Dry-dock in Dry California!

We made it to Vallejo and encountered only one storm. That was off the coast of California three days out from San Francisco. We had some good rolls and items that were sitting on rubber mats were sliding. I didn’t take any videos going underneath the Golden Gate Bridge this time. We sailed past Alcatraz and headed north towards San Pablo Bay and Vallejo. We finally docked at the former Mare Island Naval Shipyard. An historic shipyard that had been active since the 1800’s, through major 20^th century conflicts and the Cold War. Ships that were maintained range from wooden sailing ships to vintage World War Two and Korean War era aircraft carriers. Submarines were built and overhauled at Mare Island as well.  It closed down during the post-Cold War drawdown of the early 90’s. 

I was at nearby Naval Air Station Alameda in 1993 when it all happened and Alameda too was closed at the same time as Mare Island. Today various genres of businesses dot areas that were once thriving military industrial facilities. The same can apply to Alameda as there are still many vacant buildings ready to be leased at both former bases. Twenty plus years later, the dream of sword to plowshares seem to have only been met halfway. Once there appeared signs of minor success, the project look as if it were abandoned with second-rate satisfaction.  Jet engine overhaul from civilian jetliners never became reality while trade zones never went beyond the talking stage. The engine overhauls today are done in China or in developing nations where standards and qualifications are less rigid and labor cheaper than what it would have cost to do it domestically. Whoever can occupy the structures, pay the lease and set up businesses were in and all appearances seem that way. 

Highway 37 passes north of the shipyard that leads to Vallejo. To go to a metropolitan area the highway ends at Interstate 80 where east takes you to Sacramento and west to San Francisco. The bridges are rigged in the area to where northbound traffic coming out of San Francisco or Oakland pays the tolls. The hills that surround the Bay Area would normally be green this time of year. Unfortunately the drought has taken its toll where the foliage is nil. The smooth hills look like a setting from the desert dunes with the exception of a few trees that poke out at the mountaintops. There were times it rained but only for a few hours and dried up as soon as it hit the ground. If the rainwater did puddle up the quantity would not be noticeable. I lived in Southern California during the droughts of the 70’s and 90’s. When I sold my house there was a statement that indicated that the value of my house would not be affected by not having a lawn due to the drought back in 1991. Nevertheless, when I call Hawaii the other half is always irritated by the winds and rain on the windward side of Oahu! I always tell the wife to tell that to the folks here!

I normally work ten hours on Saturdays but this past weekend we did not and only put in four hours on Saturday. We had couple of long days last week and worked on Veterans Day! The body told me to rest as my knee began to swell up on Saturday evening. Sunday was spent writing this blog and looking at items of interest on the Internet. I need to finish “The Diary of Anne Frank” which I started to read in Samoa last month. 

We moved off the ship and are now staying in long-term suites. Since there is a kitchenette I do my own cooking except when Continental Breakfast is served and a dinner social three nights a week. I brought my own water pot for tea and of course rice cooker! I left the coffee maker on the ship along with another water purifier and water pot. One thing that never changed in California is the taste of tap water! And they are talking about desalination at which we do on ships! I use a water purifier on the ship due to the chemical process used to desalinate the sea water. 

Tomorrow is another day of work and motivation seem to be the hardest factor to ignite. The time away from home, the short inports during the season along with personnel relief that is long overdue are contributing to the lack of interest that has seized me. Perhaps it’s time for old Roz to consider retirement as I crossed the threshold of less than three years and there are no opportunities for me to move up but only out!