Disney!!

July 15, 2009 ~ Disney ran a Military Appreciation special allowing active duty members FREE 3-day passes and their dependents could purchase a 3-day pass for the price of a 1-day!! So we took advantage of the tickets as well as their military discount at their hotels and stayed at Paradise Pier Hotel :)

We enjoyed a yummy dinner at the Rainforest Cafe in downtown Disney....

Spent a little time with Mr. Potato Head.....

Got caught by Pirates on Pirates Cove....

And enjoyed the night lights at California Adventure....

(Just FYI: riding the rollercoaster "California Screamin'" is AWESOME after dark!!)

Always a good time at Disneyland :)

Change of Command

Naval Base Coronado experienced a big event July 2, 2009, with a Change of Command. Our current Commanding Officer was relieved of duty to move on to his new assignment and was replaced by the new Commanding Officer. The setting was great with the bay and San Diego skyline in the background.

Rodney looked spiffy in his dress whites!!

The emblem on the podium

The podium

The red carpet on which The Official Party would enter. The bell is rung as each officer in that party entered. That's a Marine fighter jet behind the carpet.

A Navy helo 

Sailors in rank

Rodney stood in these ranks since the Command Chaplain was responsible for the prayers for this event.

The color guard and Navy band in place

The "MC" for the event waiting with the incoming (CAPT Lindsey) and outgoing (CAPT Gaiani) COs.

CAPT (soon to be Admiral) Gaiani receiving another award.

Me with Mrs. Gaiani

Rodney and the now-Former Skipper

Congratulations, Gaiani's! Wishing you fair winds and following seas.....

4th of July, 2009

A sweet lady from one of the Chapel's invited us to her adorable home on Coronado to join her and some family and friends for a potluck and to watch the Coronado parade. The especially cool part is that her home sits right on the parade route, so we had prime seating for the parade!!

The parade last almost three hours, so I'm not posting ALL the pics I took :) I tried to pick out the most non-typical ones to share.....

The parade started off with the surfers... This was actually a pre-parade. As the story goes, this group is evidently no longer allowed to be in the parade due to past issues, so now they do their own little parade before the big one starts! Check out the surf boards!

Yep, an ironing board... I trust he doesn't really try to catch any waves with it!

They performed a little routine on their boards as their finale....

The Marine Corps was represented

Naval Base Coronado had just gotten a new Commanding Officer, so he got to ride along in the parade!

Of course, the SHAMU car made an appearance :)

(Notice the spray from his blow hole?!?!)

The "Jr." Navy

Dancing Flamingos!!!

The "Big" Navy

Of course, there were floats galore, horses, Shriners in their little cars, and Queens/Kings of various groups. But these were the most interesting to pass on.....

But here comes the grand finale......City Sanitation!!

Wishing each of you a Safe, Happy and Clean 4th of July for years to come :)

Happy 12th Anniversary to US!!

May 15 & 16, 2009 ~ We celebrated our Anniversary weekend with an outing to Cabrillo National Monument at Pt. Loma on Saturday. We stopped off at the tidepools on our way to the monument.

Since Rodney was just a month out from his knee surgery and didn't yet have his knee brace, he played it smart and didn't get too close to the edge.

I can't say the same for me!! I enjoyed working my way down to the water's edge! It turned out to be high tide, so I didn't have too far to go. High tide also covered all the little pools in which to find fascinating creatures. Maybe another visit!

But, we did get to see something you don't see everyday---a group of bi-planes!!

The view down on the tidepool area from the road

The Coast Guard lighthouse and grounds

Check out the view of the bay from the monument!!

And we got to see a submarine being escorted into the bay! The yellow and red boat on the far side is a tug boat. The Harbor Patrol boat (on this side) is making sure all those sailboats and fishing boats move out of the way of the sub.

On Sunday, we went to a Champagne Brunch at the 94th Aero Squadron.

It is a replica of a WWI French farmhouse with military memorabilia including the Red Baron plane!

It is not only a feast for the stomach, but a feast for the eyes with the lovely setting!!

It was truly a celebration weekend!

April Fools!!

Our April Fools event of 2009, was really not so funny---- Rodney had knee surgery! He had a torn ACL and a torn meniscus..no fun!! But, he was all smiles going in....

And still all smiles afterward....thanks to the pain block :) But, when that wore off, not really so smiley :(

Since he wasn't able to go up/down stairs for awhile, he spent his days (and nights) on the couch. I slept on our twin aerobed downstairs, too. I hated the thought of him needing something in the middle of the night and me being upstairs and not be able to hear/help him!

But, even when I wasn't around he was kept in good company :)

And for you "gotta-know-the-gory-details" people.......

He had a month of convalescent leave and like four months of physical therapy. Altho, he did have pain and suffering (as typical with surgery), he is so glad to have gotten it done and has recovered perfectly!!!