Hello Again,

Most of may have thought that I jumped ship in Malaysia to become a beach
bum but unfortunately I didn't.  We just spent a long 4 weeks at sea that
was not easy.  It is more the boredom of routine that slows the time down.
The team was getting a bit touchy with each other and everyone needed a
break.  We pulled into Bahrain in the Persian Gulf and it was a good time to
recharge.  We all survived the break and are now back out in the Persian
Gulf.  We will in the Persian Gulf until the end of May.  The ship's
aircraft fly everyday over Southern Iraq enforcing Operation Southern Watch,
the No-Fly zone.  The aircraft have been engaged by surface-to-air missiles
and anti-aircraft artillery.  The aircraft then bomb them into oblivion with
laser guided bombs.  I have seen the footage and it is pretty devastating.
Still the Iraq's light up their gun radars, though.  The Cruiser and
Destroyers of the Battle Group are on a different mission which is the
Maritime Intercept Operation of the UN.  This is the enforcement of oil
embargoes on Iran and Iraq for UN sanctions.  The ships stop the freighters
or tankers and then send in Navy Seals or Marines to search the ship.  I
have seen the footage of this and it is unbelievable the instant
coordination that goes on.

Below is my adventure in Bahrain and some pictures to go with them.  See you
all in the summer!

After 4 long weeks out to sea the Stennis finally weighed anchor at the port
of Bahrain.  The whole team was very relieved to have a day off after 29
days straight of working 10-14 hour days.

Day 1
They called the liberty call at 10 AM, which is earlier then they have ever
called it. I was caught in the shower so I had to rush to finish up.  My
bags had been packed for days so I was able to catch up with the rest of the
team in the Hanger Bay.  They have a new system called a Smart Card system
that logs everyone in and out of the ship. This always causes a 10-15 minute
delay.  After this though there are always plenty of boats to take us pier
side.  We hopped on one and rode the 4 miles into the dock area.  It was a
heavily industrious harbor and the water, though warm, looked a bit
polluted.  Tons of jellyfish were also seen throughout the water.  We then
walked about a half-mile down the pier and into the American Naval Base that
was there.  The gates and barricades to this place were heavier then the
White House and more heavily defended.  For most of the ship, they were not
granted overnight liberty and so the base would the focus of there
relaxation. There were bars setup and all sorts of activities planned.  We
caught a cab to our hotel, the Le Meridien that was the nicest in Bahrain
and had its own private beach.  The hotel was like an oasis in the desert
because it was outside the main city of Manama and surrounded by scrub
desert.  At the gate of the hotel an armed guard with a machine gun searched
the trunk of the cab.  Inside the hotel there were all Saudi's. It was the
end of the Hajj, their most religious time of the year, and they all come to
Bahrain to drink, smoke, and do other sins against Allah.  The whole ship
was told explicitly to stay out of their way by the XO of the ship.  Our
rooms weren't ready so we dumped our bags and went out to the pool caf, for
some lunch.  Lunch was a huge buffet spread that had shwarma's, Persian
rice, and all sorts of good Mid East food. We ate and drank for a couple of
hours.  I then got my room and changed to go to the beach.  The beach was
man-made and enclosed by a lagoon where I sat in the sun the rest of the
afternoon.  At 7PM some of us met to go get some drinks before dinner.  We
walked to the Trader Vic's next to the hotel and found it open but empty.
They apparently don't believe in happy hour.  We had some drinks and ate
there.  At 11 PM we left there to go meet up with some people from the ship
at an Irish Pub. They had Guinness on tap so I was happy.  We followed most
of the pilots from the Stennis to the Warbler that had a band that rocked
until 2 AM.  We then returned exhausted to the hotel and after making some
embarrassing late night calls (which of course is daytime in the States) to
friends, I went to sleep.
Day 2
The second day started much later as I was sleeping spread eagle on my king
sized bed and didn't want to leave it-ever.  I stumbled to the beach with a
headache and sat on the beach for the entire afternoon.  The 4weeks at sea
had apparently wiped out my tolerance.  I walked around the lagoon and took
it easy.  Since I realized that most restaurant did not start the food
service until 9 PM I decided to eat a late lunch at 4 PM which consisted of
the same incredible buffet as the day before.  We all met up in the club
level of the hotel around 8 PM for drinks before we decided to eat.  I was
not feeling to great but decided to join some of the people who were going
to the Italian restaurant that was located inside the hotel.  This was an
exceptional place where the food was very good.  The Veal Milanese rivaled
the best I have had in the States.  I felt much better after that and was
willing to join the rest of the group going out to a nightclub.  The
nightclub turned out to be pretty dead and at 2AM we called it a night.
Day 3
I woke up around 12PM and again had to fight to get out of bed.  I had set
my A/C to very cold and was buried under many soft blankets.  I met up with
a few people and ate lunch at the caf, on the beach. We then walked over to
the lagoon and sat on the beach over there for the rest of the afternoon.
The best thing about it was that there was a golfcart that drove around with
drinks and snacks for everyone.  I read my book and dozed most of the
afternoon.   The sun was never particular strong the whole time we were
there which I think was do to the amount of dust from the Saudi desert 30
miles across the Persian Gulf.  It reduces visibility across the entire Gulf
and into Iran.  3 of us decided to do the tourist thing in Bahrain later in
the afternoon.  The only thing we were told to go see was this new mall that
was built.  To me it was just like seeing any other mall except it was a
little smaller then US malls.  I didn't buy anything but it was interesting
to look at prices that were about double US standards.  You can haggle for
any price including a pair of socks but you couldn't get them to US prices.
Everything on Bahrain is imported because it is an island.  Upon returning
to the hotel around 8PM we met up with a group that was going to the
Lebanese restaurant inside the hotel.  This was also rated the best in
Bahrain.  It was quite a feast with 5 main courses spread from 10 PM until 2
AM with bellydancers and singers entertaining everyone.  It was in a huge
tent with beautiful Persian carpets everywhere.  I never ate so much and had
a great time. I literally rolled into bed.
Day 4
Our last day since we had to get back on the ship tonight.  Liberty expired
at 6 AM in the morning and it too much of a hassle to try and go in the AM.
I woke up and spent most of the day doing PwC paperwork by dialing in.
There were hundreds of junk emails to toss out and maybe 5 real messages
over 4 weeks of no connection.  I had the usual time and expense Nazis
screaming at me to sign timesheets.  After 3 months and multiple
explanations they still don't get that I have no connectivity.  I can't wait
to see that appear on my GCF.  I got most of what I needed done.  I then
needed to get my watch fixed and set out to find an Omega dealer in Bahrain.
After following at least 6 peoples directions to places they swore were
there, I gave up and would wait until Dubai.  Dubai is a larger city and has
multiple Omega dealers.  For our final meal we decided to again stay at the
hotel.  There was an excellent Indian restaurant in the hotel.  I couldn't
tell you the Indian name for the food I ordered but it was curry chicken and
a basmati rice/lamb combination.  Again I ate way too much and had to roll
out of there.  We packed up and headed to ship around 10 PM.

All in all it was great to get away from the ship for a couple of days after
the 4-week binge.  Bahrain doesn't have much to it and is basically
supported by all the Saudi's who drive across every weekend to party.  The
American base is tiny there.  I am glad the next 3 stops in the Persian Gulf
will be Dubai.  I was also told that Dubai has better values on gold and
rugs.  From now on all of our at-sea-periods will be around two weeks, Thank
God!

 <<Trader Vics.jpg>>  <<Meridien Pool.jpg>>  <<Meridien Front.jpg>>
<<Bahrain across Bay.jpg>>  <<Indian Rest Wayne Me Simon Ron.jpg>>
<<Meridien Beach lagoon.jpg>>  <<Lebanese Rest.jpg>> 
 - Trader Vics.jpg
 - Meridien Pool.jpg
 - Meridien Front.jpg
 - Bahrain across Bay.jpg
 - Indian Rest Wayne Me Simon Ron.jpg
 - Meridien Beach lagoon.jpg
 - Lebanese Rest.jpg