Tag Archives: PCS

Advice needed from my moving military mommas

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So doing the express shipment this week and I’m trying to figure out what to pack. Have an idea of some basics, but I would love to hear some advice about what you needed/didn’t need and what were kicking yourself for not packing!

Our situation:

We are doing our express shipment/unaccompanied baggage shipment first, HHG pack out last. We are doing this on the *very* slim chance that we’ll actually get a house within two months. So we’ll need household stuff, kitchen stuff, things so that we can live in an empty house (although hopefully we can get loaner furniture)

So all my seasoned travelers, what to bring??

Going Away Lunch

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There are two of us getting ready to PCS soon at work. We decided to all go out together for a quick lunch for a final farewell. It was at one of my favorite places, Las Tinajas.  We had a really nice lunch, the only thing missing was the sangria!

 

Me and Ladonna, my partner in crime at work. We keep the sarcasm level up around the place. I am really trying to figure out a way to smuggle her to Hawaii with me!

Renee and Patricia, our director and assistant director. Patricia is on her way to Germany, so we are headed to opposite ends of the globe. Renee actually was the CDC director in Hawaii before Rota, small world! (Also my bosses are a LOT of fun!)

Just some of our assortment of appetizers, chorizo, my favorite!

And center stage, my delicious brocheta, basically a kabob. The is the chef style, beef, chorizo, bacon and veggies. Served over fried potato slices. Heaven on a plate.

Our fun group of ladies!

Adios Las Tinajas!

El Bucarito! Our trip to the goat farm…

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(Prepare for pictures from ANOTHER class field trip!)

Yesterday we took a field trip to a cute little goat farm that is literally minutes from base. I am kicking myself for never visiting before.  The farm grown their own feed (organically) and uses the goat manure to fertilize the fields. Love that.  They also have a variety of other animals including donkeys, pigs (black Iberian pigs – the ones that get turned into famous jamon!), and birds of prey.  The owners live on site and they were super friendly and the entire staff was absolutely wonderful to our visiting group.

On to the photos!

The farm! The pig area is on the left, the goat fields are on the right.  The store is the building half cut off on the right. (Taken on a moving bus so not the best shot.)

Happy Bus Rider.

As soon as we walked by the pasture the goats all ran over to us. (Because I am a nerd I immediately thought of the Jurassic Park line: “They’re flocking”. Yeah. Just me.)

Prepare yourself, this is a goat picture heavy post. But they are just so dang cute!

Ha. He kept trying to eat my camera. Goats are dumb. But very photogenic.

O admiring the goats from a distance. They were a little nibbley. (Also I think the kids necklaces should read: “If found please return to the CDC” but no one agrees with me.)

Budding grape vine. The farm had some vineyards as well as a small orchard.

Our guide and I couldn’t figure out what this was. I thought cherry (cerise is cherry right?) She thought not. Fruit tree blossoms look so similar. It was probably peach or plum. Or apple or pear. Who knows. My mom probably.

We pose in doors a lot.

I want this bbq area please.

This is the owners patio. What we would call a courtyard. I love Spanish patios. Especially plain rocks turned into something awesome with a little crapload of time.

Also red geraniums in old pots or barrels. Swoon.

All the ladies getting milked. Of the 2,000 goats they have on the farm, 1,200 give milk. Twice a day. It’s no wonder it’s all automated!

One of the babies in the kid room… They were SO cute!

Feeding pigs! We had to warn the kids to keep fingers off the fence. Those pigs will bite!  These pigs are the famous Iberian black pigs. The males who look promising are moved and fed acorns to give the Iberian jamon the distinctive flavor that it is famous for. (For which it is famous. Whatever.)

Also. These pigs are hard core. Nose rings for all! This actually keeps them from rooting and tearing up the pasture or fence line, but I prefer to think that they have punk rock pigs.

I love mules. That is all.

This farm also breeds birds of prey, including owls. So we got to pet this tiny, bitty, sweet, fluffy baby owl. “IT’S SO FLUFFY” (name that movie, if you can’t we can’t be friends)

O meet owl.

Tiny!

Not quite so cute and adorable but a beautiful bird.

Falconry demonstration. Please someone tell me, what the heck is keeping these birds from flying away? They aren’t domesticated dogs, they are wild birds with unclipped wings. Why do they come back? Are they just really well fed? I wish my Spanish didn’t suck ass so I could have talked to the trainer.

The kids all loved this cheese, it was sweet and creamy and mild. So good!

These were more for the adults, strong, firm and pungent.  The rosemary one was really good.

And the chorizo. Made from those adorable pigs we saw earlier.  Think of salami but better. This was excellent and the kids couldn’t get enough. I will be back for this as well as some fresh goat cheese!

Ana one of the teachers and a friend, got to get up close and personal with one of the adult owls.

So did Val. All the cuddling was freaking me out. I kept telling them the owl was going to eat their eyes. Get the damn bird out of your face!

Hello gorgeous!

Goodbye, el Bucarito! We’ll be back!

Directions:

Go out the Spanish gate (back gate on base) take a left. You should see the farm on the right in about 5 minutes. It is off one of the perimeter roads. Store is open seven days a week. Tours are available for groups but you have to call ahead. If you have a small group you can see the cheese making process.

Getting the dog ready(ish) for Hawaii…

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So, Hawaii is a rabies free island which is wonderful but it sure makes it hell to get your pets there.  To be fair they have seriously updated their policies and now offer direct release at the airport instead of having to stick them in quarantine for 120 days.

If we had to leave him in a kennel for that long we probably would rethink bringing him with us, I mean all the way from Spain to Hawaii just to then leave him in a cage? Poor thing!

Thankfully we’ve already got a couple of things done on the checklist, first rabies shot, check. Microchip, check. Now I need to take him back to our vet for a second rabies shot and paperwork.  Thankfully our vet is on the base so they have experience with this, also our vet receptionist moved here from Hawaii so she’s happy to answer any questions! I am just hoping he fits in the large kennel not the GIANT one!

Honestly we REALLY were going to wait until we moved back stateside to get a puppy, we tried to wait! We didn’t want to have to deal with shipping a dog back stateside, let alone to the Pacific!

Our cutie Bowser at 5 weeks

But really how could we resist that face! My husband went with a friend to look at a litter and I told him I wouldn’t be mad if he brought one home! It ended up for the best because we wouldn’t have gotten a dog in Hawaii if we had waited and my kids LOVE this dog.

Thankfully the Hawaii Department of Agriculture breaks it down step by step and explains what you need to get done and the timeline to get it done.  So as long as you follow each step EXACTLY you’ll be fine!

Here’s the Hawaii DoA page for direct release: http://hawaii.gov/hdoa/ai/aqs/aqsbrochure.pdf

Monday Monday

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After a thrilling three-day weekend full of lots of relaxing on the couch, homework and a no-getting-out-of-it trip to the commissary (seriously there was NO meat left in my freezer) Monday is here.

Today is actually my big sister’s birthday, mine is tomorrow. Happy Birthday, Steph! We are six years and one day apart. My daughter teased her relentlessly about getting a senior discount now. Wishing I was back home with her to help celebrate but I just have to send my birthday wishes via Skype instead! I honestly can’t imagine living here and doing this overseas thing WITHOUT the internet! How did people do it?!

I’m also a little sad because the last of my group of close friends is moving away tomorrow.  We had the BEST group of girlfriends and they have all moved away one by one! I have never lived on a military base before and even though I did move a lot as a kid this is just different! I never really thought I was going to make friends here, I have a terrible military wife stereotype.  Was I wrong! We had such a wonderful time celebrating birthdays, babies, holidays and just hanging out together drinking coffee while the kids play.  We really got lucky with our group of friends, we all clicked so well and so did our kids.  I’ve made more friends but haven’t gotten those close ones again, when you are a ‘short-timer’ its hard to put the effort into new friendships! Terrible I know!

After almost 3 1/2 years here I do love the fact that I can go to the commissary or soccer practice or the school and run into people I know.  This is a small base and you end up knowing most people by face if not by name!

Should be a slow week, no big plans so far… three-day week for the kids this week AND next week due to parent/teacher conferences and then Thanksgiving. They don’t know how good they have it!

Hola from Rota, Spain!

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Hey there! I am a Navy spouse living on Naval Station Rota, Spain. We’ve lived here for over 3 years and we’ve loved pretty much every minute of it. Living overseas has been an adventure and we’ve travelled all over Europe with our two kids.
We recently found out that we will be making the LONG journey from our Spanish casa to a new Hawaiian home! I’m really excited to experience living in Hawaii and I am looking forward to travelling in the Pacific.

Many people may not be cut out for island life but I am not one of them! I am a beach bum and my kids are both water babies and year ’round summertime sounds just right to me!

Living overseas isn’t for everyone, I know many, many people who complain about the lack of Target, Starbucks or American restaurants. And yes, it does suck not having the conveniences of home at my fingertips but I wouldn’t trade it for evenings spent at my favorite pizza place on the bay, watching the sun set. Or meeting so many wonderful Spanish friends who have shown me just how much a feria can be.

I am excited but sad about my upcoming move and now feel the need to cram in as much as I can before I leave this insanely wonderful country!