When I made my last post over a year ago, I didn't realize I'd take so long to get back to blogging. Call it preoccupation. Call it getting burned out from being at sea. Call it life. But since I'm about to return home from a SECOND deployment, I figured it was about time to get back into the groove so I can bore you all with cool and snazzy transportation tidbits and maps.
But first, a quick recap of the past year: that Klakring trip was rough. After Seychelles, we did another month of watching (but not busting) pirates, then hit Mauritius for a few days (another new country under the belt), then back to more pirate-watching, then a long trip home (almost a month!) broken up only by a couple of short ports.
And then Meaghan had to go and buy a house while I was gone. So the $15K I saved on deployment? "Gone in 60 seconds". But one could argue it was for "a good cause"....having a roof over my head when I retire from the Navy would be a good thing.
No sooner was I back in Norfolk (and invading #fridaycoffeeclub a couple of times) than I get tossed onto a watch rotation. Well, not really a watch rotation...I was always on it. Playing dayworker (and occasional babysitter...don't ask) on our METOC watch floor. That didn't last long, as an expected June deployment got changed into an unexpected April deployment (funny how they always creep up on you).
So the past 5.5 months have been sent sailing the Mediterranean blue...certainly more port visits than last year on the Klakring, but many to the same place (I mean, how many times do I REALLY need to buy olive oil or rakomelo in Souda Bay?). That said, it wasn't all that bad. Got to tour Pompeii. Saw a tram (European for Light Rail Transit) and rode an incline railway in Naples. Saw another tram (but didn't get to ride it) in Rome. Toured the Vatican and the Coliseum in Rome. Got to ride on new roads (in a bus). And now, as I type this from Augusta Bay, Sicily (though from the pier...haven't gotten to do much in this port), we're a couple weeks from getting back stateside. Will be good to be back on dry land..."permanently". As I retire in the spring, this is likely my last at-sea trip and definitely my last Navy deployment.
So here's to a good 2 week finish to #LifeAtSea...
But first, a quick recap of the past year: that Klakring trip was rough. After Seychelles, we did another month of watching (but not busting) pirates, then hit Mauritius for a few days (another new country under the belt), then back to more pirate-watching, then a long trip home (almost a month!) broken up only by a couple of short ports.
And then Meaghan had to go and buy a house while I was gone. So the $15K I saved on deployment? "Gone in 60 seconds". But one could argue it was for "a good cause"....having a roof over my head when I retire from the Navy would be a good thing.
No sooner was I back in Norfolk (and invading #fridaycoffeeclub a couple of times) than I get tossed onto a watch rotation. Well, not really a watch rotation...I was always on it. Playing dayworker (and occasional babysitter...don't ask) on our METOC watch floor. That didn't last long, as an expected June deployment got changed into an unexpected April deployment (funny how they always creep up on you).
So the past 5.5 months have been sent sailing the Mediterranean blue...certainly more port visits than last year on the Klakring, but many to the same place (I mean, how many times do I REALLY need to buy olive oil or rakomelo in Souda Bay?). That said, it wasn't all that bad. Got to tour Pompeii. Saw a tram (European for Light Rail Transit) and rode an incline railway in Naples. Saw another tram (but didn't get to ride it) in Rome. Toured the Vatican and the Coliseum in Rome. Got to ride on new roads (in a bus). And now, as I type this from Augusta Bay, Sicily (though from the pier...haven't gotten to do much in this port), we're a couple weeks from getting back stateside. Will be good to be back on dry land..."permanently". As I retire in the spring, this is likely my last at-sea trip and definitely my last Navy deployment.
So here's to a good 2 week finish to #LifeAtSea...
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