Gymaniac

It is extremely hard to believe that it has been 5 years since my hometown, state, and the entire gulf coast was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. It seems like it was just yesterday that I was watching the storm come ashore on the television, and the next morning watching it tear through Baton Rouge. We were extremely fortunate, having only minor damage but so many people suffered much greater devastation. It seemed then, that we would never rebuild and return to some state of normalcy, but the strides we have taken in these five years has been nothing short of the grace of God. Our communities are back and stronger together. I remember posting a journal entry on my MySpace account exactly one year after the Hurricane hit, and I felt it would be good to go back and reflect on that event and see what I wrote. I still believe every word that I wrote and and extremely thankful that those prayers have been answered and are still being answered to this day. Here is that post:

August 29th, 2006

"One year later.

Exactly one year ago today Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the LA MS border.. You all know what kind of devastation this hurricane caused..We have all felt what this hurricane did. Yes it may have been nice to have a few days off of school, but just remember all the lives that were lost because of this. I am asking everyone who reads this to say a prayer for all of those effected by this disaster.. This hurricane was the msot costly hurricane in the history of the US. We have all lived through a very important and life changing part of history. Please remember that. The rebuilding has only just begun and will last for many years to come. So please, on this one year anniversary, remember all of those people left stranded and with not a single possession to themselves except for the clothes on their back. Remember all of the people who did not evacuate and were killed by the rising waters. Remember the elderly, who could not escape the storm and were lost. All I am asking is for just a few minutes, stop and pray for all of those that were effected by this catastrophic disaster. Time will go on and cities will be rebuilt, but the ones lost will never be comng back to their homes.."

Wow. So much has happened since my last post. So many great things! This was a very busy summer for me. Knocking out three weeks of summer school and then I was back home in Baton Rouge for my month of leave- and what a month it was... After not being home since December of 2009, that day was a homecoming long overdue. It was so great to be back in my hometown, with my family and with my friends. I've learned to make the most of every trip I get home now, they seem to become more and more spaced out.

My families original plan for our annual summer vacation was to head down to Destin, FL for a week on the beach-that trip has become sort of a family tradition for the Browns- but the Oil Spill in the Gulf threw a rather large wrench in our plans. Not to worry--Plan B seemed to become a reality about as quickly as it was thought of. HAWAII! That's right, with an unexplainable amount of that good ole' "Southern Hospitality" from my mom's long-time friends, Brian and Penny Rower, we were able to spend 11 days on the Island of Oahu, Hawaii. I've got to say, hands-down that was the best vacation we have taken as a family. No need for a hotel, a rental car, or to even to worry about food, we couldn't have asked for better hosts during our vacation.

After a LONG (I think I can say that word is an understatement)day of traveling from Houston, to Phoenix (12 hour layover due to plane maintenance issues)and finally to Honolulu, we were there! Our first full day on the island, we were able to attend, now CDR Rower's promotion ceremony. After that, me and Cameron drove down (in a convertible, might I add) to Waikiki Beach to check out the local spots. The beaches and water there was unlike anything I have ever seen, any pictures or videos you see truly don't do it justice--AMAZING!

We did everything from snorkeling at Sharks Cove, the "Jumping Rock" and Waimea Bay, hiking Diamond Head Crater, SCUBA diving off the coast of Honolulu, to Pearl Harbor and so many more things than I can write about. That vacation is one I will never forget and hopefully, I'll be back there in the future as an officer on the Army post on Oahu.