Thursday, October 07, 2010
Laura Callaway
Hello! I made it back safe and sound from my
three-day excursion to the northern island of Roi-Namur.
My friend and I sure packed a LOT of stuff! It's hard to ride your bike when it's weighted down with clothes, food, and beer!
I was able to use some PTO hours (yay, real job!) to take a half-day on Saturday. We all hit the high seas at 1pm and sailed to Meck, an island about mid-way between Kwaj and Roi.
We anchored at Meck for the night with three other boats. Luckily our Captain had a dinghy with which he could shuttle people from the three other sailboats to the party boat (Stinger). In order the boats are: Down East Trader (the one I was on), Stinger, and the rental boat. I didn't get a pic of the other, but it was nice!
Yes, that's a pirate flag on our boat! We're serious sailors!
After much drinking and debachery, our crew headed back to our sailboat, Down East Trader. We had a lovely dinner of cheese and crackers and seafood pasta. Yes, we had a chef on board! Then we all took the mattresses from down below and placed them around the boat to sleep outside. It was a lovely, warm, starry night. Much better than sleeping in the galley!
Early the next morning we awoke to impending doom: a storm cloud was fast approaching. Luckily our captain had packed provisions, involving tarps, bungees, and adult beverages. We waited/drank out the storm, then set sail for Roi.
We arrived at Roi around 3pm and achored about 200 yards off shore. We floated and drank for a bit, and then took the dinghy ashore. Once on land, we hopped on a golf cart and putted to our hotel rooms where we had nice showers and stable buildings.
Oktoberfest occured on Roi that evening, so we all decided to grace it with our presence. There were costumes, beers, and a chicken dance contest! Fun was had by all.
The next morning we hung around Roi for a bit to check out the WWII ruins and the tide pools.
Ruins (Bunker and guns):
We took the dinghy back to the boat, climbed aboard, and set sail for Kwaj. We arrived home 8 hours later thanks to some great windspeed (the estimate was more along the lines of 10-12 hours!)
All in all, it was an excellent trip. I've even been invited to join the Yacht Club!
|
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Laura Callaway
Hello all. It's been a while. I really have been busy, but have neglected to photograph my adventures. That will change soon. I'm headed to Roi (via plane) for a girls' weekend this Saturday. Unfortunately, I'll be missing Oktoberfest here on Kwajalein. But fortunately, I'll probably be headed
back to Roi (via sailboat) the following weekend for
their Oktoberfest. Which, by that time it'll actually be October, so it makes more sense anyway.
Last weekend I went to Bigej again. This time we took a speedboat, so getting there and back was a lot faster, naturally. The big news of the day was that someone had capsized a B-boat earlier that morning. B-boats are simple speedboats rented from the marina. They have a lot of deck space and a hard canopy. They're good for hauling things (dive tanks, fishing gear, etc.) but I don't think the motor's strong enough to pull a skiier or wakeboarder. Driver(s) must have a boating license to rent one, and only adults can operate them. So a group of 3 or 4 people rented a B-boat to go diving near...maybe Bigej or some other island that morning. Apparently they anchored too close to shore, and when the tide came in their hull took on some serious water since the anchor line became too short. When they surfaced after their dive, the first person's weight (as they were getting back on the boat) was that last straw that capsized it. On our way to Bigej we saw the Star Boat (I think it's called that - it's a rescue boat) hauling it back upside-down to the marina. When we got back to the marina that evening, the capsized B-boat had been righted and was draining on the boat ramp, but the top had been torn off and the railing was all mangled. I wish I would've taken pictures of the excitement!
No one was injured, luckily. I'm sure someone's bank account took a hit, though. And our Colonel is very safety-conscious, so it's anyone's guess what new safety measures will be instituted after this incident.
|
Friday, September 10, 2010
Laura Callaway
(No, really. Take any food you like now, fry it, and you'll see.)
There are a lot of activities going on on Kwaj. Oftentimes one wishes for more hours in the day just to hit all the events and parties. But on the rare occasion that there’s nothing on the schedule, something must be created. Enter Fryday, where anything goes. Yes, anything.
Exhibit A: An ordinary sandwich becomes...
It was an amazing night, followed by an amazing stomach ache at 3am. But totally worth it. Feel free to add comments about what might be a winner for our next Fryday.
Oh! Almost forgot my favorite:
I realize this blog has nothing to do with Kwaj, but I thought maybe you all were growing tired of pictures from paradise.
|
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
Laura Callaway
I finally finagled my way onto a boat this past weekend. Though, to be honest, it wasn’t hard. Between all the sailboat owners and the six or so B-boats to rent, I’m quickly discovering that boating is very popular here. We took a very nice sailboat (30-footer, maybe?) to the nearby island of Bigej (pronounced BEE-gee). However, the wind was uncooperative, so we had to motor the entire way there and back (no wind is referred to as “the doldrums” in sailboat-speak). We met up with another sailboat of people, and spent the majority of the day floating, swimming, snorkeling, shell-hunting, and sunburning – or maybe it was just me. If I had this day to do over again, I’d only ask for more wind and more sunscreen, but besides that, it was perfect!
|
Monday, August 23, 2010
Laura Callaway
So far I have visited Kwaj's various beaches about 5 times. As much as I'd love to go every day, sometimes that just doesn't work out. I've determined that Corals Sands Beach is my favorite when I do have a chance to go, mostly because I'm usually the only one on it. Camp Hamilton Beach is nice enough, except the fine sand turns rocky right at the water's edge. Also, it's downwind of the power plant. Nothing says "relaxing" quite like the smell of exhaust fumes. Emon Beach is the most popular beach by far. There's a lifeguard (I think), sand volleyball, and a playground. It's also right across from the high school, which is yet another reason I'll stick to Coral Sands.
Watersports are big here, as you probably could have guessed. Most notably: SCUBA diving. I even bought some gear! This is pretty big time for me. I've never owned my own gear (not much reason to in Kansas), but after hearing numerous horror
stories about rented equipment malfunctions, I felt the purchase necessary. All I have left to get is a regulator and a snorkel and I'm good to go! There are a plethora of dive masters out here, and at least two work at the school. So I'll have no trouble getting in my 5 required dives for my advanced diver's license. Can't wait! I'll probably get an underwater camera soon(ish), but until then, you can find the link to the Kwajalein SCUBA Club on the "Honolulu" sign post. There are tons of underwater pictures to view from there!
|
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Laura Callaway
Hello, everyone! I finally made it! Actually, I got here about 4 days ago. I won't even go into my Internet woes, but believe you me, they are many. Just know that from creation to post, it will probably take me a few days to get every installment up.
My first day was a whirlwind of IT, HR, BQ (Bachelor Quarters) arrangements, and other such two-letter acronyms. I've also been learning a multitude of three-letter acronyms, which I've been told is popular with the military folk. They are:
PDR (Pacific Dining Room - as in "I'll meet you at the PDR at noon.")
ARC (Adult Rec Center - as in "The ARC closes at midnight.")
PCS (Permanent Change of Station - as in "I'm PCS-ing next week, so I need to sell my stuff soon."
There are more, but I'm drawing a blank, much like the stares I give when these are spoken to me. It's quite the alphabet soup vernacular over here.
I am having a hell of a time getting my bearings. I'm directionally challenged anyway, so this has proven to be my biggest obstacle. Luckily this island is small, so if I'm ever lost, it's only temporary. There are two sides of this island - the lagoon side and the ocean side (it's all "ocean side" to me!). Pacific Dr. runs along the lagoon, the Ocean Rd. runs along the ocean, and Lagoon Rd. runs right down the middle. Confusing! Instead of looking to the ocean (or lagoon) for my reference points, I'm instead looking toward something with which I'm familiar: water towers. There are two main ones here - a rusty one, and a less rusty one. In between the two are all the major shops and the cafeteria (or PDR). If you were to pass me on the road, you wouldn't see me looking down to avoid coconuts or out across the ocean (or lagoon). I'm always looking up!
Despite constantly being lost and cursing at my computer, I'm having an amazing time here. It's so comfortably warm, everything is so much more relaxed, and just today I had a woman about my age introduce herself out of the blue and invite me to a dinner at her house with her girlfriends! Everyone's been incredibly nice and helpful; I really couldn't have asked for a better welcome.
|
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Laura Callaway
I'm all packed up! The movers came at 8:30 Monday morning and got right to work! I'm glad I woke up a few hours beforehand to get everything in one spot for them, instead of making them hunt for my things all over the house. I'm also glad I didn't spend hours trying to pack up everything on my own. The boxes that had remained packed from my earlier move back to Lawrence in May were UNpacked, then each thing was wrapped and REpacked into the official boxes (except my contraband items - see below). My total weight was just under 450 lbs. I was allowed 750, and the shipping lady kept asking me if I wanted to add more stuff. (They didn't think a human would survive the 5-week process, though, so... sorry everyone. I tried!) I don't have a kitchen, so I didn't need those thousands of pounds of kitchen-y gadgets. I'm buying a bike there, so I don't have that weight. My apartment is furnished... Really, I think
450 lbs is a LOT of stuff. Plus, I was kind of over it by 10:30am, mostly because I very sleepy. So everything was packed and hauled away in 2 hours! Pretty efficient, those guys. Anyway, I'm not sure if all those boxes are driving or flying to California, but I know they're being shipped from there, as in on-the-water shipped, to Kwajalein. So now I'm living out of 2 suitcases and a carry-on until I leave next weekend. And then I'll be living out of 2 suitcases and a carry-on until Sept. 8th when everything arrives. Woo!
|
three-day excursion to the northern island of Roi-Namur.
