270 Days to the Ride

I've made contact with our shipmates at Silent Service Motorcycle Club (SSMC) in Washington and we have an invitation to ride with them to Yakima for "a Minerburger" and to Leavonworth "for the best brats in the world". We should have fun riding and exploring with Don Gentry and the other members of SSMC for the few days we hang around the Seattle area. I can hear the sea stories now; our poor "non-SS" riders are going to be shaking their heads in wonder.

Ralph is evaluating our trip itinerary and will be getting back to me on the feasibility of us holding to the schedule I've proposed. There will be lots of riding and hopefully some time for sight seeing and visiting with shipmates. Just think, in the time it takes to have a baby (9 months) we will be leaving for, what I hope will be, the adventure of a lifetime. It will be for me anyway; the fulfillment of a lifelong dream.

While researching things to do in the Seattle area I decided to take a look at the shortest route to the Pacific Ocean; I determined that it was a 100 mile ride to Aberdeen and then remembered that I went to NucMed/SubMedTech with a Corpsman who ended up on the John Marshall. We were good friends back then and had stayed in touch after we both got out but gradually lost contact with each other. Turns out he now lives in Olympia Washington and I'm going to try and contact him and let him know I'll be out there next summer. Perhaps we can link up with another boat sailor and maybe even recruit him into USSVI. He became a Physicians Assistant (PA) after leaving the Navy and seemed to really enjoy the work. I suspect he's retired now.