Day 52 – Vallejo, CA

Don was up fairly early this morning, around six, so I decided to join him about a half hour later, hoping that it might result in an early breakfast.  It worked out pretty well, I got my food a little after seven, and went back to bed. Good way to start the day.  He got dressed and ready to take me out a couple of hours later, and I was ready to go!  We went over to the park again, and I really felt the need to run a lot; running is good for me, I think.  It keeps my legs strong and helps my blood circulation.  I think I look good while I’m running, too, not that I’m at all vain.  Don encouraged my running, sometimes doing a little run himself to get me started; I even did a Crazy Dog routine for him. 

When we got back to the coach, Don checked something on the computer, then told Geri and I that he was going over to Mare Island to take some photos.  He had determined that the Museum there was installing a display of the Control Room of the SSBN-658, the Mariano G. Vallejo, a sub that he had worked on when he was at the shipyard.  He wants to send them to his old friend Bill Green, back in Norfolk, VA, who we visited last year.  Bill was the Commissioning Senior Chief Fire Controlman on the sub, and was aboard at the launching. 

He got back around noon, and told us that they were far from complete on the installation of the Control Room equipment, but they had made a good start.  He had also taken pics of some things of particular interest to him, which he might post.  We got in the truck then, and went over to Benicia for a lunch date with some of our old friends, Barbara and Jon Wiser, who live just a couple of doors down from where Don’s Mom lived.  At first it looked like I would have to stay in the truck while they had lunch, but Don came back and got me, taking me to the table outside the restaurant where they were sitting.  So I got to listen to their conversation and receive a lot of attention from passersby.  I must say, I really enjoyed it. I know they were having a good time, too, catching up on the local news. 

Current state of Vallejo Control Room in Museum

Model of USS Mariano G. Vallejo

Sail structure of USS Mariano G. Vallejo

A drydock caisson that Don designed

After lunch, we drove over to the old Benicia Arsenal, where Don’s folks worked, to go to the Benicia Historical Museum in the Camel Barns.  Unfortunately, it turned out that they were closed on Tuesdays, so we couldn’t go in.  We went around to the back side of the Museum to look at the Garden that they were just starting work on the last time we were here, a couple of years ago.  Wow, did they do a great job!  We all agreed that it was really beautiful, and it took the edge off not getting to see the Museum.  We drove over to the little park between the Commandant’s Residence and the Clock Tower, so that I could stretch my legs a little, then drove along the waterfront so that Don could look at the ships in the Reserve Fleet, some of which he had worked on in times past.  He was surprised to see an old friend there, the Hughes Mining Barge.  He told us he had worked on a preliminary design to convert the Barge to an ocean thermal energy conversion platform, but the project had never been funded by the Government.  And that was when Jimmy Carter was President!

Garden at the Camel Barns

Clock Tower at the Arsenal

We headed back to the coach, and hung out until the weather cooled off a bit.  Then we drove back down to the Vallejo waterfront and did a march along the channel, greeting people and dogs as we went.  It was all very friendly and pleasant.  Back at the coach, they had some leftover pizza for dinner, with few leavings for me.  Don and I worked on the blog, and he insisted on putting in a bunch of pictures from his Mare Island excursion, which were mostly meaningless to me; I mean, dogs really don’t do submarines at all.  But  he does the pics, ‘cause my paws are too big to work the camera, so he gets to call the shots.  We’re out of here tomorrow, headed south to who knows where; but I’ll let you know when I find out!  Bye, bye!