New Year

We went over to Lodi to Flag City RV Resort with our camping club for New Years week.

Some of the group. Looks like Father Time Just Walked In!

We had a great time and it was good to see everyone since we hadn't made a club outing, and thus hadn't see most of these friends for several months. As usual the food was great. Dick and Gail deep-fry'd a fresh ham for our first dinner. Everyone brought hor'dourves New Year's Eve. We made a half-heart'd effort to stay up till midnight and made it to about 9:30!

Shoot'em Up

I got a new Glock 19 for Christmas and had to go up to the range to site it in. Debbie, Blake and Stacey and Brad went along. We had a great day of shooting.

Some of Our Armament

To carry the new Glock I need to qualify with it. This entails demonstrating proficiency in front of a department range master, shooting a modified combat shooting course, hitting the target.

Stacey and Debbie - Don't Mess with these Gals

USS Hornet

Today I made a change on how our blog displays. Now it only displays the two most recent posts. This should make it easier on those with slower internet connections. To see previous post go to the bottom of the blog where you can select from the blog archive.

A few day after Christmas we visited the USS Hornet with Blake and Stacey. The aircraft carrier is docked at the old Alameda Naval Air Station and is open to the public. It has been/being restored by some very dedicated volunteers who also guide groups through some areas of the ship.

The USS Hornet

We arrived around 11:30am and left a little after 4pm. We went on tours of the engine room and the bridge then wandered around the ship the rest of the day. Sad to say the ship is so big we couldn't see it all and need to return sometime in the future.

Engine Room

The ship's propulsion is provided by steam turbines. The steam is provided by boilers using bunker oil, a very low quality, heavy sludge like oil. Although the ship has desalination capability, it is not able to furnish enough water for the engines needs and has to be resupplied while out at sea.

View of the Flight Deck from the Bridge