July 26, 2010 On the Ship at French Frigate Shoals

We left Honolulu last Thursday and stopped at Nihoa for a day and a half before coming to our present location, French Frigate Shoals. This cruise is identical to the one I wrote about last summer so many of the details would be the same. I want to spare readers of collective yawns or “hey didn’t I read about that last year?”

I do enjoy going to Midway because of its historical significance and it is a place not everyone can go to. My spare time there consists of riding around the island on a bike or walking to different places of which I’ve been to before. I told a former co-worker on Facebook that I never thought I would view Midway like a bus stop on a commuter ride home.

I should not take these stops for granted and treat every one of those like the Galapagos. A place where I knew I would only go once and never return. You could throw Marquises Islands, South Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines in that category as well. I should be returning to Wake Island, Guam and Saipan next year. There are some places I never care to return to again. Minus the snorkeling I would put Kwajalein in that category. Going overseas and spending time on a military base doesn’t feel like another country.

I would like to return to Manzanillo and sit on the balcony at Manza Grillo with a fine Cuban cigar and cold Mexican cerevezas while enjoying the view on the street. When I get hungry, I’ll order me an enchilada dinner. For desert I will stop at the corner ice cream parlor and enjoy the best ice cream in the world outside of Samoa.

“L” and “I” returned from Samoa last Wednesday after a twelve hour stop in Auckland, New Zealand. My son called me from there and even if it was only a twelve hour stay I envied him and the wife. Though they were too tired to play tourist and “L” had relatives living there at which she caught hell from them for not calling. She forgot their number and neither of them were prepared to spend a day of winter in the southern hemisphere. The plane developed engine trouble and the captain did not want to risk flying over the ocean where there were no islands for him to make an emergency landing. There is literally nothing between Apia and Los Angeles.

Air New Zealand was originally going to fly them to Vancouver, Canada and then to Seattle but “L” is not a US citizen and it wasn’t Canada I was concerned with but US immigration. They rerouted them on a twelve hour flight from Auckland to San Francisco and after clearing Customs and Immigration home flight to Seattle. With her Samoan passport and a Green Card, there was no trouble for her to re-enter the US. I asked for pictures and she uploaded the photos she took on her Facebook page and as usual brings back treasured memories.

I started to work out again on a regular basis providing the gym is available. If not, there are two stationary bicycles outside my passageway door. I have been cutting back on the quantity of food I consume, snacks and sweets. I need to bring down the weight and get my heart rate back up. After turning 50 a few years back, things get a bit tougher to keep up and motivation is a large factor. I need to look at myself in the mirror sideways more often and that in itself is a good motivator but also very discouraging that it does not shed quickly. I was thinking about how great shape I was in my late 30’s and early 40’s. Seven mile runs were nothing back then as I used to do that every day during lunch while at Dugway. Seven miles is hard to run in a metropolitan area and the knees and ankles are not that strong anymore. Most of my runs at Ford Island are over two and a half miles around the oval road that surrounds the old landing field with the famous air control tower in the background.

On the ship, to the distance is La Perouse Pinnacle at which I see whenever I am on the weather decks. You can tell the shallow portions of the waters by the colors. I’ve been here at least once or twice a year for the past three and a half years. I am going to hit the rack and meet the challenges of tomorrow. Today was a type of day at which results came through but more questions rose than answers.

Aloha and goodnight from French Frigate Shoals.