We are still alive.. and traveling!

Homecoming 2013 - Mid 2014 Deployment

It has been a VERY long break from blogging, but I have several good excuses. Between my last entry and now, we have been very busy. We have had some great times, some sad time and some exciting times!

Homecoming 2013

Last December, after a 6 month long deployment, Robby, the dogs and I welcomed home Rob from his second deployment in less than a 18 months. While his first one was only 3 months long, we can't ignore that he was still in fact deployed then and missed out on the excitement of a newborn baby and moving half way across the world. While that first homecoming was so very sweet for us, this was his first homecoming after a complete 6 month cruise. We were elated to have him home!

Not deployed, but still not home...

Don't let Rob not being deployed fool you. He was home for a whopping 6 days before he had to head to the states for training. We were sad to let him go so close to his homecoming, and so close to Christmas, but it was for something very special. Rob had become his squadron's newest "paddles"! For all of you landlubbers, paddles is the nickname given to the landing safety officer, otherwise called LSO. When Rob isn't flying, he is talking to pilots from all sorts of squadrons as they prepare to land on the carrier. He helps guide them onto the boat in all weather conditions. Rob had always wanted to be a LSO so this was a pretty awesome opportunity for him. He had a little over 2 weeks of training in Virgina and made it home the day before Christmas Eve. We were beyond grateful to spend Christmas together as a family and to welcome him home (again) in the same month.

Thompson's Annual Holiday Trip

The Thompson family can't stay in one place very long, so after we celebrated Christmas, we were off on another adventure. We had planned on vacationing in Bali, Indonesia but of course that became too easy of a trip. We hopped on a military space-a flight from Yokota AB, Japan and enjoyed a free and comfortable flight to Singapore where we would be able to fly on the cheap to Bali. Of course we were a week early and with Singapore being very expensive, we decided the logical answer would be to fly to Thailand where it's much more affordable. So began our adventure through southeast Asia. 

Bangkok, Thailand

Karen Refugee Camp - Near Chiang Mai, Thailand

Near Chiang Mai, Thailand

Bali, Indonesia

Bali, Indonesia

Bali, Indonesia

A little swimming at our villa in Bali

 

 

 

Chili Crab dinner in Singapore

Squadron Ski Trip 2014

Perhaps one of the highlights for the cold months here in Japan is our squadron ski trip to beautiful Nagano. It is always a blast to get together with our friend in a cozy lodge in the "Japanese Alps", whether you ski or not. This year, Rob and I both were able to ski and while it was a slushy warm few few days on the slopes, we all enjoyed our time there.

Ironically, as we left what should be the colder, more wintry weather of the Japanese mountains, we descended into the Kanagawa valley, where we live, to find the snow we had hoped to find on the slopes. 

Going stateside in February

Rob had to head to the states for 4 weeks come February for more training. Instead of Robby and I hanging tight in Japan, we decided to travel back to Florida for the month to see family and thaw our frozen limbs in some Florida sun. Before we could, we had to actually dig our cars out of the snow and navigate through closed roads to the airport. Mind you, they don't readily have English translators when they do announce road closures. Half the adventure was just getting to the airport. After over 25 hours from our door in Japan to the door of my parents' house in Florida, we were home!

FCLPs/CQs... aka Deployment 2014 time

Rob, Robby and I reunited back home in Japan the last week in March. We had only been home together as a family just a few weeks all together since he returned home from the last deployment, and now it was already time for him to start getting ready for the next one. April was full of excitement... lots of parties for the squadron and the air wing, which I like to call mandatory fun. It's fun, but you better be there! So any weekend that Rob was free (yes, Rob still works during the week and sometimes the weekends and late nights), we had many social obligations. It was fun, but as each weekend passed, we were entering into deployment 2014 time. Rob and I managed to sneak away with Robby to Kyoto and Osaka. We were SO grateful we could and we have an amazing time! Then as April wrapped up, the boys were headed off to Iwo-to (Iwo Jima) for FCLPs. You can read my previous post on this from last years FCLPs if you aren't up to speed with my Navy lingo. May came, and it was deployment month. All in all, Rob was "home" for 3 months and a week. The other remaining weeks during his 6 months "home" were spent in training. Thus, this is the life of a navy family. I'm not complaining, because I feel we are so lucky in the life we have, but it is eye opening that in the 3 years we are here in Japan (away from our real home), Rob isn't even in our Japan "home" for maybe just a third of that time.

Kyoto

 

 

Kyoto

D-Day 2014 (Deployment Day)

61 Days into Deployment 2014

So here we are 61 days into this year's deployment. We still have a ways to go until we can call this one a wrap, but time sure is flying by. Time may fly when you're having fun, but it also flies when you are busy. Robby and I were so lucky to be able to visit Rob in two of his port calls. We flew to Hong Kong and had a great belated 2nd birthday for Robby at Hong Kong Disneyland and we also had a great early birthday for me in South Korea. We are beyond grateful to be able to visit Rob during deployment so long as the boat pulls into ports on time and I am sane enough to country hop solo with my toddler. We are very excited that come September of this year, we will be within our 1 year countdown until we are headed back to America! I say this also with a little bit of sadness as we truly love every minute living abroad and traveling. Our life in Japan is one of adventure and with every deployment comes one sweet homecoming that rivals even the most romantic love stories.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Singapore, the Gateway to Asia!

Meeting the Boat in Singapore 

Robby and I have just returned from a great portcall trip to visit Rob in the tropical oasis that is Singapore. This was our second time in Singapore, but this time was extra special as we got to meet daddy while he was on deployment, and this time we got to spend an entire week in this Asian melting pot.

How We Got There

Traveling alone with a baby is tasking and is an art form that is ever changing and takes practice and a large dose of patience. That is just simply describing traveling alone with a baby domestically back in the states, haha. Traveling solo with Robby abroad and on long flights can at times be another form of torture, but it is empowering and rewarding just the same! Robby and I try to travel the most economical way possible so that we can afford to travel more often, which means more daddy time! Traveling more economically doesn't always mean easy, but this time it was.

Robby and I were flying standby on Delta from Tokyo to Singapore and needed to pick a day of travel that offered us the best chance of us getting a seat. With a typhoon and the weekend approaching, Robby and I decided to fly 2 days before Rob was to arrive in Singapore. The flight was easy enough, as it is a 7 hour direct trip from Tokyo. Robby and I booked seats on a military bus that took us straight to the terminal, we checked in and enjoyed some snack and play time in the Delta Sky Lounge. We boarded the flight and Robby and I were able to get an entire row to ourselves. Robby fell asleep as soon as we sat down. I was hoping that since the flight was scheduled to take off at Robby's bedtime (7pm) that he would sleep for the 7 hours before we were to land at 1:30am. Unfortunately, we were waiting in line to take off for 2 hours and that tapped into the small window of Robby's patience. Between a quite vocal captain and a crew that was on the hunt for the person who decided to light up a cig in the lavatory, Robby was tiredly awake and not happy for most of the flight. We landed at 3am and took a cab to our hotel for the night. By the time we got settled for bed, it was 5am. We were tired! The hotel we were at was a cheap hotel, but still pricey as most places are in Singapore. It was a beach hotel on Sentosa island, and between the breathtaking sunrise and my excitement to see Rob, I was away and ready to start our day by 8am. Robby, however, slept in until 10am, when I woke him up for breakfast and to pack for check out.

We made a quick trip to the beach, and after letting Robby run in the sand and towards the ocean, I realized it was his first time ever to visit the beach. This is a shock coming from such a sea salted family. After 30 minutes of play time, we headed to our room to wash up and check out. We were headed to the beautiful Moevenpick Sentosa resort, which was also located on the island. This resort was the only hotel with a separate living space where we could put Robby in his crib which would allow for some privacy and also a better nights sleep. We checked in and was offered fresh fruit and ice cream. We killed time by venturing to the shopping area (like City Walk) and then headed to the hotel for dinner, baths then bed. Robby slept great and so did I. We had a lot of sleep to catch up on.

Daddy's Home!

When we woke up, I gave Robby some fruit and a snack to hold us over until we could head to breakfast. I was constantly checking my email in hopes of getting an update from Rob as to if/when the boat pulled in and when we could expect him. After waiting for an hour and not hearing from him, I decided to take Robby to breakfast. We had pancakes and hashbrowns at McDonalds, which Robby LOVED. We headed back to the room around 11am and I tried to hold Robby off on his nap until Rob got to the hotel.

Rob had directions to the hotel and was going to grab a key from the front desk when he arrived, as we had not way of communicating unless he found wi-fi. So we waited and waited not knowing when he would show up. I placed Robby in a chair and sat him at the desk to watch cartoons on his iPad. The desk was at the foot of the bed and was in view of the front door, while the bed was not. Around 1pm, I heard the door open and saw Robby's head look towards the door. I then saw his bounce up and down and squeal. Then I heard Rob's voice. Daddy was home!

This was the first time Robby had any concept of being reunited with Daddy and it was a sight to see. As much as I wanted to wrap my arms around Rob, I sat back and watched Robby and Rob cuddle and play.

Two Peas in a Pod

Rob and I wanted to make this a family trip, where he could play with Robby so we did the toursity thing and stayed on Sentosa for the most part. Sentosa is an island in Singapore with resorts, theme parks and family fun. I was glad we did this, as Robby could easily be taken to the room for a nap. Rob and Robby were twins running around Sentosa. They are more alike then ever now that Robby is growing up, and it was cute to watch. Robby spent half the trip on Rob's shoulders or being chased by Rob.

Best Food in the World

We spent the first day walking around the resort, grabbing dinner on the island and swimming in the pool. The following day, we traveled mainland to Chinatown where Rob and I are always on the hunt for a bargain and Robby loves getting fresh tropical fruit from street vendors. Robby especially loved the papaya and ate an entire one that afternoon. Rob was detirmined to give me an "island" makeover and bought several dresses for me in the shops there. After an afternoon of walking around Chinatown we decided to go on our culinary hunt for the best food.

Singapore has some of the best food that Rob and I have ever had. On our first trip we were in search of the best bowl of Laksa, a signature Singapore dish of noodles, seafood and spices in a coconut and cilantro broth with hints of lime. We were not disappointed and were anxious to try another Singapore favorite... Chili Crab! We found Chili Crab to quite pricy but found a great hole in the wall in a Hawker. A hawker is an open air food court lined with street food vendors and filled with locals. It looks questionable, but the food is anything but!

Our chili crab was about $50 USD. We were sticker shocked, but not after digging into this messy dish. We were served a large crab that sat in a pool a sweet and spicy chili sauce that also had lumps of delicious crab meat. The crab is a type of crab that was special to the area, I believe they were called Sri Lankan crabs, but the taste was comparable to the sweetness of Maryland blue crabs.  Rob and I found ourselves lost in this dish as we devoured every piece of it. We both agreed, that this was by far the tastiest dish we have ever had. We complimented the meal with the Natural Ice of Asia, a Tiger Beer, and a side of fried rice. The meal was an attraction in itself. Robby even delighted in a few bites despite the spice

Fun in the Sun

On our third day, we decided to go to the water park where we floated in the lazy river, saw some fish, ventured into the wave pool and Rob and I even did some water slides. Robby was so pooped that he napped in his stroller as Rob and I soaked in the sun. We were in paradise. We were all so happy to be reunited, having fun together as a family and lost in the tropical lure of Singapore.

We spent another day visiting the largest aquarium in the word. That's right, move over Atlanta. Singapore boasts the largest now, but even while lacking the whale shark and gigantic manta rays, we enjoyed the trip. Robby was lost in the bright colors of the coral fish and wasn't quite sure what to think of the sharks. It was a great way to spend the late morning and early afternoon.

We then headed to Little India. Singapore is a melting pot of asian cultures and a great way to get introduced to traveling in Asia Singapore is home to Malays, Indos, Indians, Chinese and all those in between. Because of it's diverse inhabitants, places like Little India are not to be missed. Though the day was hot and the humidity was high, we were refreshed by views of fresh fruit stands and Indian flower garland stands. There were so many bright colors and cafes that poured the aromas of curry into the streets. This made Rob quite hungry and while Robby was napping in his stroller, we decided to get some Indian food.

After exploring Little India, we made our way to the Raffles Hotel, an old English hotel which is home to the bar where the Singapore Slinger was invented. After spending a godly amount on our small drink and putting a check in the box, we walked along Clark Quay and took in the sight of beautiful Singapore. The storms were rolling in, so we took shelter in the squadron's admin for a few minutes before making our way back to the room.

Much like our last port call visit, Rob and I wanted to take it easy on our last day and enjoy the things we don't take for granted being a military family... spending time together. We took Robby to the beach and came across a water playground that sat in about 1 foot of water and had water shooting all over it from several fountains, and there was amazing water slides. We spend the entire day here and Robby had never been more in his element. This way likely the highlight of our trip, as it was the three of us having so much fun and loving the time together.

There was so much we didn't get to do in Singapore, but the city is always our gateway to our travels throughout Asia. We know we will be back and ready to devourer another chili crab. 

Land Down Under

One of many street signs

G'Day, port call!

So the cat is out of the bag by now... I met Rob in Brisbane, Australia where the carrier he is deployed on pulled into port. Port calls are very secretive before hand and the location and dates of these port calls are never made public due to security reasons, so as I anxiously anticipated this trip, I had to keep my lips sealed.

Originally, Robby was supposed to come with, but his baby sitter that we love and adore offered to stay at our place for the week so I could spend alone time with Rob for the first time since Robby was born. I was ridiculously excited to both see Rob and also have our much needed time as a married couple. It was a vacation in its self to just travel alone! I read a magazine and slept on the plane... seriously! OK, so I am sure you aren't wanting to hear about my travels there and are more interested in my trip to Australia so here we go!

 

"Oh, you're goin' to Brissy, aye?"

From the moment I saw Australia from my window on the plane I just knew I was about to fall in love with just about the most amazing place I have ever been. To give that statement some perspective, I have pretty much been everywhere. Australia is incredible!

 I landed in Gold Coast which is 90 minutes away from Brisbane. Upon going through customs, we were greeted by English speaking folks (a welcoming atmosphere after being in Japan) and they asked us some questions of where we were headed, though by this point all of Australia knew of the big US Navy carrier that just pulled in and knew we were there to see our husbands. In the most adorable accent ever they asked me, "Oh, you're goin' to Brissy, aye?".

As I mentioned we landed a ways a way in Gold Coast by Surfer's Paradise (made famous by, you guessed it, surfing and also Endless Summer). This was awesome as I rented a car and was able to drive through some of the country side and see more of Queensland (though hardly even a fraction of this gigantic state).

"I may never leave this ship, again!"

I had a red eye flight from Japan, so I got into Brisbane pretty early (around 10am). The last email I received from Rob stated that he should "easily" be off the boat by lunch and he was being dropped of in the city center where I would try to find him. Each hour I would get an update and each update had him delayed another hour until finally he mentioned that he had been watching guys trying to lower the gangways from the boat onto the dock and it appeared that it either wasn't working or that it wouldn't reach far enough. Neither of us had cell phones that worked in Australia, so I had to constantly find wifi in the city to stay posted. Rob had seemed hopeful that the problem would be fixed soon and that we would be reunited shortly. Hours passed and each email became more and more pessimistic. From the first email that stated his excitement that he would be off the boat soon, to that afternoon about him laughing at the problem that gangways posed and the attempts of each engineering contraption they used in attempt to fix the issue to the last email I received that simply stated, "I may never leave this ship, again!".

The good news is that he did eventually leave the ship, though after 8 hours of being "stuck" at the dock there were a few comical news coverages on the issue. I slowly saw a wave of obvious American sailors pour into the streets of Brisbane and I ran to my hotel to wait for Rob. After an hour of waiting I received an email from him that he was downtown with his bags, so I hopped in the rental and quickly found him. Reunited at last!

Port Call Newbie... Moms gone wild!

This was my very first port call and I was amazed. This was like being a freshman in college but worse and to my surprise, Rob said that this was a "tame" port call. All you have to do is imagine 5,000 sailors, mostly young guys, who haven't seen land, drank a beer or enjoyed the company of a young lady in quite some time... with money to blow. It is like putting a child in a candy store, folks!

The first night was a blast, but I assure you that even though weeks have passed, I am STILL recovering from it. In combination of the atmosphere and being childless for the first time in over a year, it was pretty clear that I was well on my way to having a show called Moms Gone Wild.

My life is complete. I cuddled a Koala!

After our night on the town (or the night Brisbane almost killed Tara), we were ready for a nice, easy going day. A short 20 minute drive away there was a perfect place for just that. We decided to go to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. It was a beautiful drive and a gorgeous day. Though it was August, it was winter in Australia which meant cool 70s all week.

Lone Pine is home to several koalas and yes, you have an opportunity to hold one! Holding that koala was just what I needed after spending my first night away from Robby. It was like I was holding and rocking Robby, except Robby typically doesn't poop on the ground as I pick him up and isn't quite as fluffy, but this was a close alternative.

Koalas really are gentle, quiet and sluggish little bears. They seemed drugged, but the conservationist assured us that the eucalyptus they eat didn't have anything to do with their drowsy state. Rob and I really liked these animals, and after the night we had before, we could totally relate to their sluggish temperaments.

The sanctuary wasn't home to just koalas. They had a large open field full of kangaroos. It was awesome to be up close and personal with these amazing animals. Just to see these marsupials hop around with such power and ease, was incredible. We bravely pet a few of the roo's, but in all honesty I was terrified to touch any kangaroo that wasn't a little joey. I had seen one too many videos of boxing kangaroos surprise unknowing tourists.

 

Nudgey Beach

The following day we didn't have much planned so we decided to hit the road and get out of the city.  Driving around Brisbane reminded me so much of a combination of all the places I have lived and loved. The city was clean and hilly like San Fransisco. The surrounding area was green, open and vast with palm trees and coastal shrubbery like back home in Florida. The mountains in the distance were like a tropical rainforest that was nestled in between Tuscan hills that were reminiscent of Santa Barbara. It was breathtaking.

Our scent for salt (and our navigation system) led us to the coast. It was like Cocoa Beach! Beach stores, camp sites, coastal highway... it was all there! We finally found ourselves in a park off the beaten path called Nudgey Beach. It was full of mile long winding decks that went though a forested area along the coast, over some mangroves, by an outlet (that looked like a scene out of Crocodile Dundee) and then passed the coast. It was relaxing, peaceful and just about as romantic as it gets for two kids who can't get enough of the ocean.

Walking over the mangroves

We ended our afternoon at a cute beach side seafood cafe and enjoyed scallops and shrimp before heading back to the city. It is easy to forget the easy going life style that Rob and I left behind in our coastal homes and being in the middle of the largest metropolis in Asia (Japan), but this day reminded us of how homesick we really were of that coastal living.

Kangaroos, Wallabies, and Lorekeets, OH MY!

Rob and I can't sit still for too long and we knew we wanted to see as much of Queensland as we could so we hit the road early and headed to Lamington National Park. This time we brought a friend, Amanda, who is a helo pilot deployed on the same carrier and also went to college with Rob.

Looking over the park

Lamington National Park is full of tall mountains and rainforests that are home to a lot of wildlife. There are hundreds of trails to hike, many of them day long trails, but since we had just a day, we stuck to the shorter 1-3 hour hikes. Though we were told to keep a look out, we didn't see any koalas in the trees. Believe me, we looked! We did see wild turkeys and lots of birds. The hike was gorgeous, but we weren't able to see the waterfalls we were told so much about. We still enjoyed the drive through the park and the hike though.

A cavern along the trail

As we drove through the park we began seeing both wallabies and kangaroos. It was remarkable to see these guys hopping along the hillsides and in their natural habitat. Rob and I couldn't take enough pictures and on more than a few occasions, we found ourselves braving on foot to get a closer shot. At one point it did cross my mind that we could very easily be featured in the show When Animals Attack.

Our last stop in the park, we went though a short trail that brought us to a tree top walk. It was suspended bridges between the tops of the highest rainforest trees. There were even spots to climb higher via caged ladders. It was amazing, though rather short. At the entrance of the tree top walks, there was a small shop that fed that many of the birds in the park and while I have always loved parrots, it was too much for even me to have hundreds of very friendly (too friendly) lorekeets swooping, diving and landing on us. Dodging bird poop has never been "my thing".

On our drive home, we passed several vineyards and felt that there was just so much we didn't see, though we all were very satisfied with our Aussie experience. After witnessing the beauty of the country, the amazing and unique wildlife and enjoying the company of each other, we felt it was already the perfect trip.

Wallaby

Our Trip of a Lifetime

This trip had already been perfect in so many ways, and we hadn't even hit our top three things to do on this trip:

1. Snorkel the Great Barrier Reef
2. Deep Sea Fishing
3. Go to an Aussie Vineyard

Rob and I both decided that we would make a trip back to Australia during the warmer season and dive/snorkel then. Deep sea fishing sounded fun, but again it was not the best weather (for me at least). We were going to spend our last night driving a few hours away to see a vineyard before heading back to the city for our last night, then we got an email from another couple in Rob's squadron. They were going to accompany us to the vineyard but came across a great deal that Rob and I couldn't pass up.

We did a little form flying with our friends

Though both Rob and his pal Gary were pilots, they were unable to rent and fly an airplane but that didn't stop a personal guide from taking us up to the skies! Rob, our guide and I were in one Cessna 172 and our friends, Gary and Stephanie were with their guide in another Cessna. We took off shortly after noon from a very small private airport, minutes outside of Brisbane and headed back towards the tall peaks and rainforests that Rob and I saw the day before. We did some amazing low level flying and saw the amazing waterfalls that would have taken us a day to hike to. The flight through the area was perfect in itself, but then we landed in the middle of a grassy airfield next to our Aussie vineyard.

Rob and I had to pinch ourselves. It was too good to be true, but it was in fact real. We visited a small 5 acre vineyard where a young retired coupled lived and spent their days perfecting the art of making wine! The owner's house was on top of a hill, over looking a creek, his hillside vineyard and the distant rainforests. It was absolutely breathtaking! On a picnic table, the owner had a cheese platter and a few bottles of wine waiting for us. As he explained the first type of wine, he asked us how we liked our steaks cooked, then he grilled us all porterhouse steaks "on the barbie"! We enjoyed several more types of wine with our lunch and had some great conversation with the owner, our pilots, guides and each other.

After desert and some more wine, we walked through his vineyard as the sun was getting low. It was the most amazing time, and I couldn't have been more satisfied. As we were headed back to the house, we saw kangaroos near the creek... the day couldn't be more perfect.

 

We took off just before sunset and as we were on takeoff, our kangaroo friends hopped along side the airfield. I was able to fly a bit before we landed and it occurred to me that I had the perfect life with Rob and Robby. How blessed were we to share this great experience with each other?

With our friends before take off

Spending a little time behind the yolk

Trip of a Lifetime

I couldn't have dreamed of a better visit with Rob. It was romantic, adventurous, beautiful and relaxing. Robby was safe and sound back in Japan, having a blast with our nanny, and Mama and Dada were able to enjoy each other's company in one of the most amazing countries we've been to.

Our last night wasn't an all night outing, but rather we did something reminiscent of being at home and living life as a normal married couple, something that us military couples rarely take for granted. We went grocery shopping, headed back to our apartment to do some laundry and cook dinner in our PJs. What was on the menu? Kangaroo filets, of course :-)