Day Ninety-Seven

19 November 2006
I cannot believe that I have allowed so much time to go by without an entry! I guess that it is good thing that time has been flying. This past week and a half has included two port stops which has definitely been a lot of fun and has aided to the time going by quickly.

We first got to try out our sea legs on land in Bahrain. It was just an overnight stop to drop equipment off, but we were able to have on-base liberty, which ended at midnight. How much I would have loved to go to one of those wonderful restaurants like the last time we were here, but I had no complaints about the base. It is so nice. Valerie and I went shopping in the NEX and commissary to restock up on essentials. For me the essentials included a few CD’s, Gatorade, coffee, granola bars, tape, and cards. I spent plenty of time wandering around looking at everything. I then ate a very yummy hamburger and fries in the food court (the burgers on the ship are just not worth the calories). After dinner, we went to the Officer’s Club. It consists of a large room with tables, a computerized jukebox, a pool table, and of course a bar. By the time Val and I got there, most of our fellow officers were fairly well lit up. It makes for some decent laughs for a while but then got a bit boring trying to have any sort of conversation with people who were acting pretty stupid. I never have to buy my own drinks in places like that because there are so few females and everyone wants to be nice and treat me to a drink. I am such a lightweight that can easily get a bit “lightheaded” and cross-eyed if I drink more than one and a half drinks. I have learned that after I drink my one very much anticipated beer, a second one has to stay in my hands at least half full or people will keep making sure I have something to drink. I like my fellow officers; they are kind even when drunk. Ha!

We then arrived to Jebel Ali a few days later. Jebel is in the United Arab Emirates and right next to Dubai. Talk about a bleak region of the world! It was flat, sandy, and had a few dusty bushes sticking out here and there. Everything was a shade of tan there just as it was in Bahrain. The weather was decent. I think around high 80s to mid 90s in the sun. Nothing intolerable. November is a very nice time to visit this region of the world. I celebrated my 31st birthday the day we arrived by staying at a wonderful hotel with Laura and Valerie. The Grand Hyatt is indeed grand and was absolutely lovely! The lobby was huge and stunning with marble and a lovely and outrageous chandelier. It had many restaurants and over priced stores in a huge “atrium” that had beautiful water pools and greenery. The hotel room had a huge bathroom complete with full sized tub and separate shower. We had plenty of room even with our 3 oversized twin beds with down comforters. Our window overlooked the immense grounds that included several pools, tennis courts, and running track. Beyond the hotel grounds, you could see Dubai creek that allowed the only large about of natural greenery that I had seen in the region growing along either side. Of course, Valerie and Laura did not let me pay for a thing for my birthday. We had drinks and salads in the lounge of that beautiful lobby and then had Lebanese food in a place called Atwar. We ate rich food out on the balcony of the hotel. We then went to get different deserts at a bakery located in the gardens of the atrium. I was spoiled. Who says that your birthday might be boring when you are on deployment?

I really did have such a great birthday. I was made to feel special starting the evening before when I call Mom and opened the packages she sent me. Wow! Such fun gifts from her and my siblings! Then the next morning, my corpsman sang to me in muster and three of them (my favorites—I really should not have favorites, but what can I say?) gave me a very sweet birthday card. I then called Kaalan and opened the huge box that he sent me while he was on the phone. Such fun things! I love that guy! Later, Valerie gave me a card all the pilots signed and another one of them, Tommy, gave me some little cakes to use as my birthday cake (he tried to find a candle but he said he got funny looks when he asked around. Fire and ships don’t really work well together apparently). Then my birthday concluded with an awesome time at the hotel. Such a special day!

Anyway, the next morning, we slept in without bells or whistles waking us. We found our way out to the pool and were greeted by an attendant who laid out a full sized towel on a cushiony lounge chair. I had lathered every square inch of my body with sunscreen so that I could lay out in the sun. It was glorious. I had not been exposes to the sun in so long! After about an hour of relaxing and reading I took a swim. The pool was perfect! The rest of the day I camped out in the shade of an umbrella. We had lunch delivered to our lounge chairs. Attendants brought ice-cold clothes for our heads and cool cucumbers for our eyes. Ha! We then went to the spa for our massages followed by a soak in the hot tub and short time in the sauna. Val and Laura also got facials and pedicures while I went out to spend some more time by the pool. Such a relaxing and restful day! We had another wonderful time eating cheese and drinking wine in the wine bar and ending the day with another great dinner at a different restaurant in the hotel.

We left the next day around noon to make it back to the ship to catch our “Sunset Safari” tour. It was a blast! We 4 wheeled with a guide in the sand dunes for about an hour as the sun set and then arrived in a camp where we smoked sheesha, ate dinner, watched belly dancing, lounged on cushions set on carpets that covered the ultra fine sand, road camels, received henna tattoos, and enjoyed the perfect evening weather. I had duty the next day and my corpsman were gracious enough to make lunch and dinner runs to the Oasis so that we could continue to take a break from the same ol’ ship food. The USO runs the Oasis. It consists of a group of buildings right off the pier that have Subway, Burger King, Starbucks, and many other small stores that surrounded a court yard filled with tables and chairs that support the many personel off Navy ships that stop at that port. I cannot remember much of what I did on my slow duty day except planning my shopping trip for the last day in Dubai. Laura, Val, Marty, left in the morning to find the Gold Souk. The souk contains tons of stores selling amazing jewelry—gold, pearls, jewels. The pieces were gorgeous! I wish that I had done a little homework on good prices for gold because I had to barter with every purchase. I am sure that I did not get too good of a price, but what can an ignorant American do? Surrounding the jewelry stores were tons of small booths and store fronts that had silk, wool, cashmere, hand crafts, and anything remotely Arabic for sale. Again, the Indian influence in the crafts was evident. I walked away with my credit card warm, my purse relieved of excessive Dirhams, and my backpack full. From the open market where you had to barter for everything, we went to one of the largest, most modern looking malls I had ever been in. It is called the Mall of the Emirates. This mall contained the famous indoor ski slope. Here we were in the middle of the desert and ski outfits were being sold! It was something! A lot of sailors went skiing just to say that they skied in the desert. Such an unbelievable structure! Again, I did a lot of purchasing thinking that this was my one day to do any type of Christmas shopping this year. We had such a fun time. We made our way back to the ship with arms laden with bags like most of the other sailors.

Dubai is such an interesting place! It seems like they have more money than they know what to do with. So many buildings are being constructed that even islands right off the coast are being built so that even more buildings can be constructed on them! When driving from Jebel to Dubai, there is a 4 lane highway with exits just like you would see in the US--gasoline station and fast-food joint and all (surrounded by nothing but sand). Suddenly you enter a forest of high rises in which at least half are topped with a huge crane while undergoing construction. The buildings are tall and each has very unique architecture. They are not huge—perhaps about 3 buildings would span an average city block. As we left one group of buildings we passed a ton of new looking town homes, tons of them. Then we entered another huge group of buildings. That seems to be all that makes up Dubai! I was told that a 1500 square meter area of Dubai has 75 hotels (a lot of them still under construction)! My grandmother told me that because of all the recent construction, Dubai has 15% of the world’s building cranes. It was a bit overwhelming to think that a city is just being built in the desert. The population of Dubai is 70% foreign. Many people speak English. Another odd experience was to climb in a cab and not have to haggle over the price! It is the first place I have been out of the US where the taxis have meters. Needless to say, I greatly enjoyed my time in Dubai. I cannot think of another reason why I would ever travel there. I feel so fortunate to get a taste of such a place!

I am now on the ship again. The day we left port we got the final verdict on our possible extension over Christmas. It was rejected so we are back to our original schedule. The cheers could be heard throughout the ship as the CO made the announcement over the 1MC. How nice to be home sooner. I am ready to see the sunset on the brow of the ship. That means we are heading the right direction to get home. I am very glad people will get to be home with their kids and families for Christmas. I am just ready to be home with Kaalan! Now we just bide our time. It is going to take a while to get home. Today I was struck by how far away we are when I looked at the map. It is amazing! I am so thankful for this experience, I have to admit. The time away from home is hard, but this is why I joined the Navy! We have 2 more brief Mediterranean stops and then the Atlantic…it is nice to have a hopefully stable schedule again!