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