A Night in Paris

After swingin by the north pole, we made a brief stop in Brest, France. We then hopped a train to Paris for a day to see the sights and party it up Parisian style. I made it to Inverness, Notre Dame, The Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Musee D'Orsay, and the Arch de Triumph.

Puppet

this is the unfortunate result of friends who have access to both your pics and photoshop

why my next car will be a smart car

The Frozen North

My most recent adventure brought me to the north pole. We surface through five feet of ice and sat there for two days.

But first, it was work before play, makin sure no polar bears tried to join in the fun

When I finally got to go topside, I realized we were only a short par three away from the pole

So I returned the favor once we surfaced at the North pole

Then Todd brought up the point that the children might not appreciate my actions

So I kindly explained my actions

Unforunately Santa wasn't as understanding. Lesson Learned...stay away from the naughty list, it sucks these days

So I decided it best to say so long to the north pole

The Stewart Clan Visits Hawaii

I recommend spending the sunsets with a lovely lady

moms and pops enjoying a hawaiian sunset

Homecoming

Thanks to Mom, Dad, Brenda, Grandma, Denise, Elizabeth, Courtney, and Diana for welcoming me home on the pier

We rushed to make ourselves presentable as homecoming day approached.

...back in Pearl Harbor after six months at sea

Guam Take 2

Back on Guam to hang with the Cous

The Ultimate Challenge

What do you get when you put together an engineer and an architect....other than boring conversation? The remote controlled goodyear blimp obstacle course.

This is what second place looks like

Extremes

This must be why people laugh when I say I'm a submariner. Apparently Nav and Corly think it's hilarious.

Before

Not naming any names, one of us who went may not have been able to stomach the waves. What can I say, I'm not trained to be on the surface

Deep Sea Fishin

This is one of many catches during our deep sea adventure. Unfortunately it's in inches not feet

After

The muscles were almost still twitchin on our tongues

Not Good

...not what you want to see when you are stuck in a tube with 150 other men.

Okinawa

We had to make and unexpected overnight stop to fix some stuff.

Merry Christmas

I made sure to take some time on Christmas day to hide out in my rack and watch the classics.

The holiday season made the days go a little slower, but they continued to pass......7 weeks and counting

A little christmas cheer provided by the wives club.

After T-Day, I filled my rack with the necessary 45 day load out and we dissapeared for the rest of the holiday season.

Yokosuka...again

We got to play dress up again when we were invited to the Tokyo-America club for Thanksgiving dinner.

Military Medicine

Word of advice.....never tell the navy you have a toothache.

We had to bust out the winter attire for pulling into Yokosuka in November

Guam

Guam - where greetings by handshake or kiss cannot compare to a friendly leg massage.

Island Life

The island flavor was very similar to Hawaii. 

Guam was great becuase I have family on the island. My cousin Aaron has lived there for a couple years workin and enjoying the island. This is the view from the front door of his place. 

The Hike

Aaron and I went on a hike to a couple caves. It was about a mile hike to this hidden entrance

Aaron was instructed just to scream if anything tried to grab or bite him. I just made sure to leave adequate distance between us 

To get to the inner cave we had to slide through a crevass which apparently is one of the hot spots for the local cockroach population 

Once in the cave, Aaron (cousin) and I set out to explore 

The lights we brought showed off the cave's white limestone

After emerging from the cave, we made our way to the coast 

Probably not the best place for cliff diving although we watched for a while trying to figure out a plan to survive the plunge. 

The coastline was made of reef and uninhabited for the most part 

Singapore

Singapore is the cleanest city I've every seen. It's also one of the most strict, enforced through public canings. But, due to our extreme level of maturity, there were of course no issues. Clarke Quay, pictured here, was one of the places we frequented throughout our stay

One could shop for weeks in this town and never visit the same place twice. The American dollar also spends well here. 

The live music in the city had a pretty incredible back drop. 

The Accomodations

This is what I saw when I looked over my shoulder while at the pool, located on the roof of the City Bay View Hotel 

Singapore had a wide selection of American style food to enjoy 

I also made sure, however, to enjoy some of the local cuisine such as this BBQ'd snail. 

Flashback

In many of the countries we've visited so far, I'm pretty sure it's safer to drink the paint thinner than the water.

Hunchback

Unfortunately the periscopes are designed for a man of average height. It's worth it though cause time at periscope depth means we can get our email. Also, notice the bed head which is sported approximately 90% of the time underway. 

Thailand

On the way back from India, we stopped in Phuket, Thailand for a few days of liberty.

The port couldn't support our ship, so we anchored in the harbor and caught liberty boats to shore.

We stayed on Patong Beach which one one of the many places hit by the Tsunami. It has now been completely restored, but many of the shops had pictures of the death and destruction the town suffered.

Anyone for Lobster Thermidor?

The view from my hotel room

Certain shops make it tough to argue against Thailand being the sweetest place on earth

SCUBA - Yes, More Time Under the Sea

Easy, ....of course I'm gonna look the whitest when I hang with a Dominican, a Filipino, and a Mexican

India

After our time in Japan we got some last minute tasking to participate in a few naval exercises off the coast of India. We pulled in to Goa India for one day initially before the exercises and then for four days following. During the exercise, I had the opportunity to act as one of the submarine liaisons and ride the USS Higgins, an Arleigh Burke class destroyer, and pretty much tell them their efforts to fend off the mighty Santa Fe were useless.

Since we only had one day initially, we decided to live the life of luxury and spend it at the Park Hyatt with various activities to include...

...experiencin the Indian Ocean...

...partyin by the pool...

...and of course a full body massage.

After the exercises, we pulled back into port and set it off with a social event with the INdian navy on the helo deck of the USS Higgins

We had the opportunity to do some painting at one of the local youth centers. When we arrived we were greeted with a local custom on the forward which meant we were welcome.

The children showed their appreciations by putting on a presentation of local song and dance.

after the presentations, the local papers wanted some pics. So after starting to feel a bit like a zoo animal, I returned the favor.

Good Morning Palolem

Myself and a few others headed about an hour south for a few days to the local resort town of Palolem, India. Our accomadations, shown here, went for approximately $3 a night.

Nap Time

No worries, I got special written consent to photograph the interior decorations.

We did, however, have to share the beach with the local wildlife.

Ghetto Fab

Why settle when you can pimp your ride?

Let's Ride

Our mode of exploration while in Palolem

The Submariners Paradise - Seclusion

During our explorations, we happed upon some secluded beaches that many of the locals were unaware of

Chillin in Japan

My first stop in the 6 month adventure was Japan during which I visited Yokosuka, Tokyo Akihabara, Roppongi, Sasebo and Nagasaki.

Akihabara

The district of Akihabara is home to the latest electronics technology and now also home to many of our American dollars

The Sanctuary

While in Yokosuka, the officers stayed at the "Sanctuary" which is like a big frat house for submarine officers who pass through the area. It's probably the most reasonably priced lodging at $40/year. Also, the shuffleboard table in the background is now the home court of the Grand champions, Zac (in the red jersey) and myself.

Apparaently the shops in Akihabara are very concerned with my well being. I also visited a restaurant that before your main course serves apple tisers.

Japan also has guitars which surprisingly enough sound a lot like american guitars

The Meiji Shrine

While in the Tokyo area, we visited the Meiji shrine where three million people visit every new years. When we arrived, four Tokyo University students asked if they could practice their English and give us a tour of the shrine. I said as long as we can practice our Japanese. I was of course speechless after "konichi-wa".

Makin Mom Proud

About a week after failing the smell test on several occasions, we pulled into Sasebo Japan where I made this my first stop.

Although I still don't speak Japanese, I'm pretty sure the title to this statue translates "Why you little....."

The Food

Ordering a salad with your meal in Japan might be a bit extreme...but definitely worth it. It also gets you an additional dessert.

The first stop in each port of course is the local steak house. In Sasebo it's the world renowned Steak Salon

Peace

Makin friends with the ice cream lady at ground zero in Nagasaki

Where's Waldo

And to think .......I was worried about blending in with the locals.