I'm alive in San Diego

Checking out Bookies whirly chopper on board the Midway. Very cool and an absolute must see if your ever forced to go to San Diego.



This fella actually flew jets off the Midway. He was on board when they recovered the capsule from Apollo 13 I think he said, definitely Apollo not sure about the number. Nice guy, chatted a long time.


This mannequin must be the guy that trained my wife on telling me where and when to go.


In the background across the bay you can see the Ronald Reagan tied up. Fella said it was about 100 ft longer than the Midway and a little wider. Big boat. He laughed and said somethings change, some stay the same. The Midway used Diesels to make steam, the Reagan uses Nuclear to make steam so they are both steam powered.

He also talked about how slippery the flight deck could get and sometimes having to literally grab onto tie down hooks in the deck to get to his plane. Hydraulic oil, and fluids and add a little moisture and it was like a skating rink with the boats a rocking and the winds a blowin.

Next, off to the black smith shop in Old Town.
 
Last edited:
This was in Old Town park and only opened from time to time. Got lucky and they were there on the first day. Went back a second time and it was all closed up.
Big ole barn and stuffed full of all the stuff Bookie talks about.

Biggest bellows I've ever seen in my life.


And at the other end a forge similar to what Bookie uses, a hand crank set up.


Hammers and do dads up the kazoo.


Couple guys getting dirty, didn't really do much, kind of show and tell. The guy running the bellows was still learning stuff, and wanted to learn more. I gave it the Toad Hall Rifle shop information.


All I got for now. Wish I had an odometer on my chair, I'd conservatively guess I pushed this chair 20 or 30 miles on this trip. Covered a lot of ground.
 
Bawanna said:
I don't recall any normal two lane roads anyplace.
Click to expand...

What is a 2 lane road?!!!! hahaha lol. All we have here in CA metro areas is multi lane highways, and streets that got pot holes and bumps in the road....:)

Nice family pics, and you look very proud of your son, congrats on his graduation!
 
Last edited:
Enough to make mom and pop proud! Great family pics! Glad you enjoyed your trip Amigo! That last pic looks familiar! My wife does that too every time she sees me with a triangle box?

Cool Smith shop. That is a big freekin bellows! Looks like you could just put a big rock on top and forge till lunch. How bout that "Big Tex" anvil! Love it.
 
Last edited:
Very cool pics man, the boy looks great. Man the San Diego Marines have it made, they grad in dress blue pants and hat, the Paris Island Marines were just in greens like his family day pics, but that was a long time ago maybe it's changed, but they do call them Hollywood Marines for a reason, lol Semper Fi.
 
dey gots a cupple reely short peeple in that formation. probably the meanest MF'ers there. fine buncha men.

anyway, looked for imperfections on them & their uniforms. didn't see any, except them one sitting in the wheelie chair need ta trim his mustash a bit, covers up the smile. and that shirt is non-reg too. if you look hard, i'm sure that there a khukuri pommel hiding under that black pullover. :)
 
pugs75 said:
Very cool pics man, the boy looks great. Man the San Diego Marines have it made, they grad in dress blue pants and hat, the Paris Island Marines were just in greens like his family day pics, but that was a long time ago maybe it's changed, but they do call them Hollywood Marines for a reason, lol Semper Fi.
Click to expand...

We chatted with a fella that graduated there 52 years ago. Said he was 17 when he went in and still 17 when he hit Viet Nam.
He said back then they weren't allowed to take pictures on graduation day on the base, had to go off base. Apparently didn't want the enemy to get any shots of the base.

Security was everywhere getting on the base and all over on the base. People thoroughly checked going in. Never made me get out, never asked me for anything, never looked in my bags etc. Checked all the cars and vans, just never me. I must not look like a threat.
 
Bawanna said:
Security was everywhere getting on the base and all over on the base. People thoroughly checked going in. Never made me get out, never asked me for anything, never looked in my bags etc. Checked all the cars and vans, just never me. I must not look like a threat.
Click to expand...

Mr. Bawanna, you must have that really innocent look going on. If they only knew....
 
cul4u01 said:
Mr. Bawanna, you must have that really innocent look going on. If they only knew....
Click to expand...

Maybe so, maybe so. They have used me a few times at police academy as an actor for training. Most recruits and even veteran officers don't know now to deal with wheelchair dudes.
I had a lot of fun, it was a blast actually. They have an instructor officer overseeing and none of them passed our scenario.

The best was a female officer. She was kind of bent over beside me patting down my legs and I took her handcuff key off her belt, she wisely had already cuffed me, most just started patting and I could have easily knocked them all out with one solid punch.

The instructor told her to take the cuffs off, I was frantically trying to undo myself but couldn't pull it off but I had to give her back her key to turn me loose. Good times.
 
Great pics, Bawanna! Appears you had a wonderful time. We're just home from Ft. Carson.
_2.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

GUESS WHO!

_1.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]
 
Did they let you drive a little bit. Them new Huey's are kind of funny looking ain't they?

Love the Razorback sweatshirt.
 
Glad you got to revisit it Steve! I've spent some time in Hueys myself but as civilian. Probably the coolest thing I ever saw was a triple 360 degree rainbow. Only from a bird:thumbup:
 
When he's not throwing big ass knives in trees, he is over your head, flying in awar machine. Now that is a dangerous life! :D
 
Well to be plumb honest I never could figure out which direction was north all the time I was in California. They ain't got no moss growing on trees down there and not many trees for anything to grow on.
Palm trees but most of them seem to be manicured and trimmed.
I have no idea how anyone knows where they are going without no moss on the north side of the tree ya know?

So I guess the short answer to your question is I don't know. Sometimes I don't think she knows.
 
Looks like ya had a good time Bawanna, despite being in CommieFornia. If you are going to be there for the Graduation might as well see some other things while you are there. USS Midway and the Blacksmith seem like good ones to me. But glad to hear you made it safely back.

Bookie, Looks like you had a good trip too. They didn't generally let me anywhere near those sorts of things. Something about "delicate instruments" or some such. I like your AH's better but..

Last time I was near anything similar was when hubby was out at Solo point Ft Lewis. They board the hard way when they go. Guests of the 4/160th also known on post as those that crash a LOT! LoL.

1SFGAn4-160d_zpsxuvamsaa.jpg


1SFGAn4-160b_zps7dmojaux.jpg


1SFGAn4-160n_zpsg4q7tbbm.jpg
 
We seen em doing that out in the bay one day, took me a bit to figure out why two perfectly good helio choppers were trying to land without pontoons.

They were in the same water with the big boats, like a bay or something, not the big water.
My brain as mush by that point, totally scrambled.
 
Just to be straight none of those are lil' ol' me, they are 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) (otherwise known as Green Berets) where Hubby was when we first met. I stayed warm and comfy while He did the work that day. Yep Bawanna, that is on Puget Sound just outside of Ft Lewis where we were stationed. They sit there and the guys that just jumped out of a perfectly good C-130 or C-17 then swim over and climb into the Helios. Like I said, I prefer the Attack choppers like Bookie gets to ride around in. Much more fun than the Sikorskys I usually wind up riding in. But these are a nice intermediate chopper with lots of variation to how they can be used kind of like the UH-1's that I think were the ones Bookie flew.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top