So close now!

On June 9 we had a Battle of Midway Commemoration ceremony onboard. Why did we wait until June 9 instead of doing it on June 5 like most of the rest of the Navy? Because on June 9 we were actually near the Midway Atoll where the battle took place. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to be in those waters so close to the 70th anniversary of the battle. It was spooky to think that at any moment we might be passing over a sunken carrier or the wreckage of an airplane that had been at the bottom of the ocean for 70 years.

On June 10we crossed the International Date Line going east, which meant we had to relive June 10. We referred to the two days as 10-A and 10-B. It was represented a major milestone, though, since we were now reckoning dates the same as everyone back home. 10-B turned out to be a busy day for me. In addition to work, a Hail & Farewell event, and the Bingo game, I also got sick. (I’m just now getting over it.)

I spent several days in bed taking medications. I was still feeling awful on June 13, but I forced myself to get up and enjoy that day, because that was the day that we finally made it back to the United States after 7 months overseas. We pulled into Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and it was a beautiful sight. We had less than 24 hours in Pearl Harbor before we had to pull out again, so we made the most of it.

The best thing about our time in Hawaii was I got to see my dad for the first time in 7 months. On the way back from long deployments like this, Navy ships sometimes do what’s called a “Tiger Cruise” where friends and families of the sailors, called “Tigers”, can come onboard the ship and sail back to the ship’s homeport while learning about the ship and the Navy. For this cruise, my dad is my Tiger, even though I warned him that a week of sleeping in a Navy rack would probably be uncomfortable. I met my dad in the afternoon and we hung out that night in Waikiki: drinking mai tais at the Hale Koa barefoot bar, eating pork at the Hilton’s Starlight Luau, kicking back at Duke’s, and singing karaoke at the Shore Bird. We followed Navy tradition of racing back to the ship to get there just in time for curfew. The next morning we got underway, and the last leg of this long journey began.

In this week underway, my dad and I have got to spend a lot of time together, which is nice since we hardly ever see each other most of the time. The ship has had lots of demonstrations so that the civilian visitors can see the cool parts of what we do here. We got to see the inside of a Marine Corps tank, we got to see the helicopters launch rockets, and stuff like that. I volunteered that if the civilians wanted to follow me around and see my cool military job they could, but no one has taken me up on it yet. Their loss – where else are they going to get a chance to watch someone go to meetings, write emails, and make PowerPoint slides?

Yesterday did our final time change of this voyage – we are now on West Coast time. We’re running out of milestones to pass. We are so close now, I might be able to make it if I swim. I am so excited to get back. I haven’t seen Angelina, or Gabby, or my house in over 7 months. Also, my dad is going to stay in town for the weekend so we’ve got a fun weekend of activities planned, including a trip to the Fair. Being surrounded by family back in the United States, it sounds like a great dream about to come true.

Getting down in Hong Kong

Last week we stopped for a whirlwind visit to Hong Kong, and it was a blast!

On my first day off the ship, a group of us went to Hong Kong Disneyland, which is the newest and the smallest of the five Disneyland-style parks worldwide. Basically, it’s a lot like the original Disneyland, but more Chinese.

We went on a Saturday but there was hardly anyone there. And we saw something you hardly ever see at the Disneyland in California:

Yes, that’s right: SpaceMountain had a stand-by wait time of just 5 minutes! The most I ever saw it get up to all day was 15 minutes. That’s unheard of!

Because the park is so small, they didn’t have some of my Disney favorites such as the HauntedMansion or Pirates of the Caribbean. But they did have an incredible Jungle River Cruise that kicks the butt of the one in California. We had a huge lunch (what better place to eat Chinese food than in China?) and then went on the Mad Tea Party. That was a mistake. By the end of it we were sweating, wobbling, and trying not to puke. Small World is much the same as in the States except it has a part specifically depicting Hong Kong:

One thing they have at Hong Kong Disneyland that they don’t have in either California or in Florida is Toy Story Land! The only other Toy Story Land is in Disneyland Paris. It’s a very small land – just three rides, a snack cart, and a place to meet characters. But the decoration and the detail on everything is really incredible, and two of the rides take you up really high and give you incredible views of the whole park.

And of course, while I was there, I was able to get my requisite Duffy picture, this time in front of a display window at the Main Street Emporium:

And I was able to gather more evidence for my growing suspicion that caramel popcorn is the norm in the Asia-Pacific region.

On my second day off the ship, we went to an adopt-a-Sailor event where American ex-pats living in Hong Kong show visiting service-members around the city. One of my liberty buddies for this excursion was the only other lawyer on the ship, a Marine who graduated from Notre DameLawSchool eight years before I did. Well it turns out that one of our hosts was also a lawyer who went to Notre Dame, so that made three of us! We marveled at the coincidence and took a picture to send to the alumni newsletter.

Our hosts took us to a racetrack where their club had a private box. It was a really nice way to spend an afternoon. I have been to the races plenty of times, but I had never been up to the boxes before. Let me tell you, it’s quite nice up there. There was food and wine and a great view of the whole track. And we got to meet some very interesting Americans and Britons who had ended up in Hong Kong for one reason or another. I gambled away 700 Hong Kong Dollars, which is 100 U.S. Dollars. I hit a couple winners, but not enough to come out ahead.

After the races, we went to a reception at The American Club Hong Kong. This was also a very nice event with interesting ex-pats, delicious food, and ample drink in a beautiful venue with an impressive view of the city.

When the reception was over, I somehow ended up going out drinking with a group of Marines. Though there was potential for many bad things to happen, none of them did. We went to Lan Kwai Fong, a densely-packed entertainment district with over 100 bars and restaurants. Pretty much everyone from the ship was there. At the end of the night, I made it back to the ship on time, in one piece, and having committed no illegal or immoral acts under the influence.

Of all the places I’ve visited on this deployment, Hong Kong is the only one I really want to go back to some day. It was a good, good time.