Home Again, Home Again

After Houston (see the post before last for how we got that far, we passed out of Texas, through Louisiana, and into Alabama. Our stop there was near Mobile and way after dark. No satellite available because of extensive tree cover, but we put up the TV antenna and watch some local TV. From there, we had 590 miles to home. Too much for one day, or so we thought. We had done a long push home before but it got us in really late (actually early) and we had to wait until the next morning to get settled. However, another night on the road was not something we were looking forward to.

Fortunately, the way was clear and we were able to get in by 10:30 PM EDT. Even with a quick stop in Crestview, Florida to pick up the last of our forwarded mail and top off on fuel. We parked the RV in a site near our home unit and we were there. However, since it was late, the TV was still in the RV, and the bed in the house was covered with Ellyn’s materials from the lanai, we slept one last night in the RV.

We then had a couple of days to get things we needed out of the RV and into the house. Then, our original plan had been scraped, and we moved the RV into storage, and we headed out yet again. This time we took the car and an, ugh, suitcase and went off to Disney World for three days with our friends from New York. Jordy stayed behind with our friends Dave and Myra, who were also the couple we traveled to Yellowstone with, and who now own a house down here near Sarasota.

And now we are back for another 6 months (at least) in our house here in Sun-N-Fun RV Resort. We will enjoy it, getting back together with all our friends and enjoying the season’s activities. Geoff has already been throwing horseshoes and Ellyn is looking forward to her sewing.

Where It All Began

Geoff is feeling nostalgic. He is visiting a place where one of the biggest adventures began 46 years ago that set him on a path that would determine the rest of his life. This place is out on the end of Point Loma in San Diego, California. The submarine base there was where Geoff was sent by the US Navy after he completed his initial training. He was a third class Electronics Technician and was sent to the head quarters of ComSubDevPac (Commander Submarine Development Pacific) for eight months before nuclear power school would start. Little did he know, but he has come to realize many years later, that this was a test. He and the other six young men who were sent here were being evaluated to see if they would be right for undergoing the year of training to come. The short story is…he passed, and went on to that year of training and then three years as a reactor operator on the USS Snook (SSN 592) also stationed out of that same port in California.

After arriving in San Diego, it became apparent that the job these men were sent here to do was somewhat menial. Essentially, they were janitors in the command building high up on the hill overlooking the base. Unbeknownst to Geoff and his mates there was a secret underwater vessel also attached to this command, which was manned by a small crew on a floating drydock ship. After about a week of somewhat depressing mopping and sweeping, the bunch of them were called into a meeting and were told about the other crew. Turns out they had heard there were seven third class petty officers up on the hill and, this crew, which consisted of second class and above, wanted to share in the bounty of pee-ons. They wanted two volunteers to come work on the ship instead of in the command building.

Geoff and one of the other guys jumped at the chance. At least that is how he remembers it. There may have been a bit of a hesitation. This was passing up a pretty easy shore billet and converting to ship life, which could contain a lot of unknowns. But, as he looks back he thinks, this was what he had joined the Navy for. Not to sweep floors in a building but to, probably, sweep floors on a Naval vessel. It became much more than that, and the entire story is one for another post.

It turns out, it was the best decision of his life. The secret vessel, the Trieste, has been long ago declassified and retired to Bainbridge Island in Washington State and the Point Loma sub base has changed a lot since 1968, but that decision affected the rest of Geoff’s life. He put in the year of nuclear power training, three years of duty on a submarine in the South Pacific, and then was able to get into a BSEE program in a top level university (Michigan Technological University in Houghton, MI). He is pretty sure that his Navy service gave him an edge as his high school grades were not very good.

He excelled in college thanks to his training in the Navy. He had learned how to learn in the total 20 months of school he had attended in the Navy. His service and his good grades helped him get an excellent job in his career field. There he met his wife, which led to two wonderful sons and three even more wonderful Grandkids. It has been a wonderful life and the turning point occurred right here, on hallowed ground.

So this place calls Geoff back at times and, although he cannot get as close as he would like, it is nice to see again.

And Away We Go!

The reason for staying in the Northwest beyond the Birthday of our Grandson, was for the Wedding of our Niece, Sarah, in Tacoma, Washington. That happened on October 9th and our entire immediate family was there, meaning our two Sons and their families, including our three Grand kids. It was amazing. A picture was taken by the wedding photographer and we can’t wait to see it.

We stayed on one additional day to see our Grand Daughter one last time before heading out. Now we are on a marathon run back to Florida to meet up with our friends, Marie and Dave, in Walt Disney World on October 23rd. Our first stop is in San Diego to see Geoff’s Brother, Wes and his wife and our Niece, Angela and her husband. We were going to take three days getting there and just stay over night, but, after one 400+ mile day, we decided to split the rest of the distance into two 400 mile distances and get in a day early, so we can have a whole day to visit before heading East.

Day one was easier than expected. After a cold start, the sun came out and it was a nice, warm drive. Both Mt. Rainier and Mt. Hood made appearances in the distance and we stopped off in Portland near the first RV Park we stayed in to have lunch. We knew the layout there and knew it was easy in, easy out with the RV. With only one more rest stop we made it in about 5:00 PM.

I will try to make updates to this as we go over the next two weeks.

Day 2 and 3 passed without incident and took us all the way to San Diego, a day ahead of schedule, so we decided to stay the whole next day and do a little sight seeing before joining with Geoff’s Brother, Wes, and his family. We went out to Point Loma and the Cabrillo National Monument. It is a great day of checking out the tide pools in the Pacific Ocean and then overlooking the Point Loma Submarine Base (a special place for Geoff. See the next post for more about that) and a great view of San Diego.

Now begins the week long marathon to Florida. Days 1 and 2 of that journey have gone uneventful. The first was a bit shorter than our target because we wanted to stop before sunset. The next day, we started earlier and made a longer than expected trip. Now we are one day from San Antonio, where we hope to see our Niece, Karen and her family, and then drive on to Houston to see Ellyn’s Cousins. A whirl-wind journey. To be continued after the next post.