August 2016

The first week of August we were able to go on our last long trip to northern Spain in Bilbao and Leon.  Owen is no doubt getting more difficult to travel with because he wants to run around and climb on anything he can get near.  The popular term is "active".  The rest of the month was pretty much spent with the big move.  We had the quick shipment on August 16 when we started our time staying in the Navy Lodge right next to the hospital.  We didn't ship the car until the last week of August so it was nice to at least feel like we had some control of where and when we could go do things. Those last two weeks of August Owen got to go to his Young Explorers class at the CDC on base for 4 days per week.  He absolutely loved going in there. They would play outside, paint stuff, sing, and in general be around other kids.  My favorite part was that they also fed him.  Hotel eating is a difficult task so at least he was getting one descent meal per day.  Speech development was minimal because his whole Owen world was turned upside down, but he took the whole thing in stride pretty well. The flight back to Norfolk went as well as we could have guessed, but it was a very long day. 

 

He enjoyed an entire Klondike bar.

These pictures are from Owen's Young Explorers class at the child Development Center on base in Rota.  I will miss his class so much.  Not only because of the price and that they feed him, but because how much he loved the teachers and activities.

Apparently the floor is much more comfortable than the bed.

Rota, Spain

August 28, 2013 to August 26, 2016

Rota is a beautiful city, we are very sad to leave.  Living in the downtown historic district was a unique experience that we would have never guessed we could have done in years past.  Our total trip count was that we visited 137 destinations including many of the countries of Europe and also several bullfights. The Rota Naval Base was built in 1953.  It is a Spanish naval base commanded by a Spanish Rear Admiral and fully funded by the United States of America.  We were able to be there during the 60th anniversary of the base construction.  We still had a commissary, NEX, and all the other supporting facilities so our side of the base was very "American". In our three years at Rota we saw an expansion in the population because of four new destroyers being forward-deployed there in Rota.

The city of Rota is not very large and we came to recognize many of the full-time residents and shopkeepers.  The population in the summer greatly increases but because of the base employing so many of the Spanish people it does not completely feel like a resort town. Rota has an impressive 10 miles of beach that is very well tended and really enjoyable pretty much all year long. In the winter the winds kick up, but once the sun comes out it is very pleasant. As a result of being on the coast, Rota saw the typical Mediterranean parade of civilizations ending finally with the Christians.  Our two favorite landmarks were the Lady of the O Church and the Luna Castle.  These were around a plaza that we could see from our window that we would walk around almost every night. The Lado of the O Church was built in the 16th century and has a mixture of Gothic, Elizabethan, Plateresque and Baroque architecture. Any of the processions for the many Spanish holidays would either begin or end at this church.  The band would frequently warm up on our street before the procession began. The Luna Castle dates back to the 13th century that was built on a fortified Muslim Ribat from the 11th century. The five turreted towers are part of the Rota coat of arms. The castle is the location for the Town Hall and has many concerts and tours during the summer months. The famous dish of the area was a grilled Utra fish of which they have a yearly festival.  It is a white fish and is cooked with a tomato sauce that is pretty good.  Fried seafood is also popular along with the Andalucian famous dish of Paella.

Semana Santa Palm Sunday 2016

 

 

All of the bike commuters. Damon could ride his bike to work in 8 minutes.

 

President Obama visited the base in July 2016

 

Santa Semana in front of the church next to our apartment.

Another view of the Santa Semana celebrations.

The tapas fair.

The 4th of July is the only day that the US flag is raised on base.

 

Wedding at the church next to our apartment.

The most amazing trash truck ever. The crane pulls what looks like just a mailbox sized trash can that has a huge bin underneath so that there isn't an open stinky dumpster.