I hope that this will help you all abreast of where I am at. As you all know, you never know where I might be at any given time. Instead of sending out a long email that clogs up your in-basket, you can click here and read/view as your discretion.
Last Updated : 06 December 2004 23:35
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UPCOMING TRIPS TO REPORT
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RE-ENLISTMENT ABOARD USS MIDWAY (SEPTEMBER 2004)
I had tossed around a few ideas of what to do for my last (?!) re-enlistment and somehow came up with the idea of doing it on my old ship, the USS Midway. I think it was my re-enlisting officer's idea, but I don't honestly remember. The USS Midway was my first ship on which I served from late 1988 through early spring of 1991, including Desert Shield and Desert Storm. She was decomissioned after Operation Desert Shield and turned over her duties as the only forward deployed Aircraft Carrier to the USS Independence. The USS Independence was eventually decommissioned as well, and the duties turned-over to the USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63). The USS Midway sat in storage in Washington state for many years until a non-profit group bought her, to turn her into a museum. The San Diego Aircraft Museum (SDACM) has been restoring her and cleaning her up in a constant effort to improve the experience of being able to visit an Aircraft Carrier and see what it is like. They have done an outstanding job of preserving her the way she was when I walked off in 1991. They have adopted a principle of clean and fix, but do not alter. Being able to wander around the USS Midway 13 years after I last set foot on her, was amazing! I was in awe at how little it had changed. I got to venture around and look at the spaces I used to live and work. The biggest surprise--wierdly--was that the door to my shop that I had painted some 15 years, was still virtually untouched! The galley hadn't changed a bit. I expected to see the juice machines, ice-makers, toasters missing, but they were all still there just like when I was last there. It was virtually indistinguishable from the day I left in 1991! Simply amazing job. Anyway, to the re-enlistment.... My asked a friend of mine to do the honors of being my re-enlisting officer. After spending many nights on the trail, backpacking with him and his two sons, it seemed clear that he was my first choice. The fact that he worked,lterally walking distance from the Midway museum just made the choice even easier. So, I took the day off, drove down the night before to stay with my friends Laura & Jason (Jason, being out on the ship at the time), and headed down the next morning to finally set eyes on this 'magical' ship that seems to have captivated the hearts of all those who ever served aboard her. I almost had tears in my eyes, driving down the waterfront as I finally saw her sitting there like I had never left. I met up with CAPT Gamble pier-side, who brought along an one-man entourage to take pictures of the event. We started by heading up the ladders and steps to the flight deck and picked out a spot with a nice background of the superstructure and commenced the ceremony at 1100. A few on-lookers gathered and watched in curiosity. After the short ceremony, I provided CAPT Gamble with a personalized tour of the Midway, while answering many questions from tourists. All-in-all, it was a really great experience. To see the USS Midway again, was incredible, to have a man of which I have a great deal of respect and fondness for topped it all off. In a sense, I got to return the honor that his oldest son and two other scouts from our troop requested of me. Earlier this year, they had asked me to be the Master of Ceremonies for an Eagle Ceremony in which our small troop advanced 3--yes three--scouts to the hallowed rank of Eagle Scout. Pictures Coming Soon...
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PRESIDENT REAGAN'S MOTORCADE (9 JUNE 2004)NAS Point Mugu has been overwhelmed this week with supporting the transportation of President Reagan's remains. For the first time since 1973, the nations mourns the passing of a President. Arguably, one of--if not the best--President of the latter half of the 20th Century. I happened to be on duty from midnight to 8 a..m. all week, so when the squadron formed-up ranks in the parking lot, along the road where the motorcade would pass, I was left high-and-dry without a place in the formation. But I was not to be left out completely. The CTP (Chief Test Pilot) asked me if I was photographer, to which I replied, "Yes, I am." and he handed me his Canon AE-1 and proceded to explain how to use it. I bit my lip and let him explain it. |
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TOM'S VISIT (15-19 May 2004)A few months ago, I received an email from Sherry Reynolds, telling me that she wanted to send Tom out to California for his birthday. I made an agreement with her that if she got him here, I'd take care of the rest. She did, and I did. The result, was a few days spent with one of my very best friends. Tom and I have been friends since 4th grade. We grew up together, and at times, it seemed like we were each interchangeable in each other's family. our friendship has remained unwavering over the years.
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HICKAM AFB DET (April-May 2004)This was a pretty good trip, but not without work. MORE COMING SOON... Hiking in the mountains. A little to the left of this picture is where the Schofield barracks are (known from the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941).
Midway Island
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UPCOMING TRANSFERAs many of you know, I am due to transfer again. Yes, its that time! In October, I will be leaving Southern California--as much as I'd like to stay. I have enjoyed my time here very much, and am not looking forward to having to leave. It may not be my favorite place in the world, nor someplace I'd want to settle for the rest of my life, but it has certainly been my favorite duty station. It works well with my life and my activities. But, it is time to close this chapter and open a new one. This one that I am opening will probably be the last. My last NAVY chapter that is....That sounded kind of fatalistic there! For a long time, I had been planning to go to NAS Whidbey Island, WA, but changed my mind recently, when I thought about some things, and decided that going back to Jacksonville, FL would be a better move in the long-run. So I have been trying to get orders to Jax, but no orders came up in-time. I thought about taking orders to VQ-2 in Rota, Spain--which is relocating stateside next year. They are rumored to be going to either Jax or Whudbey. I figured it was a win-win situation. If they go to Jax, Great! If not, and they go to Whidbey, no harm, no foul. But, the job requisitions got pulled before I could even make a decision. Now, I know I'm going to Whudbey, but which squadron. I figured, if I'm going to Whidbey, then I want to go to VQ-1, which is the same squadron that had the EP-3E go down in China. Problem is that they have 26 of 28 billets manned, so no-dice! It came down to VP-1, VP-40 or VP-46. VP-1 gets back from deployment right as I get there, which means I get there and don't have to worry about a deployment for 18 months (new deployment cycle). That means I only have one more deployment to make for the rest of my career!!! I said that years ago, that if I timed it right, I'd only have to do one more. Looks like I actually guessed right for a change! So, in October, I will be relocating myself and everything I own to NAS Whidbey Island. Fortunately, I know quite a few people up there, and it won't be like going to Brunswick, ME, where I didn't know anybody. If you have ever seen the movie Double Jeopardy (with Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman), it was filmed on Whidbey Island. Whidbey Island is actually quite beautiful and not as cold and gloomy as many people think. It will fit my life pretty good--for the most part. I will be able to enjoy rock climbing, backpacking and sea-kayaking while I'm there. SCUBA diving might be a little chilly, so maybe I'll splurge and buy a drysuit. Right now, my biggest dilemma is where to build my airplane. Waiting lists for the 3 airports that I called are 2-4 years. One airport said they will hopefully be building hangars next year and I might be able to get a hangar in about a year--which would only be about 6 months from now, so I think I will spend the $25 a year to put myself on the list. Until then, I will probably have to rent a storage unit, unless I can find a garage to rent. I have also started emailing some Boy Scout Troops and Venture Crews to find a Troop to become active with when I get there. I don't intend to miss a beat. In-fact, I am really looking forward to doing some backpacking up in the Cascades and Olympics. I'm looking forward to my last 2-12 years in Whidbey. I will then be able to say that I have lived in the 4 corners of the lower 48 (FL, CA, ME, WA). |
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BORDERLINEI have spent many a Thursday and/or Saturday going out dancing at the Borderline Bar & Grill over the last 2-1/2 years. I have made a bunch of friends there. Not the least of which is Heather--my dance partner. I had to say goodbye to her this year, as she and Jeff moved to Tennessee so that he could chase his dreams in the music industry. I've heard his CD and I have to admit, he is good!!! I wish him the best of luck and hope that he'll remember me when he's rich and famous! I met Heather shortly after I moved to CA and it didn't take long before she and I were tearing up the dance floor during the 2-step sets like maniacs. Women who I can dance so well with are few and far between, and I really miss dancing with her. It's been tough trying to find dance partners as fun as her. I look forward to her coming to visit at the end of June, so we can make up for lost time.
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JOSHUA TREE N.M. CLIMBING TRIP (FEB 2004)Theron, Moe and I met at Hidden Valley Campground for about 4 days to do some rock climbing. Click here to go to the Rock Climbing page to read about it.
Go here for some more pictures...
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TAKING 'BLOODHOUND 350' TO THE BONEYARD (DEC 29, 2003)Lying in the desert, just outside of Tucson, AZ, lies the military's aircraft boneyard. It is a rare occasion to take an aircraft to the boneyard. Its a somewhat austere moment for those in aviation. Its exciting to receive a new aircraft from the factory. The paint is fresh, everything works, even the hairs of rubber on the tires from the injection molding are still there. It has that 'new plane smell'. The opposite--and more moving--is to take an aircraft to the boneyard. Bloodhound 350 was actually a recent addition to VX-30, so most of us didn't have much experience with it. It was originally a P-3C like the airplanes in the fleet, which meant it had a lot of differences compared to the rest of our VX-30 aircraft. There were different limitations that we had to operate the aircraft under. Switches and controls were in different places and the interior was completely different that any other P-3 in existance. For one thing, the aircraft had a Bomb Bay fuel tank which came from its lineage as the aircraft for 'Project Magnet' which was a program where the Navy mapped the magnetic lines of flux of the earth. Basically, this aircraft spent hours and hours flying long legs across the oceans. I'm not sure what the actual endurance record of the aircraft is--I imagine in the neighborhood of 16-18 hours--but I do know that it easily holds the P-3 endurance record for the longest flight (in flight time, and probably distance). After inducting Bloodhound 350 into AMARC, we received the grand tour of Davis Montham AFB. PICTURES COMING SOON... |
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ROAD TRIP FROM JOPLIN, MO to CA (8-14 NOV 2003)Here's the short and skinny: I bought the motor home and flew out to pick it up. John bought a Stinson L-5 aircraft needing rebuilding and restoration. It was located in Tulsa, OK, so it seemed to make sense to bring it back with me, so we bought a trailer from a guy in Kansas. This is my new home! It's no palace, but its cheap livin'! And...its mobile. There were a few problems along the way.... This is where the story gets good. PICTURES COMING SOON... |
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AIRPLANE STUFF
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EDWARDS AFB AIR SHOW (26 OCT 2003)Edwards AFB is the Air Force's home to test and evaluation. So much aviation history was made it, its absolutely amazing. Movies such as The Right Stuff, Space Cowboys, From the Earth to the Moon, and a myriad of documentary movies were made to memorialize the men and machines that made possible so many advances in aviation and space travel. It is also the #1 alternate landing site for the space shuttle and it has been home to a vast majority of the test flights of the X-planes. The air show is a pretty good one, and we had the opportunity to see some rare aircraft that are not often seen, as well as the first time that the Air Force's new F-22 Lightning II was flown for public demonstration. As a side note, the F-22 program is probably my squadron's number one customer. The majority of our Range Clearance operations are in support of the F-22 program. |
PICTURES COMING SOON...
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MCAS MIRAMAR AIR SHOW & THE BLUE ANGELS 'FAT ALBERT' J.A.T.O. TAKEOFF (18 OCT 2003)Some friends of mine, and I went to the air show at MCAS Miramar, in San Diego. We believe that is the best air show on the west coast (possibly the country) with regards to military aircraft. Everyone knows who the blue angels are, right. Do you all know what the name of the C-130 that goes with the Blue Angels is called? 'Fat Albert' is a slightly modified C-130 flown by a USMC flight crew. Keep in mind, the Marine Corps is part of the US Navy, so the 'Fat Albert' crew are the Blue Angels' representatives for the Marine Corps. Usually, each air show is adorned by a JATO (Jet-Assist Take-Off) by 'Fat Albert'. What is 'JATO' exactly? JATO is a bizarre idea that involves strapping 8 solid-rocket boosters (like what's used on the Space Shuttle) to the C-130. The C-130 screams down the runway, at 130 knots, the pilot pulls back on the control wheel and then they light-off the JATO bottles. The aircraft is immediately accelerated at a 45 degree angle of climb to about 500', where the pilot shoves the controls forward, before the JATO bottles are done firing. Everything inside floats towards the ceiling as the aircraft experiences negative G's. Shortly after leveling off, the JATO bottles go out and the aircraft continues outbound from the airfield to set up for the radical maneuvers that the pilot will put the aircraft through. More positive and negative G's, and a couple weightless moments before a maximum effort landing in front of the crowd. I was privileged enough to go for a ride on 'Fat Albert' at the MCAS Miramar Air Show 2003! What a ride it was. |
PICTURES COMING SOON ...
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YOSEMITE N.P. (JULY 2003)Another trip to Yosemite with Theron and Venture Crew 350! More coming soon...
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ASCENSION ISLAND DET (MAY 2003)Where is Ascension Island, right? I had never heard of this place until I got to Point Mugu. We got to stop in Barbados for one night on the way. Oh, shucks! Had a good time. One night, some guys on the crew and I went out to an Indian restaurant called, 'Zafran'. It was very good food, though a little expensive. There was another large group of people sitting at another table in the room and they were a bit of a mize3ed bunch. I couldn't quite figure out what the common link was. Before long our two tables were talking to each other. I made some comment about trading a couple of the guys for a couple of the girls--since there was one older gentleman and about 6 or 7 mostly younger women. As it turned out, they were Hash House Harriers. I was intrigued, and asked a lot of questions since I always wondered about doing a 'Hash Run'. By the end of the night, they had me talked into joining them. See the story about the run here: Stories Page. Ascension Island was a marvelous place and truly spectacular in its diversity of geology in one small island, roughly 14 km across. The runway is one of hairiest I have ever seen in my life. It's about as flat as the Rocky Mountains! Perhaps the most amazing event was that a couple other guys on the crew, and I had gone down to the beach in the middle of the night to witness the hatching of the famous sea turtles. These sea-turtles swim all the way from Brazil to lay their eggs and don't even eat the whole time. The mother turtles exhaust themselves trying to crawl onto the beach and bury their eggs. Sadly, only one-in-a-thousand baby turtles make it. We were able to witness part of this process. It's probably wrong to interfere with mother nature, but we couldn't help but assist any of the baby turtles that we could. The odds were so stacked against them, it didn't seem fair to let them fall victim to predators such as this crab below. This crab has pieces of a fish in its clutches.
One day, I and a couple of guys from the crew got a ride from one of the Army staff. He took us, and our bikes to the top of the mountain on the island. We stopped in Barbados on the way back again. I ran into my hash 'sisters' again, when we had gone out to eat one night, but I didn't have time to join them on another Hash Run. MORE PICTURES COMING SOON ...
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RV-4 AIRCRAFT |
I finally went and did something that I have dreamed about for many, many years. I bought an airplane, thought it is not flyable yet. It's not flyable because it' not built yet! I'm sure that there are going to be some interesting changes coming up, as I spend even more time at Camarillo Airport--which is where I will most likely be building it. I hope to have it flying within about a year-and-a-half.
It is a Van's Aircraft RV-4 2-seat sport plane. It will be acrobatic capable and powered by a 160 h.p. Lycoming O-320.
I haven't decided on paint schemes yet, but as I sketch some of them, I'll post them here and solicit all of your inputs. Some ideas that I'm tossing around are painting in a WWII Warbird scheme, leaving all/most of it natural aluminum, and even painting it in a scheme that matches the truck.
I have finally been able to get it moved from a storage unit in Newbury Park to the EAA Hangar at Camarillo airport.
To read all about this project and see plenty of pictures and documentation of its construction progress, click here.
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LITTLE ROCK AFB, ARKANSAS
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I returned from school in February 2003. I spent about 4 months at Little Rock AFB in Arkansas. I learned that though theC-130 and P-3 are quite similar, and the Navy has operated C-130's for many years, the way that the Air Force does things and the way the Navy does things are quite different.
I have to say, that I made a lot of really cool friends while I was there, friends that I still keep in touch with. Our class was quite close and we studied together. Sometimes studying wasn't always at the barracks. Okay, most of the time studying wasn't at the barracks. We liked to go out to our favorite place and kick back and relax...The Flying Saucer in downtown Little Rock.
The notable thing about The Flying Saucer, is that they bragged about having over 200 beers--more than half on-tap. If you registered as having drunk all 200 beers (hopefully not in one night), they put your name on a brass plate and hung it on the wall, forever immortalized as what I call 'a registered drunk'. We often studied here, but a lot of the time, Bill, Kai and Roy and I would just have a few beers, goof-off and play chess. (Editor's Note: We always had a sober driver!)
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Ouachita Trail (Nov 2002) |
Bill, and I did some backpacking along a trail, that stretches from Little Rock to Oklahoma. We completed about 45 miles of the 223, in 2 weekend trips. In the span of about a week, we went from one of the worst backpacking trips to one of the best.
The first weekend was rainy and cold. It was raining before we even got into the car Saturday morning.
The next weekend, it warmed up a bit and the leaves were in full color. It was truly amazing. Too bad I didn't have my camera with me! The nights were clear and allowed the stars to shine through the trees. It was a bit windy the first night, but it soon calmed-down.
MORE COMING SOON ...
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HUNGRY VALLEY STATE RECREATIONAL VEHICLE PARKI went with some friends to Hungry Valley SRVP, which is an area set-aside strictly for off-road vehicle use. It is in the mountains off of I-5, well north of L.A., near Gorman, CA. It is just before 'The Grapevine' on I-5. I met up with the group that had already gotten there earlier in the day. The next day, we goofed around in the mud hole using Jason's Jeep and a Toyota that someone else brought. Imagine a bunch of kids playing with toys in a mud hole and that's pretty much what you have. I may be getting older, but I haven't grown up yet! At one point, there were two guys with nice new Land Rovers...STOCK Land Rovers. They tried to make it through the mud hole and the one Land Rover got stuck. It got stuck bad! Of course, there are plenty of 4-wheelers ready and willing to help pull anyone out, an they got help, but getting stuck wasn't nearly as bad as the aftermath. The truck had about a foot of smelly, muddy water in it. When he opened up the tailgate, the water poured out like a scene from a movie. I was waiting for a fish to start flopping around! The entire interior was covered in this nasty mud. Everything was water-logged and soaked. Here's where the story gets better. It was his sister's brand new Land Rover!!! It wasn't even his.... I wonder if he's still alive? PICTURES COMING SOON ... |
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BOY SCOUT TROOP 119
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Ah, what a blast I had at Camp Chawanakee! This year was my second year joining Troop 119 along beautiful Lake Shaver in the Sierras, northeast of Fresno, CA.
Camp Chawanakee has a brand new, beautiful, outdoor rock climbing tower. I--of course--got to know the young men in charge of the climbing tower and by the end of the week spent all week assisting the instructors. I met another avid climber (and scouter) from Paso Robles, who is a member of Venture Crew 350. He and I became friends and eventually did a few climbing trips together. To read about our ordeal at a rock formation known as 'The Needles' click here.
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50-Miler Hike through the High Sierras (August 2002 & 2003) |
Once again, my second year joining Troop 119 on a 50-miler hike through the high Sierras.
Last year (2002), I felt, 'Whew! I did 50 miles through the High Sierras, and spent the whole week above 10,000'. The Troop had started at Cottonwood lakes, climbed over New Army Pass, down in to Rock Creek, then up to Crabtree Meadow. The hike meandered across parts of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). After the meadow, we then headed up a spur trail to Crabtree Lakes for a layover day. The lake was about 12,000'. A fantastic rock fall woke us up in the middle of the night and some even got to witness a spectacular show as the rocks sparked on their way down to crashing into the chilly mountain lake. Eventually, we headed back down the trail to meet the trail that rises up to Guitar lake and then to the Whitney Pass. We dropped our packs and day-hiked up to Mount Whitney and topped out at the highest point in the lower-48 (14,497.61'). After basking in the high-altitude glory, we headed back to the pass for our packs and then headed down the east side towards the Whitney portal. We had been planning to stop at 'Trail Camp' and spend the night, but didn't care for the place so we continued on. We stopped later, but decided as a group to just continue on out and finish up a day early. By the end of the last day, we had hiked more than 14 miles, including the peak of Mt. Whitney! (I'm in the middle, with the black top and orange hat)
(Troop 119 2002 50-Miler: Neal Gamble, Scott Von Rader, Jeff Allen, Jeff Ernst, Me, Tim Von Rader (Scoutmaster), Josh Israel, and Ian Gamble)
This Year, we started at South Lake and stopped a couple miles in for our first night. The next day, we continued on to the base of the next pass. After evaluating that one of our scouts had AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) and was not getting better, tow adults headed out with the boy to have him picked up by his father. The two adults met up with us later at Taboose Pass. The third day, we hiked into Dusy Basin, down into a gorge, along the King River, and then over Mather Pass, into Upper Basin. To finish up, we hiked down to another fork of the King River and up towards Taboose Pass. We decided to hike over to Bench Lake for a slight diversion (and to make sure that we did in-fact log 50 miles). Bench Lake was fantastic as we witnessed one of the greatest sunsets that God has even laid upon this earth. The next day, we hiked over Taboose Pass and down into the ravine towards the desert (and eventually the cars). We camped under a large Jefferson Pine Tree and eventually headed out to the cars on the last day.
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CAMARILLO AIRPORTHere's a place that consumes much of my spare time. You can pretty much find me here every Saturday, turning a wrench on 'Camarillo Connie'. If I'm not working on an airplane, I'm going flying or watching the planes fly around. Soon, I may be spending even more time there, for more personal reasons, but there'll be more on that later.
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'Camarillo Connie' is a Lockheed C-121C Super Constellation, that is owned by a civilian who restored it to flyable condition some years ago. There are a bunch of us that hang out on weekends to work on the airplane to get her flying and flying in as best condition as we can.
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Vintage Camarillo Aircraft |
There are lots of war birds and assorted vintage aircraft, based at Camarillo.
MORE COMING SOON ...
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ROCK CLIMBING |
Now, you guys all know, that I wouldn't be me if I didn't get to go rock climbing, so without the hindrance of New England weather, I have been able to do a lot of rock climbing.
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Point Dume, Santa Monica, CA |
Another tremendously popular climbing cliff, right along the beach in Santa Monica. I've spent many climbing trips climbing here. It's fairly close, easy access, right on the beach, and has a nice range of face climbs. Most of the routes are long single-pitch climbs. The classic climb here is the arête on the corner, rated at a 5.6. Once time when I led it, the rock was wet from the ocean spray and a hold broke-off when I was about 40' up and about 10 feet above my last piece of protection.
Around the corner on the seaside side of the cliff are the hard climbs, including a 5.10a that tops out into a short roof that allows the climber to hang from one arm, a-la-Sylvester-Stallone, and then pull up and over onto the top of the cliff. There's a couple other 5.10 climbs and a 5.11.
This rock is the site of many Hollywood filming. Recently, a Chevy Truck commercial was filmed there, but most notably, it is the cliff in the opening scene of Return To The Planet Of The Apes.
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Stoney Point, Chatsworth, CA |
A tremendously popular L.A. climbing locale, that I visit quite often. There is a myriad of top-rope climbs to do here. The disadvantages are that its often crowded, there's a lot of graffiti, a swarm of bees, no place to get water, and it gets hot and dry!
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Big Rock |
A terribly original name for a big rock by a lake in San Bernardino. I went climbing here with a couple friends along a reservoir. It was hot, and the heat chased us off the rock kind of early, but not after we had fun doing some nice moderate short climbs. I was teaching my friend how to lead climb and found the perfect climb to try leading on. It was a short 2-pitch route on firm, even, solid rock, with good anchors and plenty of bolts.
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Yosemite National Park, CA |
I've made TWO climbing trips with Theron's Venture Crew 350 (Paso Robles). We really enjoy watching the boys hone their skills and become better climbers and gain confidence.
This year, we befriended two young sisters from Norway. They happen to be climbing nearby and started talking to them, offered up the ropes we had set-up on some routes for them to use. The older sister just started leading and we had given her some pointers and assistance. They even joined us playing in the Merced River, as well. They even showed up to climb with us the next day. This time, their parents showed up to see who these strange Americans were and seemed quite comfortable with us. We chatted for a while. Irony played an interesting part, when I discovered that the father had been a submarine sailor in the Norwegian Navy. We joked how, I fly submarine-hunting aircraft, and enjoyed a common link in our military backgrounds.
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The Needles, CA |
This is a trip I made with Theron into the southern Sierras, near Kings Canyon/Sequoia N.P. It turned into somewhat of an ordeal. We made camp down the road from the rock formation by a nice little creek. It was hot and dry, but the campsite was well-shaded, fairly clean, not many people, clean water and it was free. As we learned, we should have camped out of the valley, in the hills west of the rock formation. We wouldn't have had water, but the walk to the rocks would have been MUCH easier!
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A WHITE CAR TO GO WITH MY WHITE TRUCK |
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VP-26 NAS SIGONELLA DEPLOYMENT 2001 |
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One the neatest things to happen was being able to meet a pen-pal that I have had for years. A similarly spirited girl from Australia that I have been keeping contact with for a few years was able to make a journey to Europe--and to make a very long story short--met me in Turkey and then later in Sicily.
I discovered a new passion--yeah, as if I don't have enough of those... I bought a Italian-made road bicycle that I began riding religiously while in Italy.
(A MUST See!)