Don’t forget to vote! Vote now, vote soon, get your friends to vote! I can’t stress enough the importance of voting! (Okay, maybe I’ve overstressed it already. but vote anyway.) The votes will be tallied when Jon and Rachel get back from Turkey.
Good night,
Andrew
Everyone vote for your favorite photo from Cartagena! Use the comments below to register your vote. Please include the file name of the picture (it will look like a lot of random numbers, but it actually means something) and a short description of the image, as well. I’ll close the voting at 6:30 local time wherever I happen to be on Thursday. That’s only two days, so hurry and let your voice be heard!
I visited museos today in Cartagena. Mi favorito estaba el Museo Naval. It contained interesting artifacts from Spanish naval tradition. It had huge, detailed replicas of historic Spanish warships, fanciwork that would make any sailor stand proud and whistle in awe, a room dedicated to submarines, halls lined with swords, a long line showing the development of firearms in Spain’s naval tradition, and artwork showing many of the sea’s moods and man’s experiences on her.
El Museo Archeologica Municipal was another we visited. Most of its artifacts were discovered in 1976, which I consider pretty recent for historical findings. About a third of the exhibits were labeled in English. I took some time to read some of those not in English, but my comprehension was very slow and sometimes spotty. If I had more time (or was with a group willing to spend more time), I could have absorbed more from the experience. But what I did take in was sufficient, and I enjoyed myself. After the Museo Archeologica, we stopped at a corner cafe and enjoyed a croissant and cafe con leche.
I’m starting to wish we had more time here. I think I could really enjoy six months in Spain, now that I’m starting to understand a little more of the language and customs. It would be good to get an even better grasp, but would take more time than I have.
I miss Lisa. I’ve been waiting all day to hear from her or see pictures of her on our Yahoo Photos site, but I know she’s busy having the internet installed today and driving back to Reedley from Lodi. I hope she’s had a good time, and I hope she knows how much I miss her, and how badly that pains me.
I worked out this evening in the late afternoon sunlight. It felt really good to get in a good, hard cardio workout and cover myself with sweat again. Maybe it’ll help be get to bed at a decent hour tonight.
Good Night,
Andrew
Oh, I almost forgot, this week’s photos from the Coast Guard Cutter Bear are also online. You can see them here: www.fredsplace.org/images/bear. Fred also posted a nice little bio page on me. You can see that here.
Good night,
Andrew
Shinnfans,
I’m glad to announce that my photos from Cartagena, Spain are now online and available for your viewing pleasure. I must warn you, though: I uploaded a few photos, and it took me more than three hours to do (in addition to the editing, shooting, and processing time I spent). I will consider it nothing but the gravest of insults if YOU fail to lay eyes on EVERY SINGLE frame I shot and uploaded. And I’m serious about that. So grab your favorite refreshment and two bags of popcorn, and sit down for a visual extravaganza; a visit to a small and mostly unregarded port nestled between several mountains on the coast of Spain. Click here and enjoy! (and please leave your comments here after viewing!)
Tired,
Andrew
We arrived in Cartagena, Spain yesterday. This is a very dry, mountainous port city dominated or destroyed at various times by the Cartheginians, the Romans, the Visigoths, the Moors, and, of course, the Spaniards. The city boasts an easily defensible position. And it has been defended a lot, if the fortress ruins topping all five of the mountains surrounding the port are any indication. This grand and violent tradition continues today with a Spanish Navy base situated in a corner of the waterfront.
I took lots of pictures, which I’ll post at our Yahoo Photos site later. I went out sightseeing with two other guys all day today. It was pretty fun. Last night I went out with a bunch of younger kids, which wasn’t the best idea. They were really hungry, but all they could figure out how to order was beer. I actually talked with the cook of a small cafe we went to, and was able to figure out what was on the menu and order from it. They sat there, starving, with beers in hand, drooling over my food as I happily ate and sipped my Coca-cola. We had to end up going to MacDonald’s to get them food because a)”Big Mac” is the same in English and Spanish and 2)they thought the novelty of drinking beer and smoking in MacDonalds is about the coolest thing to see in a foreign port. When they went out to a night club, I headed back for the boat and folded my laundry. Coming back early was totally worth it, because I got to talk with Lisa for about a half hour. I’d trade all the port calls in the world to be with her, or even just to talk to her.
I’ll probably stay in tonight, evem though everyone else is going out. I’m exhausted from being out and walking all day today, and I don’t want to do what they’ll probably be doing, anyway. I missed dinner on the boat and won’t be able to eat, since I’m not going out on the town. The reason I can’t just go out to eat and come back to the boat is this: I can’t come back to the boat alone. We are required to stay in groups of three at all times, so returning to the boat alone is a big no-no, and I’m sure no one will want to just have dinner and come home. Oh, well, I still have some salted peanuts I bought in the airport in Washington D.C. and a little beef jerky I swiped from our house in Boston. That’ll be a sufficient dinner, I guess.
Signing off,
Andrew
Brian (my youngest brother) has graduated from Immanuel High School and will attend Fresno Pacific University in the fall. He will be a member of the baseball team as the university launches its first baseball team ever!
Yesterday was a special day in his life as he pitched most of the Valley Championship game vs. Templeton. He did VERY well and helped lead the IHS team to victory! 🙂 It was such a treat for me to be there for this game and his graduation. It was nice to drive a couple minutes to our house instead of flying six hours to get home. I am proud of him and look forward to taking in a couple Fresno Pacific games next year!
Way to go, Brian!
… the world has been blessed by Ralph Wetmore. And in that time, he’s seen plenty of it. From the corners of the globe to the remote recesses of the hearts of men, his force of character sometimes failed the ears, but never the heart. His calming presence and his presence of mind have been assets to his family, his military commanders, his fellow collegians, his students, his co-workers, his subordinates, his church community, his family, the local academic world, and his wife.
Were I a man half steady as Ralph Wetmore, I’d be proud. Were I to live as long in half his shape, I’d be the same. To bear his lineage is to walk straight and to inherit the earth.
Grandpa, Happy Birthday, and I love you!
Family, Friends, and other Shinnfans,
I’m amazed at the response to yesterday’s post. That’s the most comments we’ve ever had on a single post. We’ll have to play guessing games more often. I don’t think the award comment transmitted all the way, but I’ll be sending the winner (Jon) a full-color picture of me, taken by the best photographer out here on the CGC Bear. That’s right, it’s a self-portrait taken at 9:45 p.m. (sunset) just a few minutes ago. He also has an all-expenses paid stay at the Shinn Hotel in sleepy, quaint little Reedley, Calif.
I exercised on the flight deck after work was finished today, then played some golf. A few guys got an entire garbage can full of used golf balls from a course just before we left, so we were just drivin’ the balls way out into the ocean. Very fun stuff. All to the tune of nature’s beautiful sunset. The water today was flat calm, and it’s hard not to enjoy being at sea during a lovely sunset with the water glistening around you in silky smooth undulations. It’s a sight that, for all its sameness, I never tire of looking at. Some porpoises came to play in our wake right about sunset. That was a cool sight, too.
Fair winds and following seas,
Andrew
Anyone know what the above acronym means? First person to post the correct answer in a comment will get a treat. 🙂
Not much happened today. I took some decent photos, the boat’s internet was down for most of the day, and I didn’t hear from Lisa. She doesn’t have internet access at our new house yet, so I assume that for the next few days she’ll be electronically silent. That’s a real downer for me, as I live always for her next e-mail.
Meals around here are hit and miss. Lunch was a miss. I had to supplement the meal (cabbage, the worst canned sqaush I’ve ever tasted, and some other assorted inedibles) with two pieces of cake just to make my calorie count for the afternoon. Dinner was a hit. Ribs and homemade macaroni and cheese* and some darn fine cornbread.
Saw the sun for the first time in a while this afternoon. I went out on the flight deck after working hours to do a little weight training and enjoy the sun and the sea spray. Now, at 9:35 p.m., the sun is probably still up, but I’m not going to go outside and see it because my body feels like it’s almost bedtime, and I don’t want to shatter that illusion.
I played Ghost Recon 2 this evening with the guys I live with. They’re pretty good. They play all the time because there’s not a lot else to do when you’re off work.
Off to bed I go! I may try to read a short mystery story from a compilation I brought (thanks Jill!).
Sweet Dreams,
Andrew
*Well, ok, it was ship-made, not home-made.