Kiel, Germany & Sailing with the U.S.S. Mount Whitney

In June 2009 I met the U.S.S. Mount Whitney up in Kiel, Germany to sail with it for a few weeks to do what I do, but on a ship! We were in Kiel for a few days before we set off. We were there during "Kiel Week" which is a big food and drink festival and the Navies of several countries come to meet and greet, etc. I ate several crepes (my favorite) and am constantly in search of the tastiest crepe in Europe (the current top contender is in Paris)...
No, I didn't drink all this beer! One of my friends who was with me at the festival drank much faster than me, so I was always behind! I think at least one of those beers is his!

Since they bake the bread specifically for hot dogs, you'd think they could make it longer to actually FIT the hot dogs, wouldn't you think?!Besides doing lots of crepe eating, we were able to go to the submarine museum as well and go inside an old sub. The curator of the sub posed with me...

I got to ride in the German Bundeswehr van, too! And yes, this was a high point of my life.

Our two German Navy liaisons (Daniel & Stefan) accompanied us and showed us around town...
I had a great time with new friends watching and taking part in some of the activities aboard once we set sail. This one was during a safety/medical drill...



While we were sailing, the Weapons Officer (my friend Mal who is shooting in this picture) held a Practical Weapons Test. I shot a perfect score!
The ship pulled into Rota, Spain for a day - I wish we could have stayed longer! The city was clean, the people were nice, and I was able to practice my Spanish! I met my coworkers in our Rota office and even had a Starbucks from their retail center! Yum!

Just beautiful - peaceful, serene, and full of palm trees! It was like being at a resort. Living here would be a dream!
At the 4th of July weekend celebration on base... I was persuaded to get on a mechanical bull... it's Spain - of course I got on the bull! A couple of short weeks later I would be running with them, so might as well get accustomed!

On our trip we sailed through the Straits of Gibraltar... the weather was just gorgeous and sunny, and we all put on our "whites" for an awards ceremony. This is Beth, she's one of the Supply Officers on the ship...


Q and I tried doing a "Titanic" thing, but it just ended up looking like he was trying to throw me off the ship!
Just absolutely beautiful!

We were still in the water on the 4th of July, so we had a "Steel Beach Picnic"! Burgers, hot dogs, potato salad - the works, but we were on the deck of the ship! We were able to shoot some of the bigger guns as well...Beautiful sunset on the 4th of July!