I have completed my tour in Muscat, Oman and am now spending the first half of my 25 days of home leave on the beautiful island of Kauai. My son lives here with his wonderful wife and their adorable 3 sons...my grandsons. Home Leave is mandatory and must be taken between overseas assignments. And when I say 25 days,just weekdays are counted in that 25. This does not include weekends and/or holidays. It's a time when you reconnect with family and friends and it helps you stay grounded after serving overseas for an extended period of time.
I'm a workaholic, to a certain degree. So, for me, home leave can be painful. I'll be ready to get back to work after about 3 weeks. Keeping busy is key for me. Currently, I have no problem doing that! Today I took my 5 year old grandson, Gavin, on a trip to 2 different beaches here and we had a blast. He insisted on bringing his pail and fishing net just in case we saw fish. We didn't. But we did encounter a monk seal at Haena Beach. At Ke'e Beach (or End of the Road Beach) we saw some pretty wild surf. You could see 2 para surfers surfing at Tunnels, on the outer edges of the reef. It was beautiful. It was kind of a rainy day but hey...it's Hawaii and who cares if a little rain falls on you?? On the way back, we stopped and had a Bubba Burger in Hanalei. Gavin is so much fun to be with and we had so much fun today.
In about a week, I head for Home Leave, Part 2 in Fort Worth, Texas. It will be wonderful to see my 97 year old Dad again. And have some great Mexican food! But until then, I will continue to spend quality Home Leave Time with Gavin and my other 2 grandsons, Micah and Makana.
I'm a workaholic, to a certain degree. So, for me, home leave can be painful. I'll be ready to get back to work after about 3 weeks. Keeping busy is key for me. Currently, I have no problem doing that! Today I took my 5 year old grandson, Gavin, on a trip to 2 different beaches here and we had a blast. He insisted on bringing his pail and fishing net just in case we saw fish. We didn't. But we did encounter a monk seal at Haena Beach. At Ke'e Beach (or End of the Road Beach) we saw some pretty wild surf. You could see 2 para surfers surfing at Tunnels, on the outer edges of the reef. It was beautiful. It was kind of a rainy day but hey...it's Hawaii and who cares if a little rain falls on you?? On the way back, we stopped and had a Bubba Burger in Hanalei. Gavin is so much fun to be with and we had so much fun today.
In about a week, I head for Home Leave, Part 2 in Fort Worth, Texas. It will be wonderful to see my 97 year old Dad again. And have some great Mexican food! But until then, I will continue to spend quality Home Leave Time with Gavin and my other 2 grandsons, Micah and Makana.
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| Gavin, ready for a fish sighting |
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