a OMG! moment when it began to rain and made a split second decision taking my shirt off and jumping into their pool. Yes, I am a bit of a free spirit I suppose, but I just couldn't contain myself any further. The water had been tempting me all evening. Fortunately, everyone followed me into the pool. I guess one of us just needed to be ballsy enough to take the first plunge!
A couple of days ago we toured the USS Kitty Hawk while it was in harbor from Japan.
The size of this beast was amazing. See the black line at the hull, right above the water? The line read 37 feet. That means the keel is 37 feet below the surface of the water! By the way, the Kitty Hawk is an aircraft carrier and has about 5000 people on board when afloat. We entered the ship in an area where they were loading up supplies for their trip (also happens to be the last trip as it is being decommissioned), and it made Costco look small. Here we are on the flight deck...
The next day we went to Hickam Air Force base to watch it depart from Pearl and head out to sea. It was so large that I couldn't get the entire ship into one picture. We waived them goodbye from the land.
This picture has the ship in the background, but from a distance it looks even more ominous.
Larry and I have been talking a lot about what we want and where we want to go with our lives. We both love it here, but also know this is temporary. Our intention was never to stay, but to go back to Salt Lake and live out our lives in a more traditional fashion. The problem is that we are both surprised to how much we are enjoying all of this.....again. Back in the day, I couldn't wait to leave the military behind, thinking I was missing something by not being a "civie." I do like living in Salt Lake and our life (well.. my life) there, but I also know it is not everything, just a place to be. For Larry, he sees that his airline career is going nowhere fast, and finds himself really enjoying his military time again; the people he meets and the issues he works on. The question we began asking each other is why not just see about finishing out the military career, and go back to active duty?
Unfortunately, there is no chance of that happening in the Navy and he won't go back to the Marine Corps (even though they need him). The Army, however, is in desperate need of high ranking officers (Lt. Colonels specifically). IF, and it is a big if, they wanted to pick him up, he would work for them for 5 years and receive a full retirement upon leaving. I am all over it, she says surprising herself, because all his work will finally be acknowledged and for the rest of his life his will be taken care of. And then there is that biggy for me.....Freedom! The freedom he would have to do all the many things he wants to do, he would have the time and money to do embark on anything that sparked his curiosity. Skywest would keep his job for him (with seniority) until he came back. So if he chose to go back, he would be in a good spot.
I guess I really hope it works out for him. I would love to see him get everything he deserves. We will see what the Army is offering: jobs and base wise. From what we have been told, there is a lot of opportunity for him, including here in Hawaii. Life is amazing isn't it? Just when you think you've got in all figured out, opportunity comes a'knockin. Take it or leave it, either way it is completely up to you.
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