Cannes Solo?

well cannes is a nice little town, can't complain. It's so relaxing and everything is done at such a leasiurely rate. There are some mega yachts here and I think most of the people here live pretty good. I had one of the famous smashed sandwiches I had heard so much about. It was good but then again after eating galley food for 3 weeks I would think a mud pie would be a explosion of flavor. I have spent most of my time on the ship though, working and working and working its my lot in life it seems. But I do get to step out on the decks and look out over a foriegn land and thats pretty darn cool if you ask me. We have a couple more cool ports on the books though right now I obviously can't tell you. I am certainly looking forward to them.

As some of you may know I was once in Nice france which is about 20 miles up the road. This place remind me alot of Nice. I have talked with the locals and they have said that as well, oddly enough there is a large group of russians in Nice. They used to come during the winters and when the soviet union fell they came to Nice thinking that the whole thing would blow over quickly and they could move back to the soviet union and yet here they are still there today.

I have yet to find a internet cafe so I cannot upload pictures like I would like too. though I find myself less taking pictures and more just walking around admiring the sights and sounds.

As always my thoughts go out to all of you and I hope you all are doing well. take care

Mark

about time......

Well finally it has happened. Land has been seen, foreign land. Land of a continent I have never been too. I finally got to do what I joined up to do, see the world, sure it only took 3 years to look at a scrappy piece of land but hey I did it. I can smile for the first time with a little sense of accomplishment. one of those days where you can check something off that list of things you wanted to do in life. Though as many know I am not one to sit on my accomplishments(how would anyone see them if i did?) Now I look forward to my next adventure, the next country or even continent.

Though there is a bitter sweet ring to these bell's triumphant ring. I am not whole out here on the sea and though I love the adventure I will always have a little bit of me home with my love. I only wish that she could see the cool things and not see the tough times, which as of late have been often, but I will be strong as I know she has to be strong. Sacrifice is really what the military is about, for both you and your family. I worry about the years ahead missing my kids growing up, missing birthdays, and missing all those wonderful moments with my wife. I can only take comfort in that what I do in some way helps keep everyone safe even if its really a small amount.

well hopefully soon I will be able to post some pics. take care and be safe.

the long awaited deployment post

well for those that dont know, and if you didn't I doubt your reading this anyways, I am now on deployment. many moons away from home, out on the open sea. Its been a tough haul so far. I have come down with a pretty bad cold but as you figured there are no days off so you just struggle through it. The seas have been pretty nice and now I can see forever in every direction and only see water, and have for days now.

not much to report otherwise, we have started to think about our first port visit and all the cool things to see and do though I think we all are looking forward to some non galley food hehe I know I am looking forward to some good breads and cheeses and a smashed sandwich which I hear are very good. and of course take lots of pics.

I am on the cruise book commitee so I will be helping make the cruise book which should be a fun experience. we are going to try and keep the price under 50 bucks and its basically like a high school yearbook. if you want to buy one to see what I did and where I went just let me know near the end of the cruise and I will have a better idea of the exact price.

ok well back to work. sorry for the delay in posting. the internet is really slow and I have been really busy as I am sure most of you know I am a bit of a workaholic. too all reading this take care and I hope to see you soon.

For those who don't know.

As the title says, for those who dont know I am in the navy and soon I will be going on deployment. Where? well somewhere hot and sandy and then to someplace hotter and more sandy. well honestly its never really planned and we go where we are told. but we are looking forward to chasing some Cpt. jack sparrows around and maybe getting ours hands on one of the 9 pieces of 8.

I had someone ask me the other day what did I think of the military. Now I am not sure if it was a conversation starter of if they were thinking about joining but it got me thinking. I guess I would have to say its an excercise in restraint. If you have the patience to put up with alot of dumb, stupid, and pointless things, in reward you get to see and do some cool stuff. for whats its worth I miss my family, my friends, normal life, and the pacific northwest. But I have always wondered whats out there and so far under the navy I have been to rhode island, boston(during a home redsox game) , the carribean, pensacola Fl, virginia, D.C., watched a orioles game in baltimore and watched a night shuttle launch from the ocean, baton rouge, New Orleans and bunch of other cool things that I am not sure I would have ever done otherwise. I guess I equate it to a really rusty hard to turn door. You really have to struggle to get it open but for far I have liked what I have seen on the other side of that door. Some of my friends find this life not for them and often times I feel the same but in the end it has provided me with a steady income, the ability to travel and see new things and I can't complain too much. lets see what I say when I come back hehe