Anybody here from "g" lately.  He must be having too good of a time, or he is working too much.

He sounds like he's doing great. He's liking the scenery, the job and the lifestyle. He's looking forward to getting his boat out there too.

is he out there for a short time or is it a possible long term stay?

I think its at least a two year stint since he is there without his wife. I know that is usually how it is with the enlisted guys at least, not sure about ballers ;)

Depending on a lot of factors it sounds like it could be long term as an option.

I thought he said wife would be joining him this fall. Also I believe he said a long tour, might even end up retiring over there, lucky Bas###.

If his wife joins, makes it a little longer :) Retirement is always a good thing.

Man, like they really need the water.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/07/26/19705163-flood-alerts-issued-as-tropical-storm-flossie-heads-toward-hawaii?lite&ocid=msnhp&pos=3

Hey guys....I'm doing well.  Thanks for asking.  Not been on the boards much.  Between working and checking out the scene here on Oahu, my days seem to slip by pretty quickly.  Yes, Hawaii is amazing.  The weather, the scenery, the ocean are incredible.  The job is busy, but I'm working with good people with an important mission.  The pace of life is different here, even in the workplace.  With the exception of exercise and mission prep periods, every Thursday, we leave by 3PM and most Fridays (Aloha Friday) people start to drift out of the office after 1PM.

I'm living in Waikiki, so the activities are endless.  in 5 minutes I can be on the beach (the one right by the Duke statue).  Bars, clubs, food are an elevator ride away.  The people in Honolulu are some of the most diverse population you could imagine.  Of course, the tourist population is ever-present, but the inhabitants of Honolulu come from every corner of the globe.  It's a significant melting pot of culture and races.  Unless one is a complete social dolt, it would be very difficult to get bored here.  It is true that you can find a rainbow almost every day here.  One of the pics below is a shot from my balcony the other day.

But....paradise is not without a price.  Traffic sucks, price of everything is off the hook high. Living space is small.  I live in a run-down 345 sq studio apartment and pay over 2K per month for it.  The boating scene is nothing like the mainland.  With a few exceptions, you find either multi-million dollar yachts or local guys in fishing boats.  The ramps are crap and the Mercruiser techs on the island are of questionable skill and attention to detail. No indoor storage units.  The performance boat inventory on the island I've found thus far:   one each, 38 Top Gun,  35 Fountain, Baja 420, Baja 29 Outlaw, 28 Donzi.   

Here are some random shots taken recently that I have handy on my computer.  A few random scenery, a shot of Mrs. G and I and some random boat ramp shots.

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Sounds like fun!!  Glad everything is going well. Did the vette make it without damage? Hope so.

Staus quo at Canyon Lake, had a good 4th of July.

How will flossie effect you?

Oh!! I like the banished on the island part!!!  LOL

Looks like a beautiful place to stay for a time :) Are you leaving Blue back here? or are you biting the bullet and sending her out?

97FASTech wrote on Jul 28^th, 2013 at 3:45pm:

Sounds like fun!!  Glad everything is going well. Did the vette make it without damage? Hope so. Staus quo at Canyon Lake, had a good 4th of July. How will flossie effect you? Oh!! I like the banished on the island part!!!  LOL

The Vette made it through the month-long transport ordeal without damage.  It was filthy when I picked it up.  The douche-bags at the port claimed for environmental reasons they could not wash it.  (I'm sure it is the environment of local-boy laziness that prevented them from delivering me a clean vehicle). 

Flossie will not effect us too much.  The Big Island is in her path, but I bet we'll see increased rain on Oahu.

Jay, I'm looking at staying here for more than a few years.  I'm having a house built on the island, so we hope for a few extra years here and then perhaps look at post-Army life settled in Hawaii.  Deja Blue will come over in December.  I'm flying back to the Mainland during Christmas leave to pick her up and tow her to the port in San Diego for shipping to Oahu.  I have a parking space reserved at Marine Corps Base Hawaii Marina which is on Kaneohe Bay.  They have secure dry storage, wash-down facilities and a launch ramp into K-Bay.   

good looking pictures!!  hope all works out on the island!!

g wrote on Jul 28^th, 2013 at 4:43pm:

97FASTech wrote on Jul 28th, 2013 at 3:45pm: Sounds like fun!!  Glad everything is going well. Did the vette make it without damage? Hope so. Staus quo at Canyon Lake, had a good 4th of July. How will flossie effect you? Oh!! I like the banished on the island part!!!  LOL The Vette made it through the month-long transport ordeal without damage.  It was filthy when I picked it up.  The douche-bags at the port claimed for environmental reasons they could not wash it.  (I'm sure it is the environment of local-boy laziness that prevented them from delivering me a clean vehicle).  Flossie will not effect us too much.  The Big Island is in her path, but I bet we'll see increased rain on Oahu. Jay, I'm looking at staying here for more than a few years.  I'm having a house built on the island, so we hope for a few extra years here and then perhaps look at post-Army life settled in Hawaii.  Deja Blue will come over in December.  I'm flying back to the Mainland during Christmas leave to pick her up and tow her to the port in San Diego for shipping to Oahu.  I have a parking space reserved at Marine Corps Base Hawaii Marina which is on Kaneohe Bay.  They have secure dry storage, wash-down facilities and a launch ramp into K-Bay.

Wow, that is awesome! Sucks for us, maybe you can make it up some year for the Spring ABF run, sans boat of course. You will always have a spot in the Nordic.

Back in the 90s, I live on Oahu on the windward side in Kailua town for about five years.   Started out in Waikiki and got out of there as soon as I could.

Lots of blow boats out there.  Did a lot of sailing.   Some of my best memories were three day weekends and sailing to another island and the Friday night races at the Ali Wai Harbor (used to have fireworks and champagne for the winning crew).

Get your HI driver's license as soon as possible and don't be afraid to ask for the Kama'aina (local) price.    There used to be two pricing structures.  One for the tourist and one for the locals.

Cost of Living was super high.   I had a small 35 year old 1200 sqft duplex I bought for $450K fee simple (didn't even own the land).  Same duplex in Austin would be about $90K (including land).   However, it was two blocks away from the beach.

Miss all of it......the food, the smells, the weather, the beaches, the music.  But I did find I got "rock fever" every six months and had to hit the mainland (LA, Vegas, Texas) for some time off the island.

Moved back to Texas and used to go back every year for the Pro Bowl for about seven years.   

Congrats and enjoy your stay!