Day 26 – Virginia Beach & Day 27 – Little Creek Naval Amphib Base

Posted on October 16, 2016 by Jerrie Cate

Days 26 & 27 are a hodgepodge in my head so I’m just going to lay it out as I remember stuff. Just understand that what you read probably isn’t in the order it occurred. I suspect that’s probably not an issue so I have no idea why I felt it was necessary to clarify. Just ignore this part.

We got up late again this morning, around 0830, just in time to watch the USS George H. Bush sail away to sea – it was a very majestic site.

Then, while standing at the rail of our porch “Pink People” started running by, going north, on the boardwalk. Their numbers grew quickly to thousands, really, as we watched. I couldn’t figure out what was going on until Diane explained that it was The Race For The Cure. It was quite a stupendous sight. I think pretty much every woman and little girl who went by was wearing a pink tutu. I’m sure there were some guys wearing pink tutu’s, too, can’t say so with confidence. There were too many pretty girls for me to consider looking at the guys.

After the runners and walkers dwindled to none, Diane and I took a trip all the way to the north end of Virginia Beach, then followed the road around to the Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek. I visited the area a little when I was here in 1966, but don’t remember anything about it. Just know I was there. While roving around the base we came across a Navy Lodge and decided to see if they had a room we could rent. The logic for that was that we are leaving very early Tuesday morning and NAB Little Creek is essentially at the north border of the Norfolk airport so it’s a quick trip instead of the 45 minutes it took us from Virginia Beach. My concern was about getting the car back to the rental place for turn in on time to avoid additional charges. It was horrendously expensive in the first place so I don’t want to give them any opportunity to tack on more, ya know?

The Navy Lodge had a room for us but the gal at the counter said all they had available was a suite. That was OK with me, so I booked it. A suite to me is a bedroom with a living and kitchen area. Turns out the suite we got, cheaper than our tiny VB room, is really a 2 bedroom condo that sleeps 6. Too bad the family isn’t here.

We returned to Virginia Beach via the I-264 freeway, instead of back streets, to see if it was any quicker getting to Little Creek. It actually didn’t matter because we would only make the trip one time, but it was an exercise “just to see…” What we saw on our east-bound trip was that the west-bound lanes were a parking lot on this Saturday afternoon. That immediately made the case for going north up the beach and around the corner.

At 1600 yesterday we Cleveland crew members held our annual meeting to hear how much money was in the kitty, how much was spent, and to decide where we’re going next year. During the course of the meeting someone asked why mailings cost $1,000 when pretty much everyone has email. It was a good question and the answer because evident when it was revealed that there are at least three lists of people being used by three different people for three different reasons. That’s a sure-fire way to get data screwed up. So, one our members raised his hand and suggested that we form a committee to combine all this data into one useable source of information. What an inspiration! It should have been done years and years ago. Then, since I’m a real sucker for committee’s and data bases, I raised my hand and offered to help. What an incredibly stupid thing to do. Volunteer. It’s going to be a momentous task and being retired takes up most of my time. I’ll give it my best effort but can’t make any promises.

Another aspect of the meeting was to decide where we will hold our reunion next year. The rule, decided long ago, was that we go East Coast, West Coast, Middle. Since we’re on the East Coast, West Coast is next. The first suggestion for the West Coast was Santa Fe, New Mexico.

OK. I couldn’t let that slide, so I raised my hand and pointed out to Jack that New Mexico does not have a coast. It’s two states removed from the coast. Jack, however, was convinced that Santa Fe qualified for West Coast because it was West of the Rockies. I couldn’t sway his thought process at all and I think he quit listening to me when I asked if the USS New Mexico was moored in Santa Fe. Some others, who perceived the concept of “coast”, suggested, Seattle, San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Portland.

“But wait,” you might say. “Portland isn’t on the coast, either.” Well, that’s true, but it’s close enough because it was the runaway favorite choice. So, we’re going all the way to Portland next year. Go figure. The problem with that, of course, is that I’ll probably get sucked in to helping organize it.

After the meeting we all hung out until it was time for the banquet. A few of us wanted to hang out in the banquet room while they set up but we were summarily kicked out after I knocked a glass over and it broke. I didn’t see the problem. It was just one glass.

The dinner was good but not exceptional and I’ll just leave it at that.

Then we had our raffle which generates a lot of money for the reunion organization. Raffle items are donated by those who attend. Diane and I bought 7 tickets for $20 and won three times. First time ever. We got me a new hat, and two window stickers.

Then we went to bed because it was late and I was scheduled to get up early, like 0430, to take Gary & Cindy to their Amtrak pick up point on Virginia Beach. Since Amtrak doesn’t run trains on the peninsula, the pick up point was actually a bus stop. We got there in plenty of time, like 0450, then Gary checked his ticket and learned the pickup time was 0610. So, we went back to the hotel where he figured it would be good to print out the ticket. That because a frustrating evolution that was eventually resolved by the hotel clerk getting involved. Then, at 0550 I took them back to the bus stop and bid them farewell.

Cindy was mortified but she didn’t need to be. I was glad to help them get to their appointed destination. Even if it was only, like 6 blocks away from the hotel. We had a good time waiting for the time to pass so it was all good. Diane was a little concerned when I didn’t return right away, but that was resolved, too.

After returning from my marathon delivery, I went back to bed and read my book for a bit before falling asleep again. Diane woke me up about nine so we could gather our belongings, check out, and head for the Navy Lodge. Which we did. At 1100.

We stopped by 24th street in VB on the way out so we could visit a set of monuments we noticed during our travels. It was all a tribute to Naval Aviation. Very interesting.

This photo is an excellent example of diplomatic tools available to us.

It had such an impact on us that Diane bought me the t-shirt. I love it.

While visiting it, we took some extra steps to the boardwalk and dipped our feet in the sand, just to say we did it.

Since it was still early, we skipped the Navy Lodge on the way by the base because check in time isn’t until 1500. No guarantee the room would be ready. Instead, we drove to the airport so we’d know where the rental car return was located. Thankfully, it’s just before the departure gates so getting the car returned and to the gate at the proper time isn’t going to be a problem.

On the way back we stopped at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens, because we like botanical gardens, and to kill a little more time to allow Navy Lodge to ensure our room was ready. It was a nice, pleasant stop for us. Very enjoyable. We got to ride a tram around the 600+ acres of flowers and trees while a nice young lady explained everything to us. No walking involved. Doesn’t get much better than that.

This is the only flower I took a photo of because we didn’t know what it is and there was no little sign sticking out of the ground near it to tell us. So, what is it?

This is a photo of one of many, many water-color paintings in the main facility at the garden. I was totally amazed at the realize this artist obtained with water colors. Totally changed my perception of what can be done with this medium.

So, now we will be lounging around in our condo for the remainder of the evening the begin the process of devouring all of the food we’ve accumulated over the past three weeks. That’s going to be a daunting task because we have a lot of it. We’re not going to be hungry for the trip home.

Day 25 – Norfolk Naval Station & Naps

Posted on October 14, 2016 by Jerrie Cate

This morning started off with an alarm clock going off, not something we normally do on vacation. But, we had a bus to catch at 0830 so sleeping in until 9-10 wasn’t going to work. The bus was for a tour of Naval Station Norfolk.

The significant aspect of this trip for our group of former USS Cleveland (LPD-7) crew members is that 50 years ago this month those of us who were in the 1st crew were on the base to board the ship and take it to her home port in San Diego, via the Panama Canal. So many changes have been made to the base over those 50 years that none of us could definitively say, “I remember that!” Nope, it was all new, and very, very different. It’s truly a new Navy.

The tour bus we rode is apparently a frequent visitor to the Naval Station because our tour guide, a Petty Officer 3rd Class, said he did tours with our bus driver about every other day.

Jack, the president of the Cleveland Reunion Association, has been to all of the reunions as you can see by the length of his name tag. Each row has the name of the reunion location for each year. There have been 19 of them. Diane and I have only been to about 5 of them, counting this one.

Our bus tour of the naval station took us by most of the piers but we weren’t allowed to take photos up close. Instead, the bus pulled over a safe distance away from the piers and people were allowed to stand in the open door to take pictures back at the USS George Bush. Can’t see much, but there it is.

Before leaving the vicinity of the Naval Station we stopped by the NEX food court for lunch. Diane, Marsha, and I ate Panda Express. I’ve been craving Chinese food for a while and that just hit the spot for all of us. I ate far more than I should have.

After leaving the naval station the tour bus took us to downtown Norfolk and dropped us at Nauticus where we could tour the USS Wisconsin BB-64. They wanted lots of money to visit the ship so Diane and I chose to skip a trip aboard since we had recently visited the USS New Jersey BB-62. And, in past years we’ve been fortunate to visit the USS Alabama BB-60, and USS Missouri BB-63. That’s enough battleships for us. In our experience, once you’ve seen one battleship, you’ve seen them all. Still, there’s something special about going aboard one of those behemoths and walking those teak decks. This time, however, we chose to save the knees for another day.

Another aspect of Nauticus is a Navy Museum which is free and we found it to be very interesting. Upon entry we were greeted by a gentleman in an authentic civil war naval uniform. He introduced himself as a LCDR whose name I can’t remember but his delivery was current tense as if were there. He was a wealth of knowledge regarding those times and it was a delight to talk with him. It was a new experience for us in a museum and we liked it.

The displays included this torpedo which was interesting just by itself.

Making it more interesting was the placard sitting by it.

This is Gary and Dan who were also aboard the USS Cleveland. I suppose you could tell that by the hats they’re wearing. Dan and I were part of the commissioning crew in 1966 and Gary was aboard some time after that. Notice that I lined this up so you could see the mermaid between them. An intentional photo bomb.

This one adds Cindy to the mix. She’s Gary’s significant other and one of our favorite people.

At the end of the tour we all retired to our rooms. Diane and I promptly fell asleep and didn’t wake up until around 6 pm. By then we felt the need to refill some of the depleted food storage units but didn’t want to go out for another meal. We were told that the flounder in the resident eatery was pretty good, but that didn’t appeal, either. So, we discovered where the nearest Food Lion was and went shopping for simple things to tide us over for the weekend for breakfast and supper needs.

Both Diane and I are tired of traveling and look forward to getting home next week. Even if it’s going to be stormy and wet. We watched the videos on the weather channel of the tornado that hit Manzanita today. Nasty. Still, we will be glad to get home.

Maybe we’re getting too old for these long trips.

Thanks for listening.

Day 24 – Virginia Beach

Posted on October 14, 2016 by Jerrie Cate

Here I sit on the balcony of our room overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. It’s another warm, clear, beautiful day in Virginia. Diane is sitting near me reading about the weather in Oregon. The news is Oregon is going to exceed the normal rainfall for October by 300%. That’s some serious rain. Many, many inches. Then, coming in behind it is some heavy wind that will, without a doubt, push over a bunch of trees because of the saturated ground around them.

We had a major breakfast at the Jumping Shrimp cafe in the hotel that later in the day caused Diane a bit of abdominal distress causing her to miss an opportunity for supper with me in the USS Cleveland conference room. I put in an appearance and visited a little while, ate 3/4 of a sandwich, and had a root beer before going back to our room to be with her. You’d think after all these years I would be able to spend some time away from her visiting with old friends and shipmates, but it doesn’t work. If Diane isn’t there with me, I don’t enjoy it. Just a sentimental old sap, I guess.

Needless to say, this was the extent of our activity for today. Nothing important to share.

We just took a few naps so we could be rested up for bedtime.

Day 23 – Virginia Beach, Virginia

Posted on October 12, 2016 by Jerrie Cate

It was a brutal two-hour drive from Fort Lee to Virginia Beach on freeways and roads with very light traffic. Most of the freeways on this side of the country appear to be carved our of forests so there’s not a lot to see – just stands of trees on either side of you. And the trees are really, really tall. Guess I should have taken a picture, huh? But, here we are in beautiful, sunny, warm, Virginia Beach.

We’re staying at the Four Points by Sheraton because this is where the reunion is being held. This one is better, however, because we’re not far from Naval Air Station Oceana where fighter jets are flying, making lots of noise during the day. Diane loves it, and I don’t mind at all. We feel protected.

As I was checking in our friends Jack and Nancy, from San Antonio, TX, were just on their way out to eat lunch so they waited for us to get parked so we could join them. We took a slow walk up the street to a Mexican restaurant were I ate my usual Camerones ala Diabla and let me tell you, they were over the top diablo. Very hot. Made my eyeballs sweat.

This is Nancy and Diane. Didn’t get a picture of Jack because he walks too slow.

Lunch was very good. When done, we walked slowly back to the hotel, visiting as we went. Jack had quadruple bypass surgery 10 months ago and isn’t in a mood to push things too hard which is fine with me. Slow is perfectly OK.

The temperature here, at 4:21 pm, is 71 and there are people walking the boardwalk along the beach in shorts and flip flops. There are some surfers frolicking in the waves, too. So, we have entertainment without going anywhere. We’re watching them from the 5th floor of the hotel where the temp is probably 65.

Diane enjoying the salt air and wave noise. this was good until someone, I’m not saying it was guy, lit a cigar up wind (north) from us. Ruined her zen moment.

The view straight out from our porch.

View looking south from the porch.

View looking north from the porch.

This is a 9-story facility but the top 4 floors were damaged by hurricane Matthew so we’re technically on the top floor. Our room is very small but comfy, nothing like we had at Fort Lee. That was exceptional.

While sitting on the porch, minding our own business, this ferry showed up just outside the surf line. When he first showed up he was riding very low in the water, almost to the top of the freeboard along the sides. When he let he was riding about 4-5 feet higher in the water.

It only stayed out there for about 10 minutes, then left. We thought it might be some sort of dredge, moving sand from a nearby harbor and dumping it just off the beach. The more I thought about it, however, the more convinced I blame that it’s not a dredge, but a Honduran ferry transporting visitors to the Virginia coast. I can’t confirm this, however, because we never say anyone jump over the side. But, the boat obviously got lighter, so the passengers must have exited undetected somehow and worked their way in amongst the 20-30 people walking on the boardwalk. They’re very tricky, I’m told, and after having not seen it with my own eyes, I believe it. They just sneak right in, unseen. I don’t think they even wet. It’s amazing.

Now I must reminisce a bit, all the way back to yesterday when we visit Cedric for the last time on this trip. We got him a chicken teriyaki Subway sandwich and a Mr. Pibbs for his supper. He was a little sad to see us go, and we were a little sad to be going, but it was time.

As we drove up to the barracks, which really are barracks at all, but small 2-man condos, we were presented with this interesting sight in the sky. It was very brilliant from, I think, the setting sun shining on the clouds in just the perfect way.

We joked, smiled, and laughed. It was a very good parting visit. Cedric is going to do just fine during his Navy career, no matter how long or short it may be.

When we walked away, back to the car, this sunset greeted us. It was like an omen – Red sun at night, Sailor’s delight. Heard that one?

Tomorrow the reunion starts and runs through the weekend. We’ll be here until Tuesday morning. On that day we must get up about 3 am so we can get the car returned to the airport in time to catch a 7-something flight home.

That’s going to be fun.

Day 22 – Laundry Day at Fort Lee Lodge, and Lunch

Posted on October 11, 2016 by Jerrie Cate

Yes, we must do our laundry while traveling. I suspect most people do except Jack Reacher, who just buys new outfits when it’s time to change clothes, then throws the old stuff away. Before we left I suggested that we take nothing but old underwear, the ones with rips and holes, of which I have a few, and just toss them each day. Diane nixed that idea, at least for her, because you just never know when you might wind up at the doctor’s office in one of those backward gowns.

Me? I brought old underwear.

Even so, we have outer clothes that get soiled and isn’t something we’d throw away until it falls apart because they are always good for working in the yard. Since we are checking out of here tomorrow we need to get things washed today. Matter of fact, the washing machines are running as I write. I might have 15 minutes or so remaining before I must make that long trip down the hall to put them in a dryer. My phone will bark when it’s time.

The upside of doing laundry at the Fort Lee Lodge is that it’s free to use the machines. There are 6 sets on each of the 7 floors, 3 at each end. That’s a lot of washers and dryers, my friend. There’s even a TV in the laundry room. And an A/C unit. A person could just take a book down there and hang out all day if they wanted to.

Diane didn’t want to. She chose to scour the base in search of the thrift store she saw a couple of times during our trips and left me alone to deal with the drying aspect of laundry. She loaded the washers, kissed m on the cheek, and headed for the parking lot. She took all my quarters, too. So, here I am, unsupervised, tasked with ensure that two special blouses do not make it to the interior of a dryer. The penalty is severe for failing this simple rule.

Thankfully I remembered because when I got back to the room she was sitting on the couch and I had the blouses in my hand. She said the thrift store is not open until Wednesday so we’ll have to go in search of a Goodwill in the civilian world this afternoon, to see what folks in Virginia give away. I can see it in the stars. Really, I can.

On my trip to the laundry room I took this photo so you could get a sense of how long the hallway is. It’s easily 200 yards. That means it’s 100 yards either direction for us because we’re almost dead center in the middle. By the elevators, which is really handy. The young lady, Brittany. who gave us this upgrade did us an enormous favor unless the room is haunted. I don’t think it is, but you just never know in a hotel.

This is looking the other direction from our room.

It’s hard to judge the distance in these crappy photos because the lights by the rooms just run together at the far end. Perhaps that’s a good indicator.

The dryers taker 45 minutes to run their cycle and I only have 26 minutes remaining until my phone barks at me again. I feel like I should take a nap, but it’s too early. That’s what I have to keep telling myself. It’s too early.

I’m sure you find all of this very interesting, and can tell that I’m not really full of fun stuff to share. I will, however, share this tender moment that I failed to include on one of the evenings Cedric spent with us.

Diane caught us both sleeping and snuck up on us. It was very peaceful sitting there with him, knowing he was relaxed and in a good place. Reminds me of when he was little and would do the same thing.

With the laundry done Diane said it was time for lunch and that I should get busy. She reminded me that yesterday I said I’d cook today. So I did. We had 8 eggs, half an onion, half a potato, 8 pieces of bacon, and a brand new green pepper. There’s no toaster in the room so I improvised by using a pan to toast English muffins on one side. Diane took care of the bacon while I prepared the eggs and everything else.

Since we only have a two burner stove, it was tricky getting it all done in a manner that nothing got cold. Since eggs were last, Diane stacked everything else in the microwave to keep them warm. When the eggs looked done enough to eat I flung a few pieces of cheddar cheese on top and put a lid on until it melted a little. I’d already turned the burner off but hat was just long enough for the bottom of the eggs to crisp up more than I had intended.

It was still good.

Now I really do think I’m going to take a little nap. Jerrie’s tired and his eyes burn.

Day 21 – Maymont Park – Richmond, Virginia

Posted on October 10, 2016 by Jerrie Cate

Today we left the base and embarked on an adventure to Richmond to visit Maymont Park based on the recommendation of the nice lady with the German accent behind the reception desk at our exceptionally nice abode.

I programmed our destination into my phone’s GPS, plugged it into the car, and away we went on I-95 North. It was a quick trip because Richmond is only about 29 miles from Fort Lee. Since Columbus Day is apparently a holiday for most folks in Virginia there was very little traffic on the freeway. That was true for the side streets in town that we had to traverse at the insistence of Veronica, our GPS expert. It’s actually SIRI, not Veronica. I was just trying to trick you.

Richmond has some very narrow streets that I’m sure haven’t been widened since they were primarily used for horses and buggys. With the only available parking is on the street for most of the housing we saw, like this, the situation doesn’t get any better. There actually are individual houses around, and we saw some, but row houses like those in this photo are all over the place. These are actually separate homes with about a 5-6 foot space between them, but on first look they appear to be joined at the hip. There are others that are obviously newer, made of brick, that I would call town homes because they are physically joined. I didn’t take a photo of any of those because I didn’t want to. That, and my phone/camera was connected to the car for the GPS. That’s why I didn’t want to.

Getting to the park took us directly through the heart of VCU (Virginia Commonwealth University). At least that’s what it seemed like because we were surround by buildings with the VCU logo on them for a mile or so through town. If those were indeed university buildings, I’d hate to have to make it from one class to another across that campus. Maybe they have some sort of underground delivery system for students.

Once we got to the park the first thing we discovered was that the welcome center wasn’t welcoming anyone because it’s not open on Monday. So we followed what looked like a group of Richmond natives down a walk that led waaaay down into a valley on this 100 acre estate.

At the bottom Diane stopped to rest her knees, which hurt all the time, and she was in need of a restroom. Fortunately, Dave was just about to pass us and he was dressed, to me, like someone who might work on the estate. I know his name was Dave because I asked and told me. Before that, however, I asked him if he knew where a restroom might be. He did, of course, because he volunteers his time at the park working in Raptor Valley where the birds live. He said he was heading that way and to follow him. Naturally that led to a conversation about where we were from. When he discovered that we were from out West, he slowed his pace to match ours and gave us a comprehensive history of the Maymont property and its original owners, the Dooley’s. What a guy!

Dave said James Dooley made his millions in a variety of enterprises, including the railroad industry, and built this incredible mansion on a hill in Richmond. When he and his wife died they had no family so left the property to the city of Richmond. Unfortunately, the property didn’t come with money to maintain it. That required a group of wealthy Richmond folks to step up and begin a program for that reason. The result is beautiful Maymont Park that includes the mansion and all of it’s grounds. It’s worth a trip. Oh! and it’s free.

Diane and I wandered around the winding paths and stairways to the tune of between 4-5 miles, depending on whose fitbit you want to believe. Mine came up with 3.97 miles but Diane’s was 5. My fitbit also said that I climbed up and down 15 floors of stairs. That one is absolutely true, I’m pretty sure. We did some ticking up and down hills. Diane’s knees will never be the same after today.

On the way back to the hotel we stopped at the Wal-Mart* super center a little south of Fort Lee to get some required items, then stopped for a Pizza Hut dinner at the facility on base. When we got to the room I was a little shaky because I hadn’t had anything to eat for approximately 6 hours. As a newly crowned diabetic I could feel the need for food and confirmed it when I checked my BS level. It was 73.

The pizza was good and we demolished the entire thing, each eating half. That’s significant for Diane because she normally can only eat 3 pieces.

Now we’re settled in for the night and I need to stop because Monday Night Football is about to start. Since Cam Newton is out with a concussion for the Carolina Panthers our home town boy, Derek Anderson, will be in at quarterback. They are playing Tampa Bay with Jamis Winston at QB. It would be fun to see Derek beat them.

I will terminate this with some photos from today’s trip.

This is a terrific little stone bridge at the bottom of the trail, just before we met Dave.

Wandering through the Japanese Garden.

At the to, near the mansion, we found a large stone barn that has huge bird houses for dormers.

More out buildings with a really pretty fountain.

A comprehensive view of the estate buildings. This was taken from a wicker chair tied to 3 large weather balloons. It’s secured to the ground with a very long rope, thank God. It was still a little breezy up there, but it provided a terrific view of the James River and the estate. Those descriptive words just magically showed up when I imported the photo.

This is the last shot I took as the handlers were hauling me out of the sky.

Inside is the freakishly weird Swan Bed in Mrs. Dooley’s bedroom. I’m guessing this feature of her choice in bedroom furniture was a large factor in their childless marriage. I mean, really?

The kitchen is huge and finely attired. Looks very functional.

The living room is very ornate. Lots of wood that needs lots of pledge to keep it looking like it does.

Outside Diane walks through the arches where the Dooley’s, and guests would access the home from their carriages without getting wet, in case it was raining.

That’s Diane standing at the top of the steps on the front porch. She thought it was pretty nice, but that it should be screened in. Still, pretty classy.

On the way out, pondering the best route back to our car, Diane stops to consider how long it would take me to mow all that yard. It’s massive.

Lastly, here’s a pretty nice looking tree standing all alone so it could flourish in all directions.

Ta-da.

Day 20 – Part 2 – Beyond the Gate

Posted on October 9, 2016 by Jerrie Cate

About 2:30 this afternoon we decided that it was time to get something to eat and we had pretty much exhausted the on-base eating opportunities so it was time to escape and see what’s out there, outside the gate. We walked out of the hotel into cool air, light breeze, and a beautiful cloudless sky.

We went looking for an exit. Turns out there are quite a few of them, unlike the JBAB base in Washington D.C. That makes it easy to leave but knowing which gate to use for an exit would take some practice to learn where they are in respect to where you want to go. Since we didn’t know where we wanted to go it really didn’t matter which exit we took. So, we took the second one we found. The first one we tried ended at a fence and looked like it hadn’t been used for many years.

The second exit was on Sisisky Blvd, a street with which we are familiar because we’ve crossed it many times on trips to the commissary, the PX, and the gas station. We didn’t actually pick it because we knew it would get us off base. It just turned out that we saw the gate and noticed it was, gee, Sisisky Blvd.

Once out the gate, which is easy to do because no one has to stop on the way out. All the ID checking happens on the way in. There’s a stop light just outside the fenced area on Highway 36. Sisisky Blvd actually becomes Highway 144 on the other side of Highway 36 if you go straight through the light.

Not know which way to go, Diane stayed in the middle lane to go straight through then changed her mind at the last second and forced her way into the left turn lane. That was easy to do because there were any other cars making a left turn.

We drove a little ways while I got Maps up and running on my phone to see what I could find in the way of slow food instead of fast food. You know, a nice place to have a sit down meal on a Sunday afternoon.

When I got Maps up I discovered that all the fairly close places to eat were behind us. We should have turned right. So, the logical thing to do was turn around in the middle of a major highway, right? Well, Diane went to a light to do it. It was all legal and everything. Honest.

Once we got turned around all the normal food places started appearing: McDonalds, Papa John’s Pizza, Waffle House, and places like that. But, like I said, we were more interested in something that more closely resembled a restaurant. With a hostess, and waitresses.

Diane spied a Ruby Tuesday to her left as we buzzed along Highway 36 so I looked it up. Looked like good food so she started looking for a place to turn around. She always finds that place, but the legality of some of the places she uses to turn around are questionable. This one wasn’t. It was perfectly legal. And safe.

Now we’re going the other way on Highway 36, back toward Fort Lee and we’re having a conversation that made me think Ruby Tuesday’s was between the opposing lanes of the semi-freeway we were on. Thus, since Diane had seen it on her left the first time, logic in my head said it would be on the left, again. So that’s where I was looking when she made a right turn into what she thought may be a back way into Ruby’s that was on our right. Very confusing, right? You should have been there.

After driving up Cousins Avenue about half a mile, about where it make a right turn toward I-295, she figured it wasn’t a back way into Ruby Tuesday’s. This U-turn was illegal. Just had to say it. But she made it safely and only had to accelerate just a little more than normal to stay ahead of the car that appear magically behind us.

At the light she turned right and spied the opening into the parking are for Ruby’s just past the local Pizza Hut. We made it.

Upon entry, we were greeted by Samantha, a very bubbly young lady with a very distinctive cowgirl drawl, and she led us to a booth, got us seated, explained all the rules, then brought us tea for Diane, raspberry lemonade for me. A quick look at the menu was all I needed to determine what I was going to eat, and Diane did the same. She ordered a New York steak, baked potato, and salad bar. The have a really good salad bar just inside the door so it was an obvious choice no matter what else we ordered. Diane’s came with the salad bar. I ordered the triple shrimp place. They called it a trio-something, but it was just three kinds of shrimp in three small square bowls. One had two skewers with 3 shrimp each on a bed of linguine, one had 4 large deep-fried fantail shrimp, and the other had about 13 small battered and deep-fried shrimp in some sort of creamy pink sauce all layered on shredded lettuce.

Here’s what we got …

The steak doesn’t look very big, but it was a big knife.

I would have taken a photo of the salad bar but figured everyone’s seen those things. They’re all over the place. Diane sent me first because she said I usually take so long to figure out what I want so, to throw her off a bit, I did a speed run through the line and was in seconds. I was like The Flash going through the line with shredded lettuce, egg bits, pieces of beets, and carrots flying all over the place, and came back with a small plate adorned with a professional looking salad. It was awesome because I was wearing light-colored slacks and a nice shirt and didn’t get anything on me.

Halfway through the salad, Caleb arrived with our main courses. I knew it was Caleb because that’s what Samantha called him. I’m alert that way. Sometimes.

It all looked really, really good so we just dove right in and got to work. All of my shrimp were awesome and Diane said her steak was exactly what she was hoping for. Perfectly cooked, tasted great, and very, very tender. She didn’t even have to use ketchup or anything.

She ate the entire steak, all by herself. She never does that. There’s always a little bit left for me. But not this time. So all I got was a bunch of shrimp and I was looking forward to at least a couple of bits of steak. She offered me a bite about halfway through the meal, but I was determined to finish all those shrimp and the linguine, which I did. When I was done I discovered that it was a good thing Diane ate all her steak because I couldn’t eat another bite of anything. Really.

When we were done we bid Samantha adieu and headed back for the base. Upon entering our room I plopped down on the sofa bed, burped, and may have even farted a little, then texted Cedric to see how his day went. He hadn’t contacted us because he’s been working on qualifications to perform his assigned jobs while on duty and that’s important.

Tomorrow he has duty so we made arrangements to hook up after he gets out of class Tuesday afternoon. I bribed him with food and he was all for that.

Since tomorrow will be another free day for us we may venture off base for a new adventure so I’ll have something to tell you at the end of the day. Need to take some new photos, too. It’s always nice to have photos.

The weather today was cool (65) but bright and sunny. Last night, however, and all day yesterday, the rain hammered us mercilessly. By Oregon standards it wasn’t bad at all, but apparently the ground is pretty saturated from previous rain storms so today there was quite a lot of standing water. It was most evident at the on-base golf course we ventured through on our search for a way off the base. Most of the sand traps were full of water. It would have been fun to play, but I didn’t bring my clubs.

Now it’s late, once again, and I must terminate.

G’nite.

Day 20 – Part 1 – Sunny Days Are Here Again!

Posted on October 9, 2016 by Jerrie Cate

It’s early. We don’t know what the day will bring, but the sun is shining so it can’t be bad. We had a good soaking of rain from the extreme fringe of hurricane Matthew but nothing beyond the capabilities of professional Oregonians to handle. Just a little rain. I say that not meaning to minimize the impact Matthew has had on its journey up the coast of Florida. That was pretty devastating for thousands of folks. Those where we are were fortunate. It could have been far worse.

This is the view from our window, looking almost due south. There’s a bit of a breeze but no rain in the foreseeable future. That means things are looking up for a nice few days in Virginia Beach later this week.

Our friend Nancy, in Georgia, whom I’ve never talked about, had to evacuate her house because it was in the path of Matthew. I don’t know how far she had to go to reach safety, but she is safe. Yesterday she returned home to find that it was OK. Lots of trees down in her area but none hit her house. Just wind-blown tree debris all over the place. We’re happy for that.

Also, cousin Karen from Clyo, GA had to pack up, too. She went to Atlanta but don’t have any updates yet.

The really sad news from yesterday, from a sports perspective, is that the Oregon Ducks were thoroughly dominated by the Washington Huskies 70-21. It was bound to happen eventually. Now I’ll have to shift my fickle allegiance to the winner and root for Washington to make it to the championship game. That will maintain my PAC-12 affiliation but sever my mental ties to the home state team. Second on my list is the Oregon Beavers who won yesterday against California.

Enough about college sports. Lets move on to the NFL. Cam is out with a concussion for tomorrow nights game which means our very own Derek Anderson, who is from Scappoose, will be the QB. We look forward to watching him play. His grandpa lives just around the corner from Diane’s Mom, Jean, in St. Helens. I actually had lunch with him at the St. Helens Senior Center a few weeks ago. Nice guy.

On the high school football scene, St. Helens High beat Parkrose 42-0 at the St. Helens home-coming game on Friday. The boys in appear to have a handle on how the game is played. We go to all the games when we’re home. Same with soccer, as you may have noticed from previous posts.

Everyone who cares will be happy to know that I’ve decided to quit adding sugar and cream to my coffee because my BS levels have been bouncing around a little. Not terribly high, but higher than normal. So, I’m just going cold turkey, back to the way I drank my coffee during my Navy days – black and bitter. Doing this will also lower my caffeine intake because I’ll only drink 2 cups instead of 7.

We haven’t heard from Cedric yet about how his day will go, or if I’ll be allowed to sign him out again. So, we decided that if nothing is heard by noon we’ll head off base to see what’s out there. The sun is shining bright and almost all the clouds have dissipated so exploring should be fun. If we get Cedric, we may be able to take him with us. That remains to be seen. He has duty tomorrow so that will be a free day to explore for us, too.

I’ll end this segment now since I’m not really sharing anything of significance and leave you breathless, waiting for Part 2 this evening.

Stay safe.

Day 19 – Another Day With Cedric

Posted on October 8, 2016 by Jerrie Cate

Diane and I slept very well last night and extended the relaxation period to late morning. Like till 1000. Then the phone rang. I knew right away that it was Cedric because that’s what my caller ID told me. Knowing this, I answered right away to see what was up.

He said, “you can come and get me, if you want.”

“Right now?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said.

“Should I come as I am or should I put clothes on?” I asked.

“Clothes would be good, Grandpa,” he said.

Actually, we were just lounging around in our jammies, waiting to see what the day would bring. It started raining last night and has been raining all day. Sometimes very hard. We had planned to put clothes on if something came up that required us to leave the room. Since it did, we told Cedric we’d be there at noon, and got busy putting on street clothes.

The rules for today were the same as yesterday except he was allowed to stay out until 2100. We got to the barracks and I was walking to the entrance just as Cedric walked out the door. We turned around and went right back in so I could sign him out for the day.

Since it was noon we took the bottomless pit to Popeye’s Chicken that’s actually part of the gas station. Odd, maybe, but that’s the way it is. Kinda like a rest stop on the freeway where there’s a KFC on one end, and Taco Bell on the other end. Here on base it’s just Popeye’s. The other end is just a gas station. That doesn’t really matter, though, because Cedric would have eaten on the gas station side if necessary.

After lunch we made a trip to the commissary with the hope of finding a knee wrap for Diane in the medical section. On the way in I saw an older fellow wearing a USMC baseball hat and did the only natural thing there was to do. He saw it coming when I saluted him and returned it. This kind of caught Cedric off guard because he wasn’t sure whether he should salute or not. No, it was just two old guys honoring each other for service rendered.

We didn’t find anything like what was needed in the commissary so went next door to the PX to search some more. They didn’t have any wraps either, but they had some shoe inserts Diane wanted to try. And I found these young soldiers having fun with costumes.

It’s a new Army.

On the way out of the PX we met the USMC guy coming in so we rendered honors once again. It’s fun being in the military again even if it’s just for fun.

After leaving the PX we stopped by the Women’s Museum at Cedric’s request. I told him I wasn’t sure we could get in because I thought maybe, since it’s a women’s museum that only women were allowed inside. I was wrong, of course. I knew I would be. Cedric wanted a moment of his ideal woman, Athena.

The displays inside were very nicely done and told a very interesting story of women in the Army. I only took one photo inside because it’s not really something I’d find useful in my library and I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t have found it interesting. This is the one I took …

Then I got Cedric just hanging out waiting for us to catch up on the outside.

The we went back to the our room to enjoy the rain and remainder of the day inside, watching a movie. Cedric has a copy of the Captain America vs. Iron Man movie. Diane had never seen it and she kinda has a crush on Captain America. So do I. He’s hot.

After the movie Diane made us a nice dinner of bake potatoes, salad, and beef brisket. It was excellent. I tried to take a selfie at the table but Cedric ruined it.

After dinner Diane broke out the mini Oreos and Cedric shared a little know story about how his Mom, our little Jennifer, would take Oreos out of the package, eat all the frosting, and put the cookies back. It’s a fond childhood memory of Cedric’s. He was happy that all the minis he got from the package had all the frosting inside.

Sharing this memory prompted him to call his Mom so he could talk to her. He put her on speaker so we could all participate. It was very nice. No other family members were present which was unfortunate, but we had a wonderful talk with Mom.

Cedric shared a karma event with us regarding the young man who agreed to be Cedric’s Liberty Buddy last Wednesday but bailed at the last minute making it necessary for us to visit at the picnic tables by the barracks. Well, today, after we arranged to pick Cedric up at noon, that same sailor wanted Cedric to be his Buddy to go off base to the credit union. Since we were on the way, Cedric declined. Oddly, the sailor was upset apparently telling Cedric he’d remember this. We all decided he probably wouldn’t since he didn’t remember the first event.

Too too, it was time to pack up and head back out into the rain. Cedric has the proper clothing for inclement weather. I love his coat but can’t afford to buy on for myself. Just as we were ready to leave Cedric’s phone rang and it was Jeran. We delayed departure for a bit so they could talk, then Cedric excused himself because we had to get him back to the barracks. He vowed to call Jeran back once he was back in his room.

That was the day. Another good one.

Day 18 – A Day With Cedric

Posted on October 8, 2016 by Jerrie Cate

I’m writing this the day “after” instead of the day “of” so please forgive me if I get things out-of-order, or, God forbid, forget something. I might even spell something wrong. It could happen because I’m going to write in present tense, pretending it’s yesterday

The first order of business was to see about connecting with Cedric in person. So far we’ve only been texting while things get sorted out about whether or not he can leave his barracks with us. Since he’s still new to the Navy, and currently stationed on an Army base, Army rules apply and they require that their newbies obtain a Battle Buddy to move beyond the bounds of their barracks. The Buddy System. Makes sense. Cedric had a Buddy lined up for last Thursday so we could see him but that Buddy backed out. When Jennifer heard about this she told Cedric, “Remember that when he wants help.”

That’s my girl!

That put Thursday out of reach so we arranged to meet him at his barracks this morning so we could hang out with him at the picnic tables on the Navy side of his barracks which is shared with the Air Force.

When we arrived there were about 10 Air Force folks, men and women, performing yard maintenance all across the front of the building, which is very large, sending grass clipping odors our direction in such a manner that Diane found it hard to breath. So, she departed for the safety of the car until they were done. Before leaving I captured them.

Cedric and I, who are not similarly affected by grass odors in such a manner, sat at a wobbly picnic table talking about his new life.

He said he actually liked Boot Camp better because it was a mindless (my word) existence that didn’t require decisions, just obedience. With the shift to Fort Lee he retained the obedience requirement, obtained more freedom, and was tasked with the added aspect of adopting unfamiliar Army regulations into his behavior pattern. I can understand his confusion.

We talked for about an hour during which time I learned a bit about how his daily life goes. He’s only been on the base for a week so really hasn’t had much time to assimilate. His school started on Monday and they already have them playing with knives, an unanticipated treat. And it wasn’t just a butter knife, but a really sharp one.

I learned that FC1 Clark is in charge of the Navy aspect of the barracks today. FC stands for Fire Control meaning his job is mainly on ships at sea dealing with guns and missiles. Being here, in this job, is a way for the Navy to give him a break from sea duty. Cedric calls him their baby sitter, which it is in a way. He approves all the standard requests for liberty so he’s an important person this day in the daily lives of the sailors in the barracks.

By now the lawn mowing had been terminated because lunch was looming on everyone’s radar. Food was becoming more and more important. Even our stomachs were beginning to sense the need for sustenance in order to make it through the afternoon to supper. So, Diane volunteered to make a run to Subway and bring it back for us to eat.

About that time FC1 Clark left the building on his way to lunch. He wasn’t gone long, and Diane was preparing to leave on her mission to obtain a sandwich when he returned. I stood by Diane, wishing her well on her quest as FC1 Clark exited his vehicle.

I timed my return to Cedric so it intersected with Petty Officer Clark’s trajectory so that I could thank him for his service, and to introduce myself. As I expected, he was a very congenial young man who was willing to explain the rules for Liberty Buddies for me. We just talked Navy, something I think he misses.

At this juncture I must profess that not once did I reveal my Navy rank in an attempt to coerce a desired answer to an unasked, but simply inferred request. That was, of course, was there any reason why I couldn’t be Cedric’s Liberty Buddy since we were not going to leave the base.We just wanted to take advantage of an unexpected opportunity to visit with Cedric.

He tipped his head to the side a little, pondering the situation, then he asked, “what’s his last name?”

“Walters,” I told him.

He turned, aiming his voice at the picnic table where Cedric sat and said, “Walters!’

Being attuned to the sound and tone of FC1 Clark’s voice Cedric jumped to attention and quickly assumed a familiar position in front him. I learned later that Cedric was seriously afraid that I’d said something to get him into trouble. Then FC1 Clark said, “go get that liberty request you filled out and bring it to the office.” Then he turned to look at me and said, “bring your Grandpa, too.”

Stunned, Cedric departed on his mission and returned shortly to escort me into the building.

The entrance is set up to mimic boarding and leaving a ship and proper decorum is maintained throughout the process – salute the flag, turn and salute the Petty Office Of the Watch (POOW) request permission to come aboard, permission granted, then proceed into the building. Very proper stuff.

At the office, Cedric stood to the side of the door, then knocked, asking permission to enter. I screwed that one up by just marching ahead of him into the office. Seeing my mistake, I backed out and let him go first. At the desk I signed him out and away we went to Pizza Hut.

Yes, we opted for Pizza Hut instead of Subway. It was a good choice. Lunch was really good. Turns out the Pizza Hut on base is typically populated by Army so we two sailors were pretty much a minority. It was fun to mingle with them and they were all very polite and respectful.

From there Cedric opted to just hang out in our hotel room for the afternoon. The deal about being his Liberty Buddy was that I had to sign him back in prior to 2000. So, we made a pact to be back before 1930. During that time, Cedric did this …

and this

Just hung out and watched a movie, ate popcorn, and visited.

Later we stopped by Subway to get Cedric a sandwich, then we stopped by his school on the way back to sign him in. I call it the Knowledge Distribution Center, or KDC since were in the land of acronyms once again.