U.S.S. John S. McCain Family Day Cruise

Koen finally had a chance to see what Daddy does for a living. Well sort of . . . none of us will ever really know. We spent the entire day of January 24, 2008, on the USS John S. McCain - out at sea!

We left the house before the sun came up and headed out on the one-hour trip from Yokohama to Yokosuka. Our feet hit the deck of the ship just after 7:30 a.m. The McCain was moored to the pier and the USS Stethem was moored to us. It took a while to get underway, but once we were, boy were we in for a treat.

The CO (commanding officer) came over the 1MC (shipwide intercom) and told the families to muster (meet) on the mess decks (dining room). (Sorry about all the navy lingo for you non-navy types.) He met us there and informed us that we would be breaking into small groups of 6 to be led around to the various ship departments by ESWS-qualified personnel. We were also going to have the opportunity to receive an honorary ESWS qualification. ESWS (Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist) sailors are qualified to stand watches all over the ship. Theoretically, they should be able to do the basic job of any other sailor on the ship. We were given a sign-off sheet to carry to each department. After asking all of our questions (some of which stumped even the experts) we got our signatures.

Two hours into our tour, the boatswain came over the 1MC and blew the whistle for lunch. Boy is the whistle long and loud. We headed back to the mess decks and were greeted with an amazing lunch of steak and king crab! The crab was particularly delicious! We definitely had good timing on that meal. They only have a meal like that once a month. All the other days leave a little to be desired.

After lunch, we spent time learning about the launching system, radar, sonar, damage control (fire fighting and shoring), medical services, and command and control to name a few. The most time was spent on the bridge where Koen met the CO, sat in his chair, and even had an opportunity to steer the ship! He loved it. After our tour, we headed to the award ceremony where about 20 family members received an official honorary ESWS certificate. Jokes were made that some wives even got their ESWS before their husbands. It normally takes about 6 months to complete.

In the end, we headed back to the bridge while the ship sailed into port doing 30 knots! The spray flew all the way to the bridge, soaking the guys manning the guns. Koen was amazed. So was I. We had a great time learning. We got great exercise using the ladders. We met lots of the crew who seemed to have great morale. It was a day well spent - all 12 hours of it! (And that doesn't include drive time.) We look forward to going again in the future!

Moments of Epiphany

I'm sitting here tonight listening to Arie and Koen carrying on their nightly ritual. A variety of sounds can be heard emanating from Koen's room on any given night. On this particular night there is laughter and lots of it, although not accompanied by the usual sound effects. Anyone who knows Koen knows what I mean. It's refreshing to hear, with or without the sound effects.

My dear friend, Ashley, gave us a movie to watch tonight. We popped it in and watched over our bowls of tortellini and garlic bread. The movie was "A Midnight Clear." This movie probably won't be winning any awards. It doesn't have a super happy ending. In fact, the ending was a little ambiguous, but it reminded me about life...it's just a little ambiguous sometimes. What is our purpose? Each person has one.

Chaplain Chaney's service today touched on the same subject - purpose in the Christian sense, each person's purpose in the kingdom of God. We get so excited to share our ski trip stories, our accomplishments or our "you won't guess what happened today" stories. What about the amazing stories of what God has done in our lives? I was reminded that I'm not responsible for how people will respond, if at all, to my story. I'm just responsible for telling it. Let God work out the details.

So I'm ending the day full of questions, for myself, and for anyone else who wants to partake of my questions - not for sharing the answers, but for having the hope that comes with the fruitful search. I'm reminded of a treasure hunt and the Japanese word that Koen taught me - Ata!, which means, "I found it!" Life is also like that - alternating questions and moments of epiphany, after which we all hope to be able to utter those words - ata!

Skiing at Mt. Naeba in Niigata, Nagano Prefecture, Japan

It has been 20 years since the last time I went skiing. Arie has not skied for more than 10 years and has been talking about going for a long time. We finally decided to take a trip and visit Niigata, Japan, for a couple days to ski on Mt. Naeba. Unbeknownst to us at the time, Mt. Naeba is the most popular ski resort in Japan and widely considered to have some of the best conditions.

We rented our ski gear from Outdoor Recreation on base, reserved our hotel through ITT (Information, Tickets, and Tours) on base, and then headed off to buy our Shinkansen tickets (the bullet train). We were excited about our newest adventure and it didn't disappoint.

Our first train left Yokohama at 5 a.m., which got us up early. After almost an hour on that train, we got off in Tokyo and reboarded the Shinkansen headed to Yuzawa, Japan. When we arrived it was snowing with some flakes the size of quarters. Koen marveled at the site and was bouncing off the walls. We waited around the station for a bit for our bus to come and take us to the hotel. While we waited, Koen found a candy he wanted to try - a chewy, fruity, grapefruit-flavored do-dad that turned out to be quite good. It's a new favorite of his.

The bus took about 50 minutes, during which we played and goofed around with Koen. We had a ball and hadn't even put our skis on yet. Our bus pulled up in front of the hotel and we piled out ready for lunch and ski lessons. The hotel had many restaurants and we decided on curry, which has become our family standard favorite. A few tables away, people were soaking their feet in the hot spring foot bath. What a combo! Lunch and a foot hot spring with a view of the ski slopes. Pretty neat.

Once Koen was settled in with his ski instructor, Arie and I set off to get in as much as we could while we had the chance. The slopes were perfect powder - the best I've seen in my limited experience. I think I've only skied maybe 5 times, this one included. I was quite surprised that I never fell while I was skiing, though I did fall once while I was standing still watching Koen's lesson. Then Koen made it number two when he skied into me, knocking us both over.

The first day we skied until about 8:00 pm, nearly missing every dinner the hotel had to offer (restaurants close at 9 pm there). We did manage to hurry into a yakiniku place and have a great meal before collapsing in our twin beds.

The second day my legs from the knee down were so sore from the boots (ill-fitting, but the only option I had) and from using muscles I forgot I had. I tried my best, but I couldn't make my mind overcome the pain, so I didn't ski that day. Arie spent the late morning and afternoon skiing while Koen and I explored on our own. We went snowmobiling first together, and then Koen rode his own kid-sized machine. Later, he was pulled on a raft behind a snowmobile. He loved it! We wound our way through a maze of igloos and stopped for a bit inside an especially large one to enjoy some hot mochi with azuki bean sauce. It tastes a little like a hot, but chewy marshmallow topped with a sauce that tastes like sweetened, liquidy, mashed pinto beans. It doesn't sound appetizing, but it was lovely and we felt like we were taking part in a special moment. Mochi is a special Japanese dish that is eaten year-round, but especially for New Year's.

We broke for a quick lunch, and then Arie and Koen were off to do some more skiing together. Koen had a blast and Arie did a great job skiing backward and helping him practice. I never knew how well Arie could ski. After nine years of marriage (as of January 1) I'm still learning new things about my husband. It's refreshing.

So, now Koen has decided that skiing is his favorite sport after soccer. Arie has decided that after retirement we need to live within an hour of a ski resort. As for me...I'm thrilled no one broke any bones and I'm ready to commit to a life of skiing. I never thought I'd say that, but I really loved it. Isn't it interesting how you change as an adult? I don't recall enjoying skiing as much when I was a kid. It's nice to know that some things do change.

The trip back home was nice, quick, and uneventful except for the old Japanese man who kept falling asleep and leaning over on Koen on the train. The look on Koen's face was priceless and after a time it became quite funny.

Back home, I realized yet again, that there is no better way to appreciate your blessings until you no longer have them. In other words, I'll never complain about my mattress again! We had a blast and we're happy to be home.