No pictures, so I guess I will have to make do with a thousand words. Enjoy. Catalina Island was nice...I think I have just always been addicted to water and boats and swimming and the coast. Not sure it can compete with Minnesota Boundary Waters though--perhaps the most beautiful place I've been this side of the Atlantic. But instead of trying to catch any fish this trip, I entertained myself with chasing them instead. $5 got me some fins and a snorkel, and an hour of diving in the clear waters off the coast. Lots of fish that I wouldn't know the names of because I don't know saltwater fish and some interesting underwater plants that I wouldn't know the name of becuase, well they are plants and I don't even know the names of the plants next to the pool back home. Beautiful as it was, not sure a digital camera would have been the best way to capture the scene anyway, since I think the saltwater would rust the battery terminals on the camera if I took one down with me. And unfortunately, Aly wasn't concerning herself with keeping up with a camera either--though I will try to get ahold of a few pics if I can.

Keeping myself occupied in California mostly by reading or training for training. Kinda like frantically cleaning the house before the maid comes--would hate to actually be out of shape when working out at Fort Jackson. Everytime I do a 3 or 4 mile run, the same thing always crosses my mind--and why did I ever elect to put myself through this? But its good. Could be better perhaps in better times with a less pc, all male military, but we don't always get to choose our battles now do we? Watched a few episodes out of the Band of Brothers miniseries this past week--probably one of my favorites when it comes to these sorts of things. Much more in depth than any movie I know of and it does a very good job of capturing the essence of the realm of soldiering and the world of the soldier.

Well this is what I am up to--and since I don't take alot of photos, if you really want to see for yourself, take an evening to go out on the pond in my flatbottom boat, or watch a few hours of Band of Brothers. Of course, a nice cold shiner and some barbecue out back would always be a good start too.