Aloha to Fleet Week with Geri Krotow

On this day in 1384, Jadwiga is crowned King of Poland. She was crowned King, rather than Queen, to designate that she was the sovereign in her own right rather than a consort.

On this day in 1869, Emily Davies, Barbara Bodichon, and Lady Stanley of Alderley established Girton College, England's first residential college for women.

On this day in 1916, Margaret Sanger opened the first US family planning clinic in Brooklyn, New York.

I applaud these pioneering women .... and it is my privilege to welcome another pioneering woman, Geri Krotow, to celebrate Fleet Week. From her bio (link),

Geri Krotow has traveled the world, first as a U.S. Naval Academy midshipman, then as a Naval Officer, and now as a Navy wife. She’s been to four of the seven continents and saw number five from a Navy ship on her 21st birthday. Geri never left her hometown of Buffalo, New York until she was nineteen but obviously made up for lost time. For news of where she’s currently living and her thoughts on that place, be it a different State or country, check out her blog.

Kim:  Please share a favorite Navy memory!

Geri:  My favorite Navy memory is meeting my husband at the Naval Academy. Then marrying him in the Naval Academy Chapel. Then having each child in naval hospitals/clinics... oh, and the homecomings. Navy homecomings are the best, and the one we had at Christmas when the kids were 8 and 5 remains the best ever.

Kim:  If you could vacation at any Navy base, which one would you choose?

Geri:  I'd vacation back at N.A.S. Whidbey Island, WA. This is a no-brainer with my current series set there. I'd love the chance to do more research and have a book signing.

Cultus Bay (Whidbey Island) at Low Tide
Image by Iwanafish
Released to Public Domain

Kim: What does this verse mean to you (from Anchors Aweigh):

Faith, courage, service true. With honor over, honor over all.

Geri:  Honor over all--integrity is the whipcord that holds the Fleet together. We see the ghastly ramifications of it being broken in the headlines every time a CO or senior enlisted gets caught making the wrong choice. But the vast majority of sailors and marines practice, live and breath integrity each and every day. This is why we have the greatest Navy in the world.

Mahalo, Geri, for your service as a Navy veteran, Navy spouse, and stalwart supporter of military families!   I am giving away a Navy tote bag to one randomly selected commenter.  To enter the giveaway,

1.  If you could vacation at any Navy base - besides Pearl Harbor - where would you choose?  Check out this link for a list of bases.   

2.  This giveaway is open to all readers.

3.  Comments are open through Saturday, October 19, 10 pm in Baltimore.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, October 20.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City

To learn more about Geri and her books, including her Whidbey Island series, check out her website at gerikrotow.com.

A RENDEZVOUS TO REMEMBER will be 

re-released in print in November 2013