Tag Archives: US Navy

Family and Friends

Being able to spend time with family and friends over the holidays is such a treat. One of the great benefits of a nomadic way of life is the ability to live where we want, when we want.

We enjoyed Thanksgiving at Donna’s sister, Sheila’s house. The plan was for me to take my daughter, Shauna’s car up to Sun City to pick up my step-dad, Ken. Plans always have a way of changing. Ken called me first thing Thursday morning and told me he picked up some kind of bug and was sick. He didn’t want to come to a house full of people and possibly infect others. He assured us that he would be fine.

When I told Shauna she didn’t need to drop her car off, she told me she realized her roommate, Brittany didn’t have family in the area and had nowhere to go. I told her to bring Brittany along. We would go to Sheila’s around 1pm. Shauna and Brittany are attending law school at Cal Western. They have finals coming up, so they used the extra time Thursday morning to study.

Brittany on the left, Shauna on the right

Two beautiful law students, Brittany on the left, Shauna on the right

We arrived at Sheila’s house a little after 1pm. Donna’s other sister, Linda and her husband Tom where there. They flew in from Vermont the night before. Tom and I watched football while the girls sat outside. Sheila’s son, Connor provided entertainment for the girls. He’s nine years old and into James Bond. He was dressed for the part.

Connor practicing archery in his California James Bond outfit (check the footwear)

Connor practicing archery in his California James Bond outfit (check the footwear)

We snacked, talked and watched the game. The smoked trout pate Donna made was outstanding. Sheila’s friend, Dr. Jeff Sandler joined us. Dinner was planned for some time after 4pm. Again, plans have a way of changing. The turkey wasn’t cooperating – it took much longer  than anticipated to cook.

Later, Sheila’s friend Ann joined us. She brought the potatoes. We had two tables set up to seat 10 people. Dinner was served around 7:30pm. We took turns stating what we are thankful for and enjoyed the meal. As usual, we all stuffed ourselves.

Shauna, Brittany and Donna at the front table

Shauna, Brittany and Donna at the front table

Connor, Donna, Sheila and Jeff

Connor, Donna, Sheila and Jeff

Yesterday, as predicted, we had a change in the weather. I knew it was coming by the ache in my right shoulder. I had surgery for a fractured glenoid and torn labrum in my right shoulder years ago after an accident. The orthopedic surgeon told me I would be a weather man – an ache in my shoulder means a front is approaching. The day was overcast and dreary with occasional showers. It didn’t rain hard though. The thermometer was stuck at 64 degrees.

Linda and Tom

Linda and Tom

Donna rented a car from Enterprise for the weekend. She took me to the Embarcadero where I met Tom, Linda and Connor at the Midway Museum. I wrote about the Midway before. It’s a a navy aircraft carrier built in 1945. It was used in Vietnam. Pilots from the Midway shot down the first Russian MIG fighter plane there in 1965. They also shot down the last MIG of that conflict in 1973. It was operational through 1992 and served in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm. In 1992, it was decommissioned in San Diego.

Today, it serves as a naval museum. The carrier is 1,001 feet long and 258 feet wide. It carried a crew of 4,500 sailors. We spent three hours walking through the hangar deck and down through the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th decks which are referred to as a city at sea. The logistics of caring for 4,500 people working at sea are staggering. I gained respect for the work the sailors perform.

We finished up our tour on the flight deck. We dodged a shower or two and walked the length of the deck. They had various airplanes from different eras on display. I had to take a picture of an A4 Skyhawk. I worked on an A4 squadron in the Marines in 1975.

A4 Skyhawk

A4 Skyhawk

Flightdeck

Flight deck

The island on the deck

The island on the deck

The area called the island on the flight deck houses the bridge, ready room, captain and admirals quarters.

From the flight deck, I saw an active aircraft carrier across San Diego Bay at the North Island Navy base. It was the Nimitz class nuclear powered CVN 76, Ronald Reagan.

Aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan

Aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan

Three hours of walking up and down steps and ladders was enough for us, although we only saw about half of the museum. As large as the Midway was, it was dwarfed by a cruise ship docked at the pier to the north. This cruise ship was called Golden Princess.

Cruise ship Golden Princess

Cruise ship Golden Princess

Late last night, Donna’s brother, Mark and his wife, Miriam, flew into San Diego. They are returning to Philadelphia from a vacation in Hawaii and will spend a few days here. Today, we’ll all get together on Coronado Island for lunch. Tomorrow, Mark, Tom and I will go to the San Diego Chargers versus Cincinnati Bengals game.

 

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving

I want to wish all of you a happy Thanksgiving! Donna and I have so much to be thankful for. We appreciate our good health, family and friends. Our lifestyle on the road has allowed us to visit our families and make new friends along the way.

The weather continues to be fantastic here. The days are clear and warm to about 70 degrees in the afternoon. After sunset, it quickly cools to the lower 60s. Mornings are high 50s and lower 60s. It’s 61 degrees as I type at 9am.

Tuesday I rode the scooter up to University Town Center. This is a large shopping mall east of La Jolla near UC San Diego. I went to Sears and looked at tool sets and tool boxes. After I returned home, I went online to Sears.com and ordered some tools and a tool chest. This way I don’t have to find a way to haul the heavy tools – they ship for free via UPS right to our site.

I took the scenic route home, along the coast. I stopped in Pacific Beach at the farmer’s market on Bayard Street. Every Tuesday, they close Bayard between Garnet and Grand Avenue and set up the market on the street. They had lots of fresh produce and locally made jams, jellies, salsas and other sauces. There was also fresh seafood.

Pacific Beach farmers market

Pacific Beach farmer’s market

I sent a text to Donna asking if I should buy anything. She didn’t get my message – she was working at her laptop outside while her phone was on the table inside. So I looked, but didn’t buy anything. It was a good thing – our refrigerator is full.

Yesterday we were up early…well, early for me. Donna set her alarm for 7am. We needed to be out at 8:10am to scooter over to Shelter Island. We joined Emily and Mark Fagan at their sailboat, Groovy, at the Kona Kai marina. They were moving their boat to a marina at Harbor Island where their yacht broker is located. They have their Hunter 44 sailboat up for sale. We came along to enjoy the ride and lend a helping hand. The slip at the Harbor Island marina was narrow. Mark and I manned opposite sides of the boat and kept the hull from hitting the pier. Actually, Emily didn’t need much help as she expertly reversed the 44-foot sailboat into place.

We enjoyed a nice ride across San Diego Bay.  Along the way we saw an amazing sight. Two women in a Zodiac boat were training a dolphin in the open water. We think this was a US Navy Marine Mammal exercise. The dolphin would dive, then leap into the air. After repeating this performance a couple of times, it swam next to the Zodiac. The women would stroke and pet the dolphin and give it a fish treat. Then the performance would start over again. Google “US Navy Marine Mammal” for more information.

I managed to catch the dolphin in mid-air with my phone camera

I managed to catch the dolphin in mid-air with my phone camera

We had a great time enjoying the boat ride and visiting with Emily and Mark. We plan to have them for dinner one night before they leave and look forward to meeting up again down the road after they return to the full-time RV lifestyle. They have a blog with excellent photography and well written posts at roadslesstraveled.us. They’ve spent the last three and a half years cruising the coast of Mexico in Groovy.

As we cruised along Shelter Island, Emily pointed out boats moored near the shore. People live aboard these boats. Living aboard a boat full-time is a challenging feat.

Boats moored along Shelter Island

Boats moored along Shelter Island

Emily secures Groovy in the boat slip

Emily secures Groovy in the boat slip

Donna poses next to Groovy

Donna poses next to Groovy

After we returned, I rode the scooter to Trader Joe’s for some last-minute items Donna needed to prepare appetizers for our Thanksgiving meal. She’s making roasted garlic white bean dip and smoked trout pate. We’ll take them to her sister, Sheila’s house where we’ll celebrate Thanksgiving today.

Cloudless sunset over Mission Bay last night

Cloudless sunset over Mission Bay last night