Military – SarahRuthSeeks

I don’t have a picture to go with this, but I wanted to talk about it anyway. FRG (Family readiness group) meetings are a way to connect with other spouses on the boat. They are meant to inform you about how to prepare for having your sailor gone, and then while he’s gone offer camaraderie/information about their schedule. They are about once a month. We had one on Monday.

There were about 15 wives there and a gaggle of children. We talk about having playdates, doing fundraisers, and if there are any port calls we might be able to go see our Sailor at. I offered to do a fundraiser for them for Christmas mini photo sessions for after the boat comes back. We use those funds to host things like a welcome home BBQ or gifts for certain occasions (I think?).

It was a pot luck, but I wasn’t really interested in a lot of the food. There was a buffalo chicken dip and the chicken was indistinguishable… I know that a lot of people use a blender to “shred” chicken and I think that’s the method they went with. It’s a weird consistency thing that I can’t handle.

There was childcare offered, but honestly the kids were mostly in and out of the room they were hanging out in that I didn’t find it was super worth it. I am very thankful Brian and I don’t have kids yet.

Nothing terribly exciting, but it’s something about boat life many people don’t know about so there you have it.

Brian’s new Captain is trying to turn the morale of the boat around, and I think we were early benefactors. When we arrived at the airport we had a greeting party of four men in uniform and two leis for each of us. We were also given a welcome bag with some sunscreen, Hawaiian treats, water, etc. We felt very welcomed. The flowers smell beautiful. And of course we had to wear our matching outfit.

We stayed in a hotel for a few days when we first arrived in Honolulu, otherwise we would’ve had to sleep on the floor in our new apartment. We chose the Ala Moana, which wasn’t the most optimal choice… we should’ve picked the Hale Koa which is apparently a really nice Navy hotel in downtown. The Navy will help pay for your hotel, but TBD whether they will pay for ours or not because we already had an apartment available. Yes, you’re expected to land and get into your apartment with furniture on the same day. Whoever manages those logistics is a superhero. Nonetheless, Ala Moana was in a great location in Honolulu. I took a walk to go see the beach. Here’s looking the direction of Diamond Head.

Then in the opposite direction toward Pearl Harbor. I am not totally convinced I was in the same spot for both those, but you get the point. Beaches and high rises everywhere.

This whole thing was pretty much a blur, so who knows when we did what, but one afternoon we went to Barefoot Beach Cafe. It was the epitome of touristy tourist place, and I would 10/10 not recommend going there unless you want that. You have to fight for a table and the food was typical beach quality. There was live music which was kinda nice. We had this pineapple smoothie? Thing? In a pineapple. But it was like orange juice with pulp except thicker and pineapple. Anyway, just take my word for it and don’t go here. However, the busser was really nice.

At one point we went to a huge mall, called the Ala Moana mall. It really is huge and there are no directories… like what? I would get lost without phone GPS. But of course I went to the Disney store and proceeded to buy Hawaiian Disney Dress, shorts, and a beach blanket which has come in very handy. This my best hoola dance stance. Room for improvement.

FRG Meeting

Honolulu Part 1