I have been very fortunate to have lived a life that has afforded me the ability to travel and experience many great and not so great things. Here is a partial list of my top favorite memories.
- Transiting the Visayan Sea on navy ship with clear blue sky, water a hundred different shades of blue; volcano in the distance with palm tree lined beaches – magnifican beauty. Kicked back on the deck reading Thor Hyerdahl’s Kon-Tiki
- While driving from California to Kentucky I got off the Interstate and took some of the secondary roads across New Mexico. I spent the first night in Alamagordo and got up early the next morning to head out on the next leg of my drive. I got to Roswell around 6.30 am and stopped and filled up with gas. Roswell was dead that time of Sunday morning. I headed out on RTE 70 for Portales and as I drove across the high plains the clouds were only about 20 feet off the ground. The elevation is high and the right combo of weather made for a very surreal drive; almost as if I was driving under a roof. Very few cars out that morning…. the road was very straight and it was very cool.
- Swimming at the Marianas Trench - I was on a ship that crossed the Marianas Trench in the Pacific Ocean. The trench is almost 7 miles deep. We held a short swim call. We jumped in and swam for about 10 minutes. It was really kind of wierd knowing that there was seven miles of water below you. Swimming is the same if you are in a 12 foot deep pool or 35,000 deep ocean. It really screws with your head. Very cool
- I visited Singapore numerous times while in the navy. What a great city. Singapore is probably one of my favorite places in the world (except for the heat and humidity). My first time to Singapore I was a little naive and was taken for a ride; literally. I got into a cab at ships landing and told the cab driver that I wanted to go to a market area (cant remember the name after all these years) and he said in broken English that he knew where it was. He proceeded to drive around the city for about 20 minutes taking me to the market. Finally he stopped and said “here you are” and sure enough I was right in front of hundreds of market stalls. I paid my 40 Singapore dollar fare and got out ready to do some serious bartering. I looked at the cab as he pulled away and as I looked up I saw the ships landing about a hundred yards down the road across the street. Thats right, I rode for 20 minutes to go one hundred yards….. oh well. I did get a quick tour of Singapore.
- Have you seen the movie “The Fog”? Not the new one, but the original made in the 1980’s. It was a very cool movie. At the time I was stationed on a ship that was homeported on Coronado Island in San Diego. I was bored and out by myself one evening and decided to go to the movie. It was the 1000pm show and so I sat through The Fog and was fairly entertained. I decided to walk back to the ship and opted to walk back along the beach. To appreciate this you need to know I was 21 years old and in the Navy. Well as I walked along the waters edge the fog started to roll in and in the distance I could hear the horn from the Point Loma Lighthouse. It was all very spooky and there I was…… actually starting to get a little freaked out. I mean come on….. a 21 year old sailor walking on the beach at midnight and I actually started getting a little scared…… damned embarrasing if you know what I mean.
- My first and only motorcyle ride was on the back of a Honda in Germany on the Autobahn. Damn………. two sailors + beer + motorcyle + autobahn = potential for disaster. I had known Gerry for about 4 years already and we had been around the world together. I was stationed at the time in London and he was in Stuttgart and so I went for a visit. He said hop on and lets go out. Well…….. I had my arms wrapped around him so tight he had to tell me to let go. I mean darn, you don’ take a virgin motorcycle rider for his first ride on the autobahn. When we finally stopped I almost punched him.
- Riding out a typhoon in the northern Pacific. Ever see The Perfect Storm? That shit’s real. 40-60 foot waves, 180 mile per hour winds and our ship like a cork in the water. Let me tell you something – You haven’t lived until you have been sitting on the commode and the ship is rocking and the water in the bowl is sloshing around and splashes up on your backside. Now that’s what I call an adventure……. haha.
