Well hello there fellow ramblers! I hope you all had a pleasant holiday and have plans for a lovely new year! My Christmas was great. A little odd, but great. I believe the last time I wrote, I was looking forward to getting in to Hawaii, still on the ship, and not doing a whole lot. 

We finally made it to Pearl Harbor and docked. I keep joking to my friends that they stuck us in a corner, but they kind of did. We really are on the absolute farthest corner of the base. We're the red-headed stepchild nobody wants to think about. (I was going to say like Harry Potter living under the staircase, but thought it would reveal my dorkish tendencies.) We spent our first few days doing the usual hawaiian touristy things. Mostly we wandered around Waikiki, laying on the beach and making improbable plans. Then on Monday, we got in trouble for not showing up to work when the boss told us we didn't have to work in port... So that was fun. But not to worry, we made it work. If anyone wonders what charts we have on the Mighty USNS Yukon, I've got it. I spent two days inventorying charts on the bridge. It was boring, but not hard. Then we got some time off for Christmas. We actually spent Christmas at a kids arcade called Fun Factory (the kind of place you turn in tickets for cheesy toys that have absolutely no use whatsoever) and seeing the movie Valkyrie, which I loved. Great movie, if you ask me. I thought Tom Cruise did a great job, and I was certainly rooting for his character. I love any World War II movie though, so take my review with a grain of salt. Then the day after Christmas, we went to the USS Arizona memorial, USS Missouri, and the Pacific Aviation Museum. We had a good time, payed our respects to the fallen, and learned a great deal. Then we walked a good three miles to the nearest Chili's. I spent the next few days doing absolutely nothing but reading books, watching movies, and working on projects until the afternoon of the 28th when my parents met Sara and I at Ala Moana Center (great mall if anyone's interested) and took us out to dinner. Yesterday my parents came to the ship and got a tour of the mighty Yukon Jack and met some of the crew. After a quick trip the NEX (also awesome), we were warmly welcomed at Carmen and Jan Shagam's lovely house in Ewa Beach. We had a great dinner and I totally schooled Dad on Guitar Hero World Tour. Mom and I came out of Marley and Me this morning absolutely heart broken. It's a wonderful movie. As I said, heartbreaking for dog-lovers, but truly wonderful. It makes me miss my two dearly departed angels, Chessie and Louis. Our next step was lunch and an epic nap. The plan is that to pop over to the Pacific Aviation Museum. I've already been there, but I didn't get a lot of time so I'm glad we're going again. I'm so grateful my parents could come out here. Not only did they bring me my Christmas presents, but I missed them terribly and it's been both fun and comforting to have them here. I'm going to miss them again when they leave tomorrow, but I suppose they can't stay forever. No plans for me for New Year's Eve, but I'm sure between the eight of us we'll come up with something. Spontaneity is a good thing... right? Right?

And now it's time to say goodbye...

Alyssa