The First Weekend Adventure

The Coast looking West

The Coast looking East.

This last weekend was the first adventure beyond our little area. Julio, Vicky took Tina, Karina and I us to a gorgeous waterfall about an hour from us and we went snorkeling to a very nice local beach. The pictures do not do justice to how beautiful it is, but they are worth many words.

The Trail going down to the waterfall.

It was the waterfall used in the movie “The Getaway.” The water draped over a slowly molded face forming an almost transparent sheet running down the rock face. Falling into a forest green pool deep enough to jump into from the highest launch pad. The water was colder than the ocean. Refreshing to say the least. I jumped from them all. The drive was not half bad either. Driving down the coast with the deep blue tint of the water off the coast. With the blue skies above us and the warm air, there was nothing to make it anything short of a beautiful day.

Karina Jumping the waterfall.

Julio and Vicky relax on a rock.

I jump off the rock as Julio climbs back up.

The Snorkeling the following day was incredible. The irregular array of corral line the sea bed and through a single passage, you could move beyond to open sea forty to fifty feet deep. The Corral and rock face draped to the bottom with numerous crevices, waves crashing around us as they hit the corral shelf and nothing but the sea floor and blue sea infinitely expanding before us. It was a sight to behold. There was some sea life to be seen, but the most amazing part was the diverse corral. From the very small to the very large bulbous corral the size of a small car. I went out twice. There is something very peaceful about looking under water and still able to breath. I cannot say that the free diving to around twenty feet feels peaceful to the ears, but it was fun to see how deep I could go.

This was followed by what I would call an eventful week at work. My birthday was a surprise to many, but they came through with a well played practical joke and cup cakes I did not expect. I got a call on my phone coming back to work from lunch after I worked through that I was late for a meeting and I needed them to meet them I the conference room. Much to my surprise, they were there to surprise me. Needless to say, they got me good. We got dinner that night and a nice restaurant and had a great time. Believe it or not, a banana margarita is really good.

As for work, it is going well. I work with a great team of people. The area out here is beautiful and the culture is beginning to reveal itself. Like any culture you have both positive and negative aspects, but they are as good as any other culture. Much of it is simple, but they get by on what they have. Sure you have the people that stand out as the bad examples, but for many, they are a very good and respectful group of people.

A Beautiul Experience thus far ...

There is much that can be said about the world and people we get to see. There is opportunity, and beauty beyond what we can imagine. Looking the night sky and beaches that I now live near is a humbling experience. The group I work with is a good group of people and it sounds like it should go well.

I should probably speak of the people first, considering they are what make this place as unique as it is. I was in school with Karina so I knew her. From there it is a small crew. Even with the small crew, we are a full clinic. We have every department from outpatient to pharmacy. I am in the outpatient department, so it has been a great opportunity. I have had the opportunity to work with Active Duty, Dependents and Children. It gets busy, but that makes the day go a little quicker. I even did training for the medical department for the entire Air Station. I suppose some would call than being thrown to the wolves, but I found it to be a good opportunity. It is nice to work with a good team. To top is off, I get to live on a island that people come to vacation on.

Karina and I spend the day on the beach one day and explored some of the local wave impact shaped caves. Just east of our beach entry, which I now know is called Survivor Beach, will be a place I set the camera up at a later date. I will have to be there in the morning before the tide comes in and washes the cave out again. It was a little difficult to get there over the sharp rocks, but well worth the view once there. This was followed by swim in the water. I tried to catch a pelican, but found out that they are able to fly faster than I can swim. Who would have thought? Karina found it amusing. I free dove about twenty feet down and although the salt water still stings the eyes, it is well worth it. I don’t remember the last time I was able to just swim in the ocean for an hour and not feel cold from the water. It was a very relaxing day on a tropical beach.

I am working on a tan as well, but that is yet to happen. I am going to go for the slow approach and maybe, just maybe after two years, I will not need to wear sunglasses to look in the mirror.

I have always appreciated the night, as many of you know. No matter where I am, there is a beauty to the night that is just stunning. What amazes me is the faithful view of a camera especially when you have a relatively long exposure. Our vision is amazing in the respect that it can handle virtually any light and have perfect clarity. The camera is not so creative, and has the tendency to surprise with how the pictures turn out. I think they turned out pretty good. Overall, life is good. I miss family, friends and of course Amy. Until I write again, enjoy every moment.

Arrival in Puerto Rico

Well I have arrived successfully with a little frustration, but safely, so all is well. I am checked into my housing, started work and now find myself acclimating to the warm and humid weather. It is very beautiful and a major change from the social and natural environment of Petaluma. Don’t let me get to far ahead of myself here, I should probably start at the beginning.

Travel was the most difficult part of the process only because of the cancelation of my reservations on two occasions. Once that was settled, things went as smooth as they could have. It is always a minor event when you pack 140 people on a tin can with jet engines. Travel was delayed by 2 days due to one cancelation and then almost for at least two more due to the next. The first trip was very smooth to Newark, New Jersey. I was fairly tired for good reason and I was almost able to nap a little. I was sat next to a very kind older gentleman and was able to finish my first two sudoku puzzles. I usually do not have the patience to finish them, Life is just to busy. The flight was a perfect opportunity to do some puzzles, reading and socializing. The flight from Newark to Aguadilla was shorter, but not quite as pleasant. It was a red eye so you would think that people would sleep, but kids don’t always understand that concept. Now imagine if you will the Joy of a sitting right next to two young girls that giggle, speak loudly and try to get everyone’s attention at the sight of anything. To top it off, the family only speaks Spanish and the parents do nothing to keep their kids quiet. They eventually fell asleep but they succeeded in a marathon time of about two hours. I understand the excitement of being on a plane as a kid, but I don’t believe my mother ever let me be loud like that. Regardless I was not able to sleep. My plant landed at 0215 and my sponsor picked me up. I did not report until 1000 that morning so I was able to get some sleep.

The first day of work went well. I was able to meet everybody, do some check in stuff and get a feeling for how the clinic feels. I will let you know in a couple of weeks, but from what I have seen it will be a great place to work. Let me get to what you really want to hear about, the scenery and weather here, I suppose.

It is nothing short of stunning. A vivid blue and green graces the water, clouds race across the sky providing a nice contrast but rain has not fallen. It is hot enough to be comfortable in shorts and a t-shirt and there is something innately peaceful about swimming in the surf. Our housing area rests on the cliff that rises above the beach. Greenery adorns every cliff and the water is constantly bombarded by the water as the waves crash into the shore. From our view, all you see is water, that deep blue and green. Close to our trail down to the beach is a cave that looks as if the waves have been carving it for a thousand years. The surface is smooth with an innumerable amount natural carving on the surface. The sand ranges from the light sand that barely hold your body weight to the heavy sand that is like a solid walkway.

At the water there is a stretch of rocks following the coast that is covered with what I would call underwater moss. In the crevices that have distributed themselves along this formation you can see the small sea life protecting itself from the movement of the water. A small lagoon is created on the opposite side of by the waves that seldom break over. And if that is not enough, the sun shines down all day while a slight breeze follows you anywhere you go. When you make the plunge into the surf you feel like you can just float there for hours, never worrying about the cold.  As for the rest, I shall let the pictures do the work.

To say the least, it is absolutely awesome so far. It will defiantly be an adventure, but to be at a place like this is a humbling experience to the beauty and power of nature.

Home for the Holidays

It is easy to take the small things for granted, like being home for the holidays. Since Joining the Guard, I have been away from home for several holidays, I am grateful for those that have spent many holidays away from family. This next chapter is one of those chapters that I will be away, but knowing I have a wonderful family helps.

This year was a little different than the last twenty something years due to how everything was done. My mother decided to have a potluck instead of preparing everything individually. We had some new characters there with a white elephant gift exchange. The great thing about a white elephant gift exchange is that you never know what people will bring. My criteria was to find the most useless item while others chose a novelty item. I am sure it will be back next year even if I am not. I even found a reindeer in the house. Hobie was not too happy about it, but he got over it. Some gifts given this were a talking fly swatter, an Obama Bobble head and a small plastic banana split with a doily. Can you guess witch one I brought?

Christmas day was quite the same, with a relatively new addition to the family. Nathan is a very adorable two and a half year old. He was the center of attention when it came to gifts even if his favorite toy for most of the night was a ten-cent ping-pong ball. He is the first of the next generation of our family. The family always joked that I would be the first. I don’t know that this world is ready for little CJ’s running around. Robert is doing a wonderful job as a father and setting a very good example for the rest of us to follow.

Never the less it was a stormy Christmas. Not quite a white Christmas, but it was close enough. I was able to share the winter wonderland with Amy over new years.

It was a gorgeous storm in the area. I did not ski, just played in the snow all day, like a kid. It has been a while since I just played in the powder. Jazzy and Hobie joined us and although Jazzy had a little trouble getting around due to her years of wisdom, she still enjoyed being out there with us. The lack of color encompassed by the landscape felt like being in an old movie. The dull blue hue was the only contrast to the dark hues of the semi frozen water and trees. Even in this what some would call dreary weather, we found time to snow shoe, sled and make a snowman. I suppose it was a good trip to take before residing in the tropics.

What matters is that I was home for the holidays. Family, friends, and loved one were there. Everyone had a good time. So thanks to everyone that made the holidays memorable and I humbly wish everyone a prosperous year to come.