4th of July Navy Style

Fourth of July has been one of my favorite holidays since I can remember. Maybe it's the smell of BBQ chicken cooking on the grill, hot dogs and potato salad, and a cooler full of ice cold coke. Or maybe it's the camp chairs that we sit around the bonfire roasting marshmallows in. I'm sure it has something to do with all of the men in the family blowing things up. Explosives are a big part of our family's 4th activities. I love fireworks. This year was a bit different. And there are a few reasons why. #1 I'm in Japan. Japan does not celebrate a holiday that is purely for Americans. And this is the mother of all American holidays. It is our independence day. And as a military wife, it's kind of a big deal to me. #2 Fireworks are prohibited. American's are not allowed to blow things up in Japan. Japanese people buy and sell fireworks, and light them off like it's going out of style. But we are not allowed to have them in our possession. #3 It's blazing hot. No one in their right mind would stand outside and grill burgers or have a bon fire. It's insane to even imagine. People want to be indoors with an air conditioner cranked to the max, at least until October. So our 4th wasn't celebrated in the traditional way, but it's was remembered in the way it should have been.

Brandon had duty Thursday night and did not get home from work until sometime Friday afternoon. There it goes. Half of the 4th was already gone. He took a well needed nap because he had been up for 26 or so hours. When he woke up we got ready and drove to the base. It was finally my turn to take a tour of the ship. It was hot. And when I say hot, I mean stepping out of the front door of our house would cause you to break out into a profuse sweat. Walking to the car is quite the feat in such heat. We arrived on base and low and behold I was hungry. Not an uncommon occurrence for someone who is 7 months pregnant. McDonald's was calling my name. I ate chicken nuggets and fries to my hearts content. Taste's like home. When I had stuffed myself to the max, which doesn't take much these days due to the lack of room in my belly, we headed toward the ship. The pier was not far from where we parked, so we walked. By the time I made it to the ship I had sweat dripping from my face and the back of my neck was wet. I was now regretting those Mcnuggets. The ship is gigantic. It sits in port being painted, by hand I might add, and getting repairs. She takes up one whole side of the India Basin. The other sides of the port are lined with several ships, but The Essex towers over them all. Just to get on board is strenuous. Up this ramp I climbed, or waddled you may say. I made it to the top. Brandon saluted the officer of the deck and we continued on. Once inside Brandon began his tour. Sounding very official he explained the way things are done and where different things are stored and what not. The inside of a ship is amazing. Like another world. So monstrous in it's belly. There are ramps everywhere, stairs are not stairs at all, they are ladders. I knew climbing the "stairs" would be impossible with my belly, so up the ramp I went. Climbing several floors at one time. Those babies were steep. I got my workout that day. I saw Brandon's office, The Galley (where meals are eaten), Where tanks, Humvee's, and aircraft are kept, and the flight deck. Standing on top of the flight deck feels like standing on a mountain with nothing but water below you. I hate heights but somehow I wasn't afraid when I was up there. Everywhere I went I climbed more ramps. I was tired and sweating from every pore in my body. When my tour was over, we went back to our car to head home. I thought it was kind of a cool way to spend the 4th, instead of celebrating for selfish reasons just to have fun, I spent my time on a ship belonging to the United States Navy, appreciating what our sailors do everyday to serve our great country.

Saturday. Brandon and I went with some friends to see Kung Foo Panda in the theater. Nice and air conditioned. Cute movie. Afterward we went back to their house for a BBQ. Burgers, tater tots, and watermelon were on the menu. We watched movies and sat around talking and laughing. What a nice afternoon it turned out to be.

Sunday. It was so hot. I longed to be in the water. I love to swim. Not caring about my big belly I got a maternity swimsuit before I left the states. Genius. Brandon and I use the pool on base on a regular basis. Being fully submerged in water has a way of taking all of the pressure that a baby puts on your body away. Swimming laps is great exercise, and I do it as often as I can. When I'm not able to visit the pool I fill our bathtub to the top and sit in it to get some relief. Today was one of those days. We packed up and went. I covered myself in layers of sunscreen. Waterproof 50 spf. I applied it 3 times to get a good coat. I hate getting burned. I get sick every time and I'm sure I'm miserable to be around. But I was prepared this time, and was confident that I would walk away from the pool side as white as when I came. The pool was filled with children and young sailors trying to beat the heat. I jumped in anyway. Awww, nice cold water, fresh air, the warm sunshine, couldn't be any better. I felt great. Brandon and I floated for hours in the pool. I got out a few times to reapply my sunblock. But jumped right back in to cool off as soon as I could. Kids, and sailors, and Brandon went down the big twirling slide. What a day. Everyone was happy and laughing and enjoying themselves. When we left the pool we decided to hit up Nimitz Park.

The military had thrown this huge 4th of July bash, on the 6th of July. American food, music and games filled the park. It reminded me of the fair. The smell of BBQ, loud music. Seriously could this day get better? I'm sure it couldn't. Brandon and I ate fair food until we could pop. BBQ meat on a stick, a roasted turkey leg, and a chili dog later, we were feeling pretty good I was still searching for the elephant ear stand, but couldn't find it anywhere.We walked around to see all of the booths that had been set up. There were crafts, and raffles, and kid games galore. But it was hot. Too hot. I needed a snow cone, and I needed one fast. I found the booth, got my cone, and started to feast on my frosty treat. It was so hot, the snow in my snow cone started to melt. I tried to eat it faster. Not working. Faster. No go. I started sucking down the syrup with my straw. A few brain freezes later, and I was ready for home. I could not escape the heat, snow cone or not. I was pretty bummed to have to leave all the fun. Leaving then would mean that I would miss the fireworks show. There was no way I could make it for 4 more hours. I hated to miss it. That's my favorite part. I just couldn't do it. Brandon wasn't feeling so hot himself. We made the long trek back to the car. It felt like miles. I was still working on my melted snow. The car must have been 120 degrees, no exaggeration.

We drove home feeling worn out and sickly. I immediately turned up the AC in our house, and sat in front of it, removing pieces of clothing as I sat. I walked into the bathroom to get some lotion. My skin felt dry from all of the pool water. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. What was that. That red thing. Whoa Nelly that red thing is me. I look like a lobster. My skin wasn't dry, it's burnt. Burnt in a way that will cause me to have to take cold showers. Burnt in a way that I will not be able to roll over in my sleep due to the pain I will feel. And burnt in a way that I will be sick later on tonight. I'm gonna give it few more hours, but I know that it will come, I feel it creeping up on me. Hours after my pool enjoyment, my skin feels hot and tight. It was still a great weekend, so great that I'm going to need to recuperate from it. Of course when my electric bill gets here this month, I will be wishing I hadn't turned the AC up. But at this point I don't care, until I have this baby, I'm going to be camped out in front of it. I'm even having second thoughts about leaving my house in the next few months. At least I still have my bath tub. If you need me that's where I'll be.