Second Week in Cuba

Our second week here with Matt was a lot like the first- lots of beach and pool going and just relaxing. We did, however, start the week off last Sunday by going out to the golf course with Matt for the last nine holes of an 18 hole round. He plays a 3 man scramble best ball, two team mumbo jumbo yada yada thing that I only partly understand, every Sunday with another group of guys who are deployed here. For fun, they play for $2 a hole and apparently the opposing team is happy on weeks Matt is not able to play. We had fun getting to meet everyone and ride around in the cart with Matt, but the mugginess and the bugginess made it a bit miserable towards the end and therefor we opted out this past Sunday.

We also met this guy out on the golf course:

Matt had the great idea to buy Hayden this cheap infatable ring for the pool. He can actually swim pretty decently by himself with it and it made time at the pool much more enjoyable.

In the middle of the week we met up with another family here with two young boys to play at the putt putt golf course they have here near the gym. I think the boys maybe played the first one or two holes and then ran around the rest of the time. At least they burned a lot of energy!

There is a lot of small, colorful pieces of glass on the beaches here that have been smoothed over by the waves so we have spent some time collecting some to bring home. I love this picture because it shows Hayden laying down on the beach waiting for the waves to come up underneath of him. He loves doing this- he just lays back, puts his arms behind his head and closes his eyes. The boy knows how to enjoy the beach!

Matt lost his sunglasses when we were in Miami so we were at the store on base looking for some and the woman behind the counter decided to let Hayden join in the fun.

They have several play grounds around the base and we went to one after dinner one evening, strictly to let hayden play and have fun, of course.

Have I mentioned Hayden has two giant kids for parents? Lets just say we all had a really good time.

Hayden is a pro at climbing by now and was able to climb this small rock wall with no help:

I have one question: Where were these things on play grounds when I was a kid?! You just swing back and forth until you get enough momentum going to spin all the way around.

Matt and I took our own turns trying it out and yes, it is as fun as it looks.

More time at the pool! Hayden has fun playing in the kiddie pool, which gives us a break from time to time.

On Sunday we had lunch at the Bayview Club again and Hayden had to go outside to say hello to one of his scaly friends.

We're enjoying our last week here and while we will be sad to leave Matt again we are looking forward to more time in Florida with family and to Matt coming home for good in a few weeks!

More from GTMO

We had a great second week and weekend here in Cuba with Matt. We didn't do much of anything new during the week, the same trips to the pool and beach, some playgrounds, I got some running in and we made a couple of ice cream trips. This weekend we all went to the driving range at the golf course here and Matt decided to give me a few pointers. We even gave Hayden his own little bucket of balls and let him have at it. I'm not so sure my swing progressed much beyond Hayden's, but at least a fun time was had by all.

Not quite this guy yet, but just give me a few more weeks:

Later that evening we went bowling for the second time. We tried for two games this time but decided that one was definitely Hayden's limit. I'll be honest, my limit is about 1.5 games which left Matt finishing everyone's frames the last half of game two while Hayden and I sat and had a snack and watched. I took some videos before Hayden (and I) were "done", including one of him dancing- best one yet!

kickin it old school

Greetings from Cuba!

Hayden and I were fortunate enough to catch a hop (aka ride for free on a military flight) to Cuba from Jacksonville, Fl to visit Matt. Even more fortunate was that Matt was en route back from a conference in Miami so we were all able to travel together.
Our odds were slim for getting on the flight but we decided to risk it. We left Tampa for Jacksonvile around 7:30 pm Friday evening and finally arrived around 10:45. To better our chances we got up at 4:40 am the next morning to get to the terminal by 5:00ish. We were the second people to sign up on the space A list, and from then we just waited. I must say it was pretty agonizing as we watched more and more people pour in, several more sign up for space A and waited as the hours went by on the clock. Chances were looking even more slim and by 8:30 I was preparing myself to make the long trip back to Tampa with Hayden all by myself. Finally, by 8:45 we were told that there was enough room for us to board! We were ecsatic and boarded right away and took off moments later.
Upon arriving we took a ferry ride to the main part of the Naval Air Station and had some time to fill waiting for our bags to arrive.
Needless to say we are thrilled to be back together again and Hayden has been so happy and content spending time with Matt. Our time so far has mostly been spent between the pool and the beaches, which are beautiful here, and touring the base. It is very scenic here, so a pleasant place to be hanging out, but HOT! We are thankul for lots of water activity options where we can cool off. We are not allowed off of the base, of course, and picture taking is somewh at discouraged here, limited only to natural areas. Even still, we have managed to take lots of pictures so far, so in lieu of a post of pictures I shared a link from my snapfish account on the blog (see post below).
Matt has been working decent hours at work so we have had him around a lot. We were able to see the golf course yesterday (our trip could not have been complete without that!) and took Hayden bowling for the first time over the weekend. Some things I wish I could capture better in pictures and that was one of them! He was so cute in his bowling shoes that were too big carrying a bowling ball bigger than his head.
We've been eating good food at the galley, but there are also a couple of restaurants and a little ice cream shop for a change of pace.
In addition to all of the iguanas that are everywhere- and I mean everywhere around here, I did see my first Banana Rat yesterday. Why are they called banana rats, you ask? I'll give you a hint: it has not so much to do with what they eat, but what comes out the other end. Lovely. Luckily, these creatures, which are more the size of possums (!) are nocuturnal, so any day time sightings are usually limited to watching them sleep in trees.
All in all, we are having a great time. I was sad to see the weekend end but Hayden and I are enjoying our quiet time during the week and it is nice to look forward to seeing Matt after work again!

first week at GTMO (84 photos), by amy rogers

I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.
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Hayden's Zoo

The other day I walked into Hayden's room to find that he had pulled every stuffed animal he owns from the basket at the foot of his bed and put them in his bed. I told him to give me a big smile and this is what I got: