Tree Lighting Ceremony

Yesterday was the annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at the NEX.  It was about an hour and a half and included various singing, dance, cheer and band performances by the local children.  I only managed to snag a few pics and completely forgot to take a picture of the actual Christmas Tree!

The event started with the arrival of Santa via a decorated golf cart and then sat on his chair to observe all the festivities.

A couple of our cuties sang with the Chapel Youth Choir.  Notice Tori is the only girl not wearing a dress?  Well, for some strange reason, she didn't want to wear a beautiful dress yesterday.  For anyone who knows her, they would know that this behavior is completely anti-Tori.  Usually for her, everyday is princess day and she jumps at the chance to get dressed up.  Oh well.

I think my favorite part of the day was the sense of community.  For events like this, much of the community shows up.  It's the thing to do.  Guantanamo Bay is sometimes referred to as "The World's Largest Gated Community" and I'd say that is a pretty accurate description.

Two Minutes

Two minutes used to be the amount of time it took to drive out of my neighborhood.

Now two minutes is the amount of time it takes to drive to the following places:

• Vic's work
• The store
• The gas station
• Starbucks 
• All the Restaurants available to us
• Soccer
• The Library
• The Gym
• Swimming Pool
• Church
• The Bank
• The Movie Theater
• Post Office
• The Bowling Alley
• The Marina

Do I like it here?  Um, yes!  Is my life less stressful?  Most definitely! 

Happy Thanksgiving

A very Happy Thanksgiving to all from us in Guantanamo Bay!

We had a traditional Thanksgiving meal here at our home and had several guests join us.  Our guests  included two of Vic's Jamaican co-workers, two young service men, a woman who is a pediatrician and currently residing in Brazil as a missionary (she is here visiting a friend) and a man born in Afghanistan who works as an interpreter here and goes to church with us.  It was so wonderful to have so many different people from various backgrounds.  Many stories were shared.  One of the most enjoyable experiences for me being here has been being able to interact with so many different people from so many cultures.  There is so much to learn if one is simply willing to listen.

Fishing Fun

I have officially joined the ranks of those who love fishing!  Check out the pic below and it will probably be apparent as to why.

The large fish at the top of the picture is a Horse-Eyed Jack and weighs about 7lbs.  I snagged this guy on my pole, but I don't have the skills necessary to land a fish this big just yet.  I quickly handed the pole over to Vic and watched the struggle ensue.  This guy fought hard and Vic spent a good 10 minutes wearing him out before finally winning the fight and bringing him ashore.

The rest of the fish are all varieties of Snapper and include Red, Yellow Tail and Mutton.

Pumpkin Patch

With 90 degree weather, it didn't quite feel right, but we took a trip to the pumpkin patch here sponsored by the Youth Center.  Hayrides, bouncy castles and rock climbing walls were among the fun activities offered there.  Pumpkins were plentiful and there were more than enough to go around.  In fact, each person in our family was able to bring one home!  The best part?  You guessed it: totally free!  If we had bought 8 pumpkins at a pumpkin patch in the U.S., I'm guessing it would've been nearly $100.  I actually have never bought one at a patch before so I'm not totally sure about that, but I'm guessing they must be between $10-$20 each, right?

Actually, we only brought home 7 pumpkins.  Somehow, in the excitement, Tori forgot to pick out a pumpkin and by the time we realized it, we were already home.  She and Vincent ended up agreeing to share one.  Since I'm not an artist in any form, I cooked mine and made pumpkin butter out of it.  Yum!  Everyone else carved theirs up.  Pumpkin carving in our family is serious business and hours are spent perfecting each one.  Vic is the mastermind behind it all and usually ends up doing most of the work.  Jordan and Alana though each fully carved their own this year.  Victor Jr. did most of his and Celina was able to do her entire outline.  Jordan's pumpkin is missing from the photos because she took longer to finish hers, but she did Yoda and it was so great!  I wish that I had a picture of it.

Here they are all lit up with a string of lights instead of the traditional candles.  

 Vic carved a boxer in honor of our Tyson

Alana carved this Mocking Jay, from the book, Hunger Games

Celina chose Tinkerbell

Victor Jr. worked almost as hard on his Call of Duty: Black Ops pumpkin almost 

as he works on the actual video game!

And finally, Vic carved the Avengers symbol for Vincent and Tori

Post Hurricane Sandy

"It's only a Category 1 Hurricane" is something I will never say!

Hurricane Sandy unleashed her fury on Guantanamo Bay!  It was quite scary and unnerving.  I eagerly anticipated the end to the worst of it which lasted about 6 hours.  The whipping wind, sideways blowing rain and sections of flashing being torn off of our roof made for a sleepless night for most of us.  Our two teenagers, in typical teenage fashion, managed to sleep through the entire storm.  Not following suit, our little ones (and the dog), followed us around for most of the night and only managed to catch winks of sleep here and there.  The power went off around midnight so as the temperature increased in the house, the chances for sleep decreased.

"Should we really spend money on a generator?" is also something I will never say again!

As soon as the worst of the storm passed, Vic got the generator started up and plugged in a small a/c unit, some fans and the surround sound.  I was exceedingly grateful for Vic's purchase that I tried to convince him not to make.  The cool air was a welcome feeling after a long, sticky night.  And while our power was restored this morning around 10 a.m., the three hours that we had the generator running were wonderful.

As far as damage, our house and yard only had very minor damage.  Some flashing and gutters torn off, branches from trees blown down, and a few shingles blown off the roof.  The cover over the neighborhood playground is shredded to pieces.  During the last tropical storm, a small hole started, but Hurricane Sandy finished it off.  I'm sad about that since it provides such wonderful shade for the kids to play during the blazing hot days here.  I'm hopeful that it will be replaced soon but I wouldn't be surprised if it takes awhile.  After all, there are certainly much more pressing issues around base.

As far as damage to the whole base, I have seen a few pics that are very disturbing!  It looks like the marina sustained quite a bit of damage.  Many of the boats are up on the shore or on top of each other on the docks.  Also, I hear there is a good bit of damage to the dock at Ferry Landing.  But overall, it seems as though most of the homes sustained little damage and hopefully there were no people hurt.  If you would like to see some pics for yourself, go to Facebook, look for the page called, Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and check out the album for yourself.

Hurricane Sandy has certainly added to our adventure here in GTMO, but I'm sure glad it is over!  I now am quite sure that each decision that we previously made while living in FL to evacuate from a hurricane was the right decision!

 This pic was actually taken long before the hurricane force winds arrived.  The worst part of it was a night time so I couldn't get any pictures during the storm.

 Sounds of this tearing off during the night was pretty scary!  There are several spots around our house and that look just like this.

Here is the shredded covering over the playground.  This made for a very sad Vincent! 

Hurricane Sandy

"Condition of Readiness 3 has been set by the commander of NAVSTA..."

We were greeted this morning with sirens blaring and the above announcement along with directions to get prepared for the impending storm.  Hurricane Sandy, indeed, has set her sights on Southeastern Cuba which is precisely where Guantanamo Bay is located.

 From the weather reports, it looks as though the center will pass just to the west of us tomorrow morning.  This means that we will be on the eastern side of the storm; not exactly the place to be!  Right now I think the winds are about 80 mph, so a Cat 1 storm.

Our house is entirely ready.  I cleaned up the yard, bought necessary supplies and situated the generator for easy access should we lose power.  Movies, candy, snacks and chips accompany the necessary supplies of flashlights, water and candles.  Vic should get out of work around 7pm and then Condition of Readiness 2 should happen sometime this evening meaning that we will be confined to quarters until the all clear is given.

Again, we are safe and have all the supplies and resources that we need.  Since our home is hurricane proof, we don't have to leave to go to a shelter and will ride out the storm in the comfort of our home.

I'll post again when it's all over.