I guess if I want to get technical, I shouldn't be mad at the Navy, but I am slightly annoyed at a guy on Mr. V's crew. Mr. V's squadron is preparing to go to Hawaii for an exercise. A few crews are being sent and originally his crew was scheduled to go. We weren't thrilled about this because he missed all of last summer here because he was in Iraq, plus he'll miss next summer too. Then we'll be moving again (hopefully). He was really looking forward to spending the summer in Washington because he loves it here, and even I love it here in the summer. Its the best time to do anything around here because the winter is so miserable. So even though he wasn't thrilled about going to Hawaii for a month, we got over it and accepted that fact.
Enter Mr. S - a department head on Mr. V's crew. He didn't want to go on the Hawaii exercise either, because out of all the dets that will be happening over the next few months, Hawaii is the longest one. So Mr. S managed to pull some strings to get his crew off of the Hawaii det. I'm not sure exactly what he did or said. All I know is that Mr. V came home happy because he wasn't going to Hawaii anymore. Instead, he could spend the summer here and then he'll go on a shorter det in September or later. This made both of us happy.
Until 2 days ago.
Now Mr. V is scheduled to go to Hawaii again. He's not going with his crew though, because his crew is still not going to Hawaii at all. So thanks Mr. S. Your brilliant plan worked perfectly - for you, and the rest of Mr. V's crew. But not for Mr. V.
It turns out that one of the other PPCs (Patrol Plane Commander) - we'll call him Mr. G - in the squadron is being sent to some school in Hawaii. Which means that he can't fly with his crew while he's there if he's in school. So guess who gets to replace him as PPC?? Yep - Mr. V. But here's the best part. No one actually knows if Mr. G is even going to get into this school at this time. He's definitely going, but for some reason, no one knows exactly when he's going because he has to wait for an open slot. So the big plan is to send both Mr. G and Mr. V to Hawaii. Mr. G may or may not be in school then because there may or may not be an opening for him. If he gets into his class while they are in Hawaii then Mr. V will take over as PPC. If there isn't a spot for Mr. G then he'll continue to be the PPC for his crew and Mr. V will do nothing. Which means that he'll essentially be sent to Hawaii for a month, with absolutely nothing to do. I'm sure that sounds fabulous to some people, but its really not when he's already been to Hawaii several times, but has yet to spend a summer in Washington. Plus he's a mountain person, not a beach person, so he'd rather be here for the summer.
Confused yet? I tried asking why its even logical for both of them to go to Hawaii. Why can't they just figure out if Mr. G is going to school then or not? It seems to me that it should be possible to figure that out before they even leave, and if he doesn't get into the school then, then Mr. V won't have to go. But apparently its more logical in the Navy's mind to send them both - just in case.
And the best part? Not only does Mr. V get to go to Hawaii, but now he still has to go on the shorter det in September! So needless to say, I'm not at all thrilled with Mr. S' plan to get his crew out of the Hawaii det. If they had just gone to Hawaii as originally planned, then they wouldn't be going somewhere else in September. Now Mr. V gets to go both places, and I get another 2 months without my husband.
On the bright side though - its possible for me to go visit him in Hawaii. We did this when we were still in Jacksonville. He flew a plane to Hawaii and then had nothing to do for 5 days, so I flew out there to hang out with him. The trip was amazing because all it cost was my plane ticket. They had flown into the Air Force base there, and the Air Force put them up in a 5 star hotel right on Waikiki Beach - for free. So all we spent was the money for my plane ticket, and any food, souvenirs and activities we did while we were there. We got an amazing vacation in Hawaii for 1/10 of the price of what it would typically cost. I can't really complain about that.
This time around, assuming that Mr. G gets into his school, I won't be able to see Mr. V every single day, but I can fly out there and spend time with him on the days that he won't be flying. I'm considering it. They are staying at a hotel right on Waikiki Beach again. I just don't like doing things by myself. I know that in this lifestyle I have to learn how to do things by myself, but I just don't find it fun to do touristy things without someone with me to enjoy them. Am I capable of going places and doing things by myself? Yes. Do I want to? No.
So now I have to figure out if I want to go visit him while he's there. I have to admit that while I had an amazing time the last time I went to Hawaii, I'm also not a huge beach person, and while I had always wanted to go to Hawaii, it never topped my list of places to visit. At the same time, I'm feeling really bitter about the fact that I'll be husbandless for a month. Especially when that month is a month that I know he really wants to be here for. So who knows. Maybe I'll decide to hop on a plane and fly down there for a week or 2. I might as well make the best out of the situation!
Meanwhile, here are some pictures from the last trip to Hawaii I took back in May 2008. And a link to the rest of the pictures.
(inside the original crater of the Kilauea Volcano on the Big Island)
(outside of a lava tube - part of Kilauea)
(I've never been a huge beach person - but I do love palm trees!)
(Mr. V and me by a waterfall pool)
(no clue what this beach is called - but there were sea turtles there and that was cool :-) [see the link to my full album for the sea turtle picture])
(Waikiki Beach - I actually got my feet in the ocean because I couldn't go to Hawaii and then say I never went in the ocean. And I'm wearing the shorts because of the horrible burn/tan line on my legs from that day.)
(On the balcony of our hotel room - right on Waikiki Beach)
(A random guy on the street was putting parrots on people's shoulders and taking pictures)
(at the bottom of Kilauea volcano - as you can clearly see - this was a road until lava covered it) 
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