http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/article/2011/07/08/246271_news.html
http://www.c7f.navy.mil/news/2011/07-july/014.htm
http://www.ctf76.navy.mil/news/2011/july/110705germantown.htm
Kumamoto trip with Pete
We took a one day road trip to Kumamoto one Saturday. Since Pete was only visiting Japan for a short while, we thought it was important to take him out and show him another city. Here are some of the pictures:
Nate and David by a 800 year old tree.
Nate and Kelsey by a thing.
Nate rocks out during some karaoke
Found a ninja by Kumamoto Castle.
I'm the one that isn't a ninja.
Kelsey at Karaoke. If you dance, you get bonus points.
Nate and David by a 800 year old tree.
Nate and Kelsey by a thing.
Nate rocks out during some karaoke
Pete, Kelsey, Nate, and David at Magic Bar
Found a ninja by Kumamoto Castle.
I'm the one that isn't a ninja.
Kelsey at Karaoke. If you dance, you get bonus points.
Bartender at Magic Bar. We were the only people there, so the bartender gave us a private magic show. It was a lot of fun.
USS GERMANTOWN - My new home
Here are some pictures of my new ship and ESG-7 (Expeditionary Strike Group -7), which is a little like a carrier Strike Group, but consists of all Amphibious ships and a Marine Expeditionary Unit. ESG-7 is the GERMANTOWN, ESSEX, TORTUGA, and DENVER.
USS GERMANTOWN. I live here.
AAV (Amphibious Assault Vehicle) coming from our well-deck. When we deploy, we fill the well-deck with various amphibious craft. We can purposefully take on water (ballast) and flood the well-deck and drive the craft out from the stern of the ship.
AAVs with the TORTUGA in the background.
Marines lining up to embark the ESSEX for the deployment. Often mistaken for a carrier, it is a big deck amphib that embarks helicopters (super cobras, sea knights, seahawks, sea stallions, hueys) and harriers.
A AV-8B Harrier on the flight deck of the ESSEX. Did you ever see True Lies? It's that... sort of. It can vertically take off and land.
USS GERMANTOWN. I live here.
AAV (Amphibious Assault Vehicle) coming from our well-deck. When we deploy, we fill the well-deck with various amphibious craft. We can purposefully take on water (ballast) and flood the well-deck and drive the craft out from the stern of the ship.
AAVs with the TORTUGA in the background.
Marines lining up to embark the ESSEX for the deployment. Often mistaken for a carrier, it is a big deck amphib that embarks helicopters (super cobras, sea knights, seahawks, sea stallions, hueys) and harriers.
A AV-8B Harrier on the flight deck of the ESSEX. Did you ever see True Lies? It's that... sort of. It can vertically take off and land.
Los Angeles
I had to train for a week in San Diego for continuation of my practicing license. I had some friends visit me and we took an overnight trip to Los Angeles. I had never been there before and it was surprisingly nice. Here are a few of the random photos I took:
Do you recognize this house? Ever seen 90210?
View from the hotel of the Hollywood sign.
View of LA from the mountain. The pollution in the air was disgusting. Too bad- it would be a nice place otherwise.
Mel's drive-in
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Goodbye Whitney, Tokyo
Shinagawa train station
Why is this in English?
The famous Ginza of Tokyo. It's like the 5th Avenue of Japan. All of the upscale Tokyo shopping occurs here.
We ordered a lot of food!
And here is Whitney. I am sure she will be happy I posted this picture =)
Beppu, Japan
Jigoku (hell) Udon. I love spicy foods, but this was so it hot my eyes were tearing. おいしかったです (it was delicious!). I put a coin next to the soup so you can see how large it is.
Jigoku Geyser. It is not as big as Old Faithful, but it erupts more often. It erupts every 30-40 minutes for 5-6 minutes like clockwork.
Jigoku Geyser. It is not as big as Old Faithful, but it erupts more often. It erupts every 30-40 minutes for 5-6 minutes like clockwork.
Jigoku (hell) , Beppu, Japan
Beppu, Japan has the second largest volume of hot water in the world after Yellowstone Park and has the largest number of hot spring sources in Japan. Beppu contains nine major geothermal hot spots, which are sometimes referred to as the "nine hells of Beppu". These are photos I took in Jigoku park (Hell park). Dispite the name, it was quite beautifu. You can see how the sulfur and steam turned the water a light blue/green. In some of the ponds, the steam heated the clay in the dirt and dyed the water dark red.
Kujukushima Oyster festival
Throughout the year, if one goes kayaking around the 99 islands, one will see areas of ocean roped off. These are oyster farms. Once the oysters mature, they are harvested and sold during the Oyster festival in Sasebo- which is famous in Japan. You buy a bag of oysters, charcoal and lemon juice (and beer and shrimp, etc) and sit next to little makeshift brick grills to cook them. The festival is during February, so it can get pretty cold outside, but that doesn't stop people from drinking, eating, and spending the day with friends. It was a great time.
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