A Vacation & Other Stuff

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On September 8th we started working in earnest to get the old RV ready for a trip to the beach. The main focus was to run the water system through a cleansing process to ensure we wouldn’t catch some exotic disease from critters that seem to linger there. Though the RV is 36 years old, we can only verify that such a cleansing has never happened in the last six years that we’ve owned it. Prior to that, I suspect it was never done, either. Since we’ve been known to use the RV a number of times in the past, and have never suffered ill effects one may wonder why it was necessary that this task be performed prior to this next trip. The answer, of course, is that Diane determined it was necessary meaning nothing else was going to get done until the water streaming from the various exits of the system smelled totally like bleach. Therefore, we made it happen. Then we cleaned it, over and over until the offensive bleach odor (and taste) was removed. Let me tell you … adding the odor and taste of bleach is a snap. Getting rid of it, not so much. It took a while.

Part of the cleaning process included adding water to the grey and black water tanks then driving around a while so it would slosh around and make sure all interior surfaces received a cleansing rinse. Doing this was fun for me because it was the first time Diane rode with me while I drove the RV. All previous trips involved her driving the chase car, the one with air conditioning and a working radio, while I drove the RV which has neither. That’s not really too bad if it’s a cool day because the heater works great. So, having Diane with me was special.

Most of the sloshing voyage was on narrow back roads with lots of curves and bumps that put my rookie RV driving skills to the test and solidified Diane’s belief that we don’t need a tow car because she’s perfectly OK driving the chase car. However, we had already purchased a tow dolly for the PT so she was just out of luck. By ending the trip with a stint on a nice wide road her fears were soon forgotten.

Last Sunday morning, the 13th, the trip took on a serious note when Diane went took her Mom, Jean, to the store and left instructions for me to pack my underwear. So I did. It took me about 3 seconds then I went out and went to work getting the tow dolly connected to the RV and getting the PT secured. That took me about 20 minutes, something I was very proud of because I’d never done it before. All that remained was to get Diane home, crank up and head on down the road to see if it would fall off.

When Diane returned, that’s just what we did.

Eight miles down the road we stopped at Fred Meyer’s for gas because we had no idea how much was in the two tanks on the RV. The gas gauges don’t work very well. When I got out to unlock the gas tanks I was supremely gratified to see the PT still behind us. Since I hadn’t felt anything odd, or seen anything flying off the road behind me, I was pretty confident we still had it, but it was nice to eliminate that tiny little bit of doubt. Apparently I did an OK job of connecting all those chains and wires and had more confidence that it would stay put and follow us all the way to Cape Lookout State Park south of Tillamook.

The 2.67 hour trip went entirely as planned with the exception of where to dismantle the tow car lash up so I could back into our assigned spot. After driving around the park for a while, we came upon a turn around with a wide area that would allow me to stop and unstrap the PT so Diane could drive it. Though I can easily push the tow dolly around when it’s not connected to anything, I just can’t push if a mile which is about how far we were from our spot. So, I left it attached with the hope no one would get angry and start throwing stuff when I stopped in front of our spot to un hook it and push it out of the way so I could park. Thankfully, all went well even though the guy in the Flair next to us pulled up a chair to watch me do all of that. He said his favorite part was me attempting to get the rig level so we wouldn’t be sleeping with our heads downhill. It was the hardest thing I did all day. But I finally did it even though the parts of the inside of the RV I was using to check level are so not on the same plane as the beds. Discovering this anomaly proved to be the first step of successfully getting our heads at least level with our feet. Then I put the awning out and the RV adopted an obvious starboard list. Since that meant Diane’s bed (we have twins) leaned her into the wall, I called it good.

Oh ya. With the starboard list in effect, unless it was securely latched, the bathroom door would swing open and stay that way. Fortunately, if one were sitting down when that happened, it was fairly easy to grab the little knob on the door and pull it shut without allowing the folks in the trailer or RV next door to see anything important.

Cape Lookout State Park is a great place because the farthest spot in the back of the park is only about three blocks from the beach. Being back there isn’t a bad thing, we learned, because the closer one gets to the beach in the park, the denser the pack of mosquitoes becomes. Being closer, of course, conditions one to traverse the last 30 feet of solid mosquitoes with little or no pain after the 4th trip. Those in the back generally don’t make it more than 2 times before giving up and just staying close to the back of the park. It was OK.

Here we are being happy that we survived the Mosquito gauntlet …IMG_2272

We looked like this the entire time we were on the beach. The only difference is that sometimes Diane didn’t hide behind me.

Four days of no TV, no phone. Just us and the mosquitoes every time we left the rig, and leaving the rig on a fairly regular basis to walk the dogs. They insisted, according to Diane and I believe everything she tells me. When she tells me they want to go out, though I’ve not heard them exchange even one word, I believe her and take them out. I got pretty good at it.

The only casualty of this trip was when I lit the pilot light for the water heater. I got it lit the first time, then it went out when. So I lit another match and held the pilot button down a bit too long so that when I touched the match to the place where the pilot light lived, all that extra gas caught fire and blew out virtually every available hole on the water heater and burned off most of my eye brows and the last 1/4 inch of the hair on the left side of my head. The air around me immediately smelled like someone had just had a permanent. It was awesome. I couldn’t wait to get inside to share it with Diane. She wasn’t impressed. Turns out the frizzled ends brushed off quite easily. The ones that didn’t are on my eyebrows. I believe they are permanently curled, now, giving the appearance that I’ve had a bunch of pubic hairs transplanted mainly above my left eye. Since I only see it when looking in a mirror, which isn’t often, it doesn’t bother me. Diane was more comfortable with me wearing a hat low on my head whenever we took a walk. I think it’s sufficiently curly that I can use it to hold a little velcroed curtain over my eye when I sleep. Kinda dumb, but bet I could do it. If Diane lets me, I’ll take a photo.

One of the dogs loved the trip because she didn’t have to be on a leash any time we were on the beach.

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The beach is over a mile long and, at this time of year, if there are 10 people visible, it’s crowded.

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Looking south …

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Looking north …

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Alas, Thursday showed up signaling the end of this mini-vacation was near. Even so, we both felt as though these few days were much longer because we totally enjoyed ourselves and had a very relaxing time in one of the most beautiful places on earth. It was OK to be heading home.

First, however, we had to make it to Warranton for an afternoon soccer game between St. Helens and Astoria high schools. It was an uneventful trip because the rig ran really well with an exceptionally loud squeal from one, or both, of the belts on the engine. It didn’t bother me much, but Diane was totally embarrassed. As far as I was concerned, it just added to the authenticity of our 36 year hold ride. It wasn’t constant, but quit once we got up to speed. We understood the game was at 4 pm, figured it would take 2 hours to get there, left at 1 pm, made it in 1.5 hrs, and learned the game was really at 4:30. So, we were two hours early. The times are probably wrong, but that’s OK. The point is, we were early. The JV team won 10-2 and it could have been much, much worse. Lydia was moved from Keeper to Defender when the score was 7-1 so she got some field time which she also enjoys. Her team mates took turns filling in for her as the keeper. Most of the second half our girls spent playing keep away from the Astoria girls without attempting to score. It was like a drill they run all the time in practice. Varsity also won, 5-1.

After the games we headed home in the dark. Again, it was an uneventful trip. Everything worked just great. I had to take the PT off the trailer and put everything away before going to bed because I was being forced to go golfing Friday morning at 0830. I golfed better than I ever have. Part of the reason for that is because I started actually counting all my strokes instead of just guessing. Funny thing.

Another interesting thing we saw at the beach is this caterpillar. We seen hundreds of these things over the years, but none that had grey spikes.

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Personally, I think it’s an alien. How about you?

Spark Plugs & Mixers

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PT Cruiser Turbo 2.4L mechanic – Engine light came on after the engine sputtered a couple of times. After a bit of internet searching I discovered that PTs have the ability to display error codes on the trip meter. There was only one (P0300) for multiple misfires. So, I got new plugs and wires and swapped them out. Two of the old plugs were so tight I’m guessing that whoever installed them used a torque wrench. The plug gap on all of them was worn beyond a .070 gap, much larger than the recommended .040. Total cost $45, mainly because I bought expensive plugs.

Once the parts were installed I have to discover how to clear the error code. That turned out to be very simple … just had to disconnect the battery for a little while and let the juice drain from the system.

Getting the PT back on-line was imperative because we have plans to drag it behind the old Winnebago to Ocean Shores, WA next weekend, then south to Cape Lookout State Park in Oregon for the following week. Ocean Shores will be fun because it’s the Rod Run To The End Of The World weekend sponsored by the Beach Barons.

As a way to test out the Winnebago, we drove it to church, together, to pick up some tables to use for Cedric’s graduation party last Saturday. It drove really nice and Diane only fainted once when we were on the back roads. She doesn’t like back roads because they’re narrow and she’s convinced I’m going to run the rig into a ditch. Thankfully, most of our planned trips will be on major roads so she will be able to relax a little. Regarding the reference above that we went together … that’s significant because until this point in time we’ve never traveled together because we had no way to tow a vehicle. So, Diane drove the car and I drove the motor home. Now we have a tow dolly for the PT so we can enjoy each others’ company during the trip.

Here’s what we’ll look like going down the road … IMG_1740

A few weeks ago Diane bought a Kitchen Aid Pro 6 mixer at an auction for $200. That’s a real deal for a $400-$500 unit, so I thought she did real good. When she got it home I plugged it in and discovered why it was sold. I worked, but it made a horrible grinding noise. So, I figured out how to dismantle the thing and discovered a couple of gears were destroyed. Another trip to the internet revealed many how-to videos of how to replace those specific gears and most of the videos were by women.

Having this information in hand, and knowing it was a simple process, all I had to do was find a source for the gears, which I did more quickly than I thought I would, and had them on the way lickity split.

While I waited for them to arrive, I removed all the old grease surrounding the remaining gears, and cleaned up all the surfaces to ensure no ground up gear pieces could find a way to destroy any of the other gears. When the parts arrived it was a simple matter of putting it all back together, and replacing the grease. I cheated a little here because I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to pay $15 for a small container of OEM grease. Instead, I just used what I had in my grease gun and called it good.

Once it was all back together it worked good as new. Now Diane and mix stuff twice as good as she could on the old mixer that went nuts, flipped itself on the floor and kind wrecked itself in general. It was a Kitchen Aid, too, but the smaller version.

I may have done some other stuff, but don’t remember what it might be. So, guess I’m done here.

Happy Labor Day – Stay Safe

Tattoos & Piercings

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I’ve been toying with the idea of getting some tattoos and piercings over the years, but could never seem to settle on one thing to get.

So, I just got everything to eliminate the stress of making that decision.

What do you think?

crazy

OK. I lied. That’s not me. I’ve kept this photo around for about the last 10 years as a reminder why I never went down that road. I have to admit, though, that this person is making a very unique fashion statement.

Nifty, huh?

Graduation, Soccer, & Jimmy Buffett

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After a grueling 12 years of cramming, Cedric Dean Bradley is on the verge of graduating from High School. All he has to do is get through the ceremony this evening at 7 pm and the party tomorrow. His graduating class is the first one from the Columbia County Christian School in Warren, Oregon. Sadly, it will also be the only high school graduating class because next year the school will only be K-8. So, he will be a part of history. For his next adventure, he hopes to join the Navy as a Chaplain’s assistant then use his that experience and his GI Bill to fulfill his desire to be a Youth Pastor. So, here’s a two photo rocket ship ride of Cedric from pre-school to August 8th at his Great Grandma Jean’s 88th Birthday Party …

cedric's class DSC_3852

He’s all growed up now but his Mom is going to have a difficult time cutting him loose to join the big herd. Oh, that’s him on the left in the photo, in case you didn’t know.

For soccer, I only have this from yesterday where Lydia’s High School team participated in a jamboree against a host of other teams from the greater Portland area. They played The Dalles and Century, and beat them both. The Dalles was 4-0 and Century was 1-0. Jennifer and I suffered through a 1.5 hour delay, due to no umpires, in the horrendous heat to watch all this. It was brutal.

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The significance of the above photo is to show you how Lydia spent most of the game, watching her team keep the ball away from her goal. She’s the little yellow speck near trhe mid-field line.

Diane was on another mission in Portland watching a facility make eyeglass lenses so couldn’t participate in that delay. Because of it, however, she was able to make the 1-hour drive from home to arrive just in time to sit down and enjoy the last 35 seconds of the game. Since I was the one who determined that she could make it in time for most of the game I spent the remainder of the day on Diane’s NHWTP List. For those of you who are partially acronymically challenged, that mans Not Happy With This Person List.

On the way home she drove us down to the St. Helens docks which is always peaceful and provided a moment of solitude where I could (hopefully) eliminate the need for further punishment. Imagine our delight when we discovered that Jimmy Buffett’s little sister was in town.

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Now, I’m not suggesting that Jimmy’s Little sister is a cabin cruiser. No sir. I’m just thinking that maybe it was named after her even though I have absolutely no idea if Jimmy has a sister or, if he does, if her name is Jenny. This is all pure speculation on my part. Still, it’s kinda fun to live in my head and enjoy the possibilities.

Have a good day.

Smoke

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Maybe you’ve heard about all the forest fires currently burning in Oregon and Washington states. Such fires are always a concern for the Northwest because we have lots of trees, many of which are accessible only via helicopter, parachute, or narrow, little used logging roads. This makes fighting remote fires extremely difficult.

St. Helens isn’t traditionally in the forest fire danger zone so we are not accustom to worrying about such fires for our own safety. We do our worrying about those who deal with the dangerous job of engaging these fires up close. Many lose their lives every year due to the unpredictable nature of the fires they fight.

This year nature has made a point of engaging even us by blowing the smoke at us. As I write, the closet fire to us is about 60 miles away and we aren’t in any danger, but our visibility from the smoke is down to about a mile and it smells just like a huge campfire outside. Not a good day for organisms that need to breathe.

There cannot possibly be enough praise heaped upon the Hot Shots who deal with these fires close up. Discomfort from the smoke is very minor in comparison to what they endure.

God bless them all.

This is Highway 30 looking South toward Portland.

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Here’s the view from our upper deck with the smoke obscuring pretty much everything beyond a mile.

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For comparison, here’s a similar view from last spring.
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Fun At The Beach

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Just wanted everyone to know that, though were of advanced age, even we can have fun in the sun. The difference is we just wear more clothes when we do it.

This is from the beach at Seaside, Oregon.

IMG_2166The purpose of our trip, in addition to walking on the beach, was to watch Lydia play soccer with her high school team. We drove over on Friday and it rained all the way giving us cause for concern for the first game that evening. But it cleared up a little and the kids played a relative dry game.

Saturday was gorgeous and provided us with a fairly nice sunset.

DSC_3996Sunday was also great for our trip home. The dogs were happy to see us. The cat was indifferent.

 

 

88 on 8/8/15, Family, Kid Duties, & Devious Maids

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Greetings dear Minions. I hope everything is going well with all of you. On this end, it just keeps getting better and better. That’s the upside. The downside is that folks on my TV set keep telling me what a horrible world we live in where police keep shooting unarmed teenagers for no apparent reason. It’s just terrible and makes me want to move some place. But, gee, where would I go when the whole world is going to crap in the same manner?

On a happier note, yesterday was a festive day because we celebrated Diane’s Mom’s 88th birthday. Even better, we did it at her house so we didn’t mess up our place even a little bit. Just hers and it only took a few hours to put it all back in order.

Diane’s been planning this event for a while, inviting people from all over the place and got RSVPs from most of them meaning it was going to be a fun time. The end result was that virtually everyone in the family who all live locally, in addition to a pair of sisters who don’t, showed up to eat cake. Having the entire family together to celebrate Jean’s 88th year was pretty awesome. In all there were approximately 30 people in attendance ranging in age from 1 month to, gee, 88 years old.

Here’s the long and short of it. Mom, Grandma, Great Grandma, and Great Great Grandma Eleanor Jean at a pretty frisky 88 years old.

MomD Then there’s Draiden Jeffrey Cate showing up at one month and one day old. He has some hard growing up to do because he has two older sisters in addition to three aunts who are not much older than him who will all be either giving him grief or daring anyone to lay a hand on their little brother or nephew

. DraidenJeffreyOther attendees were … Ceirra, Lydia, Jerrie, Gilligan

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Diane’s cousin John, his wife Pam, and their son JonathanDSC_3759
Another cousin, Don, John’s brother, and wife Judy
DSC_3767 Father, Son, and UncleDSC_3769 Cousins … Julie, John, Diane, Don, & TerriDSC_3774 Jeff & Heather’s clan (minus Shene & Draiden who was eating) — Logan, Heather, Jeff, Gilligan, Baylee, Jerrie, Juliette, & Danyell. The three little ones on the left are aunts to the two on the right.DSC_3782 The Walker clan – Julie (daughter from Arizona – she came the farthest, but didn’t win anything for it), Carolyn (Mom), Jean (Sister & Aunt), & Terri (another daughter).DSC_3804 Great Granddaughter Lydia and the Birthday GirlDSC_3810 Logan & Shene’s clan – Juliette, Danyell, & Draiden. Aunt Jerrie photo bombed them.DSC_3834 More cousins — Cedric, Logan, & Lydia. Jeran was missing because he was having fun elsewhere.DSC_3853 The Walters clan – Jennifer, Lydia, Daniel, & Cedric. As noted, Jeran was missing.DSC_3873There were others, of course, but I’m sure everyone is tired of looking at family photos by now. So, I’ll just move along with a little narrative about happenings.

Now all I have to is ponder for a while to see if I can remember stuff. If I can’t, I’ll just make something up.

Beginning last Monday Diane and I both took a little trip back in time and participated in the taxi service normally enjoyed by parents who are much younger. In this case, however, we had a ball getting the kids to and from the places they needed to be. Since the kids needed to be in places far apart, at the same time, it’s good that there were two of us and that we are both still allowed to drive. Lydia to soccer training in Hillsboro at 0845, the same time Cedric was due at school and Jeran at Pacific Camps.

I drew Lydia so had to leave at 0730. That’s like 7 thirty in the morning! Really early for someone who is normally deep into his morning nap at that time. But, I did it, and did it well. I stayed and watched for the entire 3 hours of Lydia’s workout. Then we had lunch and I took her home. The rest of the day was a blur and I’m sure I didn’t do anything of importance.

Tuesday I took Cedric to his place of confinement. It was a simple task and I was proudly successful. While attending to this Diane transported Jeran to his dental appointment in Longview. Lydia had a ride to Hillsboro with Morgan’s Mom. Morgan is Lydia’s team member and is also attending soccer training. She was absent on Monday.

On Wednesday I repeated my Monday responsibility for Lydia and Morgan, staying for the entire three hours before taking them home. I’m not sure, but I think there was a nap or two during the afternoon. I think there were many naps involved with the remainder of the week with the exception of time on Thursday & Friday spent putting things together for Saturday’s birthday party. Diane put in a lot of overtime planning everything.

Saturday morning we made a trip to Oregon City for a St. Helens High School soccer game which St. Helens won 3-0. Lydia played awesome making some pretty great stops. As soon as we got home we started loading everything we own into the Impala for the trip to Grams’. I loaded ten (10) folding chairs, a folding table, a case of water and a very large sports umbrella into the trunk. It’s a HUGE trunk. With the back seats folded down I added a cooler, my camera & tripod, a large crock pot full of pulled pork, a box of assorted Avon items, a lantern, six cases of warm beer, and a small hot tub. The Impala also has a HUGE back seat. I must admit that I lied about some of the things I listed but it really does have a large back seat.

Today we went to church, ate breakfast there, came home with Mom and spent most of the day hanging out. After Diane took Mom home we walked next door to visit with Muriel and Bob who recently lost their son to pneumonia. It’s a long story but sad to say his passing was a good ending.

Now it’s getting late and I must watch the last few minutes of “Devious Maids” before retiring for the night.

ISS, Reunions, Soccer, & Relative

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Have any of you folks in the Great Northwestern portion of this here United States looked at the evening sky lately to see the International Space Station flying by? Three days ago we were gazing up, watching the stars pop out, when the ISS went zooming overhead and watched for the entire five minutes it took to transit from one horizon to the other. Initial speculation that it was the space station was confirmed, by me, when I jumped on my smart phone, figuratively speaking, and searched for information about this event. What I found on the APP Store (for my iPhone) was “ISS Spotter”, a pretty handy application that plots the station’s progress around the world and provides a list of times when it will be visible, if clouds permit, over your location. Because of this we’ve been able to see if the last three evenings at the times indicated. Pretty cool. It was especially great last night because big brother Jim, and his bride Donna, as well as our other brother Jack, and his bride Wynette, were visiting and we all stood at our deck railing watching together as this wonder of science whizzed by overhead. It was a special moment.

The occasion of Jim and Donna’s visit was so they could attend the All School Reunion for Scappoose High School, an event that happens every five years. For a small town it’s quite an event and brings folks back from all over the place. For my bride, Diane, it was even more special because her class celebrated their 50th reunion in conjunction with the five-year event.

As a result of all these festivities I’ve managed to regain the 12 pounds I recently shed, by studiously eating reasonable portions at reasonable times. During the past week there was no schedule for meals and it’s hard to say No when there’s an opportunity to share a meal for family we don’t often see. Especially when they’re buying. Now I must climb back on the wagon and pay attention before the doctor tells me I must start injecting myself with insulin every 3-4 hours. I’ll let you know how that goes.

Jim and Donna arrived last Wednesday afternoon and it’s been pretty much non-stop until this morning when they departed on their way back home to somewhere in Idaho. We visit them once in a while when they grant us permission to cross the border. That doesn’t always happen and it’s getting more difficult to get a visa for such visits because of all the shootings around the country. Coming in to Oregon isn’t a problem because we don’t have any border restrictions, yet.

At this point of my narrative there will be a rather long pause as I depart our premises to transport Lydia & Morgan to goalie training in Hillsboro at this undogly hour of 0745. I don’t normally doe things like that this early in the morning, but Diane is going the other way, to Longview, shortly thereafter to get Jeran to his dentist appointment. She can drive fast, for sure, but not fast enough to be in two places 60 miles apart at the same time. So, I get to take the east-bound leg, something I don’t really mind doing at all.

Now for the pause —————————-0719 to 1350 – elapsed time 6hrs 31min

What a morning. Picked Lydia up and had to skip Morgan because she wasn’t feeling well and stayed home. So, we arrived about 20 minutes early and Lydia was the only one there for a long time. I pointed out to Lydia that some of them didn’t show up until 0930 and she said “that was the twins (girls). Their dad is an actor and they’re filming “The Librarians” in the area so they are spending the summer here. Interesting.

 Lydia got a 3-hour workout on very little food and she did great. The group was composed of both goalies and what I call “shooters” so Lydia and the other goalies got a good workout from some kids that can really handle a soccer ball. Made me tired so I put the top down on the PT, parked in the shade, and took a nap.

One of my classmates shared a joke with me that I feel compelled to pass along. I must warn you that, though it doesn’t contain vulgar language, the subject matter is a bit racy. If that concerns you, please stop now …

The joke … two ladies had lunch together at one of their village’s nicer establishments and the topic of their conversation swayed a bit to the exciting side of their lives. This happened when one of them noticed a gentleman across the room having lunch.

“See that fellow over by the door? I had a date with him a few days ago and he was a perfect gentleman the entire evening. He opened doors for me, took my jacket, helped with my chair, stood when I left the table … it was very refreshing to be treated like a lady. I was so comfortable with him that it didn’t occur to me to say “No” when he asked me to his home for a nightcap. Once we got in his house everything changed and he became an animal, pushing me around the house and ripping my clothes off like a wild man!”

Her friend, hand to mouth, exclaimed, “so, you’re telling me I should date him?”

“No,” said the lady, “just wear old clothes.”

To end I’ll share some photos from the part of the weekend I remember. First is Diane’s class of 1965.

IMG_2103 Here are what I understand are the main trouble makers of the class. A fun group.IMG_2128And, here’s a selfie of the Cate boys …IMG_2134

“The Last Ship” on TNT

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Being a seasoned Navy veteran you might understand why I would like a show like this. My wife, also a seasoned Navy veteran by association, also likes it. For both of us it evokes many fond memories of being aboard a ship.

The plot of the show is appealing, also. Many times while watching it I think about how I feel, at age 71, I could go to sea and do my job. It won’t ever happen, of course, but I really think I could do it. Kinda like those old guys did in the movie “Battleship” when they took the USS Missouri to sea.

After watching a number episodes of “The Last Ship”, however, I became very disappointed to see that virtually all of the main players are Ensigns or Lieutenants. They men and women officers “man” all the stations in CIC, Sonar, and Radio which is, to me, so far beyond reality that I find it humorous.

The exceptions to the all officer cast are the Command Master Chief, the 2nd Class baker, and the Chief Corspman. You see them a lot. There’s a Senior Chief in there, also, but he turned out to be one of the bad guys which distressed me a great deal because I used to be one of those. I have no memory of being a bad guy so I can’t relate.

Although the number of officers performing jobs normally done by seasoned enlisted folks is, to me, unrealistic, I find it an entertaining show and will be sad to see it end. I  try to rationalize the number of officers performing critical tasks with the thought that, since this is the last ship, all the really good enlisted folks were promoted to those positions. Either that, or it’s been so long since I’ve been aboard a ship that they are indeed manned in this manner.

Not knowing the reason for the manning problem doesn’t stop me from watching and I give this one 4 stars.