What an adventure

Covid tests happened for a few folks in our command (45 of us come down here). Some came back positive. Many more were close contacts and required to stay here another TWO weeks. Can you imagine?  Yeah. Yikes!

Thursday afternoon we were all sent to our rooms without dinner. Literally in some cases if folks didn’t have foood to carry them through to the supposed exit on Saturday. 

We were released to do a quick grocery shop at 15 till close. Fun times. So mad dash to the NEX to grab what I thought was going to be just a. Few more things to get me through as I had planned on eating out one meal on Friday. Yeah. Nope. We were told we are NOT leaving on Saturday as planned. Now departure is undetermined. 

So.... Picked up enough to “make do” through Sunday along with cheese and peanut butter and crackers. And the other odds and ends I have left. 

Friday morning we had a 4:55 muster call. What’s that?  It’s roll call but Navy style. You have mister stations on boats if you have ever been on a cruise. Anyway. I literally rolled outta bed and did my muster via text. We then waited for the Covid test. They started in the other building and went through the personnel there. Room by room. My turn cane at 7:05. In and out. 

Test done. And now we wait. Friday was a fun adventure in computer woes back at the office where connection did NOT happen. So that was a wasted day. BUT I tried.

Friday mornings picture from the room:

There is some fog rolling around in the valley. 

We also got the word as we were not tagged as “close contacts” we could go on very limited/short excursions for necessities. I found it highly necessary to get REAL food from the canteen! I got a bunch of good and o was right. It lasted me through today (Sunday). I even have a bit of the pasta and bean combo left as it truly wasn’t my favorite. 

Lots o’food

The bean and pasta combo. Weird but not a fan favorite. 

Clockwise from the top (1 o’clock) pasta and bean combo, penne and regular sauce, capresse salad (tomatoes basil and cheese), potatoes with yellow peppers and finally meatloaf with spinach (and some of those potatoes as well). Delish and was about four meals in those dishes!!  Yummy!!

I still have some if the bread (there were three rolls) that I’ll use for a cheese sandwich for the flight home tomorrow ;) waste not want not!

Saturday had some rain happing AND I ran out of (as in literally using Kleenex) TP and all this wonderful oily food is making my bowels really loose... so I went out in sweats (yes two day old sweats) with NO bra in search of housekeeping to get some dang TP. Well it’s pouring. I look all over for a housekeeping cart. Nope. I decide to take a picture of the rain before searching any forget for people and I AM LOCKED OUT. Yep. They extended our stay for to the whole Covid snafu but we didn’t think about the keys having to be renewed. Hahaha so I really need to find housekeeping now to get TP and access to my room. Hahaha!  I finally find them and they let me back in my room. I call front desk and she’s saying “come down and get new keys” I’m thinking no way do they want 45 of us coming down there without confirmed tests. Nerp. So I emailed our POC and explain this beds to be dealt with and suggest they have keys dropped at our doors. Which is just what they did. Problem solved except you’ll never guess where I was when they pounded on my door!  Yep. The potty. I wrap up things go to the door nobody there. I sit back down on the potty. Phone rings. Damnit. I missed the call. I go BACK to the door and my new key is tucked in the door lock cockeyed. Good enough. Still chuckle about that one. 

And today (Sunday) our tests came in. 

I’m negative ;) no Covid girl here. I did trim it down to just show positive for Butch to tease him. He’s gullible and believed me. Ha!

And I tested my key first to ensure I could get back in... and took my parting shot. 

Too bad I couldn’t feel good about taking a walk, eh?

They still want us to quarantine because some take longer to become symptomatic and/or have a high enough virus load. So, you guessed it, one more test when we get home, possibly two. Yuck. 

Naples. The base story

Saturday was a shuttle to the “Support Site” aka the rest of the base where there is a bowling alley, movie theatre and housing. 

They also had an A&W root beer place with American breakfast!  Mmmmmm. I think this is what caused my issues for the rest of the day but it was so good while I ate it!!

IN the BX and Commissary there are glass walkways over Roman ruins. How very cool is that?  Literally walking over history!!  Yes, I was a tourist and took pictures (here anyway bacause no one was around)

See?? Right in the isle!  Too cool. 

This is how the rest of the day was.  Rainy and cool. I went home put in sweats and watched Hulu and Netflix for the rest of the day. 

This weeks should be cool and sunny so much nicer. 

I went back to the cantina today and got a chicken leg/quarter for €5 and some rice and some capresse salad. Love that stuff. Ate this whole thing at lunch. And part of the leg and part of the rice. Guess what is for dinner tonight?  Lol. You guessed it. Good thing it’s GOOD food finally!!

I also wanders to the 4th floor (I’m on the 3rd) and the other side of the building to take this picture :)

And just because here is the large breezeway in front of my room. In front of those who let cahoots is the elevator bank - stairs straight ahead into the dark and hang a left around the corner and keep turning and your at the stair door. 

I’m not in front of my room. My set of doors is in the middle. Honestly not a horrible set up. Just horrible in that we can’t leave base. 

Work trip to Naples

This trip was a different one for me in that we traveled military all the way. We all met at the base in a designated area at 12:00. We then boarded a charter bus, our temperatures were all taken (99.1, thank you) and turned in paperwork.  Then were driven to the military area of the airport (across from the civilian side). Then we waited. And waited. 2:55 we were finally on the plane. We boarded via a single file stair case at the back of the plane. And here is the weird part:

Yes there is a wall.... I joked that this was really a prison transport. 

Everybody masked and ready to go!!

Why the wall??

This is a stock photo because I really didn’t think it appropriate to take pictures of OUR plane while it was being unloaded on a military base without clearance. 

Before we deplaned our commander (Major General Neary) deplaned and had all the pomp and circumstance done. 

Photo ops with cell phones for photos!  Interesting world we live in. 

View from the end of the balcony at different times of the evening 

My room. View from the “front door”. Nice little living room. Sofa that is squeaky and not too comfortable but better than a bed for watching TV (on the wall to the left over the desk)

Walking into the kitchenette area. Two burner conduction cook top microwave grill. What more could you want?

Potty to the left and further around the corner is the bedroom. 

Turning around the corner and the bedroom. That is another door to the breezeway. And window to there as well. Yeah. Uncomfortable to me but I’ve dealt with it. I have had the neighbors trying to come into the bedroom a few times. Weirdness. 

Bath. Nothing to write home about. 

View out my window. To the right and down one more room is the end. 

This is a “map” of the base. 

Yes. That is the extent of it. Just those buildings. Perspective is this:  standing just below the green building in the right side of the map:

This is looking to the right of the map. I was standing as if I was facing the bottom/south of the map so looking left physically... oh heck work it out. This is the end of the base to the right of the map. That’s the gate. Right there. 

Looking right across the street that is the fence for the edge of base. 

Looking the other way you can just make out the edge of the base going the other way. May be hard to see through the construction but honestly you get the jist. Super tiny!!

We got here on Monday. It’s Friday now. I have avoided eating too much in the food court. I bought some peanut butter and crackers and snacks and such. It’s been snack heaven. I ate Taco Bell one night. I didn’t think that there could be a way to screw up Taco Bell. Well they did. They were just “OK”. Disappointing. Next I tried the Italian place in the food court. Gnocchis. Figure we’re in Italy, right??  Nope awful!!!  Plain sauce no Parmesan cheese. Really?  Yuck!!  Then I had Subway sandwich one night. Not impressed. Sigh. Then today I finally tracked down the Italian Mensa. OMG. Why did I not do that the first day???

This looks like I’m a super PIG but let me tell you, I ordered one of each of the pastas in preparation for the weekend. There are limited food choices on this side on the weekend. We would have to take a shuttle bus to the other base 1/2 hour away. 

So for $10 (12/13 dollar equivalent)

Spaghetti with oil and pepper (mmm) and not sure why the curly noodles are but they are tasty!  With Parmesan cheese as well!!  Yay!

The veggies were surprisingly cold with some picked things in there as well and super tasty!!  I ate about 1/3 of each for lunch so I’ll have enough to have some for the weekend. With this and a trip to the other side on Saturday I should be good to go until next week when the Mensa is open again. :)

Day 9 - Homeward bound!

6am flights need to be avoided from here on out!!

 Mont Blanc with the sun coming up...

I ordered a full French breakfast - the salmon toast was not what I expected it to be... but I did take a nibble.  I didn't like it  It wasn't horrible, but my co-hort in crime was MORE than happy to get it for breakfast!  

 Breakfast in Paris.

And with that I'm back in Stuttgart and back to the real world... no more breakfast, lunch and dinner cooked for me... BUT I still get dinners... so I'm happy enough with that!

Day 8 - 13th of Feb

Looking  up through the front of the ship - who knew this was right up the hall from me? NOT me!!

This is looking back towards my room - the one you see open?  That is just outside of my door - my door is just to the right of the one you see open at the end of this short hallway.

 This is a picture of my door entry - looking from where the door is open in the picture above.

And this is us leaving the boat... Yep, I was a tourist and took a minute to stop and take a picture of everyone coming down the gangway.

 sitting on the bus - headed back to the base from Gaeta Italy!  Bye Mount Whitney - thanks for the adventure!!

Once we got back to base we dashed out to a small eatery just off base - they had Gnocchi.  I hadn't had any in so long I ordered that and some Bruschetta.  Everything was tasty!

Day 7 - the 12th

It was time to leave Malta - bye Malta!
A lot of us were on the deck to witness leaving.

Being pushed and pulled into position by tugs and having the military with the 7mil machine guns at the ready - really does make you aware they are NOT playing.  After the USS Cole it makes me feel better.  They had guards posted any time we were docked as well - walking the deck.  Makes you think twice about being safe while you're in a foreign country.  I did feel safe, by the way... just makes you think twice about being a true target and makes you behave on your best behaviour while out and about.  Not that you shouldn't be always as a guest in someone else's country.

 There is a pilot boat tucked up under the back... picking up the pilot who gets you out of port.  I did find out that they cost an estimated $250,000 for every time a pilot is needed to bring a big ship into port.  The cruise ships are three times bigger than our ship - which is surprising.  BUT they are paid well for what they do!

 Back to open ocean.
I was on the deck above the wheel house - attempting to watch the sunset in the gale force winds... I huddled down below the wall for a bit, but it was way too cold and blustery for me!!

Pictures for Liz.

Here is the light switch in the bathroom - you'll note it's a three way.  down was for red lights at night, up was full lights and middle was off. 

The shower in the head that I used while on board.  Yep - one very small shower, but it wasn't told to us to do "Navy showers" so it wasn't horrible.  The water was pleantiful and hot, what more could you want?

 The sink in the main head - not sure where the potty picture went but just picture black toilet seat tucked into a corner similar to the sink.  The door had locks on both sides for when you left it wasn't left swinging in the waves.

 Never knew it was a CHT system... so "chit?" hahahaha!  Sorry!  Couldn't resist!

 I have NO idea where my picture went of the hall way in the red lights... maybe it didn't take...