Down here at Harstine (dry but chilly—it’s January
after all) and just after finishing up a nice dinner of steamer clams and fresh
roasted asparagus, my iPhone rang and it was Nate! Woohoo! Had a nice long chat.
(Yeah, he’s pretty sick of the nasty wind/rain/flooding down there in San Diego,
but at least he doesn’t have to shovel it like he would in Chicago). I couldn’t
get over this: HE HAS NO INTERNET ACCESS IN HIS BARRACKS. Not in the entire
building! Therefore, no Skype. I’m so bummed about that. (Plus, my brother and
my Dad both got webcams for Christmas for that very reason!) He doesn’t know how
long he’ll be in this particular building, but it could be for a while. He
actually expects that he’ll be in San Diego for a year! He’s on hold for A
School (sonar training) which will start in March or April, and then he’ll
attend C School which is the nitty gritty training for whatever ship he’ll be
assigned to. By the time he’s deployed, he’ll certainly be well-trained. But I
sure hope he’ll be able to change barracks at some point to a more modern
facility (WITH INTERNET ACCESS, THANK YOU VERY MUCH). Jeeze.
He and a Navy buddy took a long holiday liberty
weekend together this past MLK weekend and rented a car and drove up to L.A. for some “good times.” They visited Venice Beach and the Santa Monica Pier. Nate
went to the Pier in the 8th grade on a band trip (had a total ball) and he said,
“I remember it being so much bigger! I must’ve really been a little
guy!” Then, of course, they visited some bars as young single men are wont to
do. Hee! Turns out they ended up in a gay bar unbeknownst to them (for a while).
Nate said, “Aaawkward…” He and his friend were dressed in nice civvies and had
pretty much shaved heads and so they “fit right in.” (Not quite the intent).
However, it turns out that a number of young (straight) ladies actually frequent
gay bars so they can dance, visit with their friends, and feel “safe” without
dealing with the meat-market culture. Nate said it wasn’t exactly a bust of a
weekend, but a little weird, since neither of them knew their way around or
where to go.
Did I mention how nice it was to talk to him? I haven’t since he arrived in
San Diego. I just ache about the Skype thing… (He might as well be in a 3rd
world country!)
Earlier today, soon after we arrived, we took a beach walk. Bundled up a bit.
It’s chilly, but at least there wasn’t a breeze. (And it’s DRY!) As usual, Mojo
accompanied us.
He does this every time—trots on down to the
water’s edge to check things out. I get such a kick out of him! On the way back
he opted to stay behind in a meadow of (dead) grass and pounce around for mice
or bugs. Eventually he made his way back to the trailer, but several hours later
(after dark!) I’ve just got to invest in a catcam one of these days and see
where all in tarnation he goes!
It’s so quiet around here. Most all of the neighbors are snowbirds and head
to Arizona or southern California for the winter (where they’re currently being
barraged with torrential rain and we’re not!) I think you can sense the quiet in
this picture:
Know what I mean? Oh, there was a seagull or two and some ducks fluttering on
the water, but otherwise just….quiet.
Until a big fancy yacht motored on by and kicked up the surf!
Agate count: John 3; me 1.
~~~~~
Update: Argh! I actually had to use the Typepad composer to upload this blog post because Live Writer is being wonky. I HATE the Typepad composer! It's awful!!
