Norva AAR {Time before last}

April 15, 2007 - Sunday
Norfolk After Action Report [It's Long!!]
Current mood: happy
Category: Travel and Places

Norfolk. What can I say about the place except its highway system always screws me over? Got up Tuesday, hit the highway [going to the Naval Base, which is located in Norfolk], ended up on the way to freaking Hampton [as in, Hampton Roads!!]. Took me a couple of hours, late to the Weapons Effect Test team meeting…. krap!! What you gotta do is take I-64, not toward Norfolk but through Virginia Beach; it loops around and heads back toward the base [and, if you commute the bridge/tunnel, through Hampton!!] Better signs, that's what is called for, but ya gotta know, I was always getting lost back in '89 when we were at Little Creek, and it still happens. Also, Princess Anne Drive is everywhere. I swear, it must snake through the city and encircle it at the same time; do not, do not, do not use it as a reference. [Unless you like getting lost].

So, as I was driving through the city on Tuesday [thinking, Naval bases tend to be on the shoreline, so stick to the shore and eventually you will hit it], I glanced over to the left when something huge and gray, but not underway, caught my eye. Had a "64" painted on the bow….. USS WISCONSIN, BB-64. Sure is!!!! More on that later...

Wednesday, the gate guard girl wouldn't let me on base because my temporary vehicle pass was from another base [Pax River, duh….] I could not persuade her by telling her that other guards had let me onbase with it on Monday and Tuesday… so, I had to go to Pass and Tag. You go to the counter after waiting in line only to discover that there is a form you have to fill out, long form, naturally. This is bureaucracy at its finest, and while I was only mildly annoyed at the process, some people were actually seeting…. not what Max Weber had in mind when he invented bureaucracy… [look it up!!]

Lunch was pretty good, had a calzone at Sunrise Pizzeria. Real ricotta cheese and mozzarella, marinara sauce for dipping, and I substituted pepperoni for the normal ham filling. HUGE!!!! Good thing I ordered a small, as this thing was approximately the size of a loaf of bread. I was so full that I could not even eat dinner later [and that is sad, because I had planned on going to Joe's Crab Shack….]

Also ate at Federico's Italian over in Virginia Beach, a place I remembered from back then, and it was just the same [they say the décor is more salmon, but the only salmon I remember is on the menu, so I had some]. Salmon cigars, thin layers of salmon rolled up and dipped in batter, then rolled in coconut flakes and fried, served in a mango-chipotle salsa…. nice!! Nice salad, and then the special: fresh flounder in a clear, lemony sauce with capers and asparagus shoots, over steamed spinach. Great stuff, and not overly expensive… oh, and Moretti birra, honest Italian brew [it's the one with the guy who has a thick moustache, in a suit and fedora, enjoying a frosty mug, on the label. Classic….]

The Grate Steak is still there, on Military Highway…. what an awesome idea!!! You go to the refrigerator and select your steak. Then you go to the charcoal-fired grill [see where I am heading with this?] slather it with butter and whatever spices you enjoy, and slap it on the grill, all the while enjoying a cold draft…. potatoes and Texas Toast are available, too, with a potato bar having butter and sour cream, melted cheese and mushroom gravy and such…. guys love this place!!! Especially when it's cold outside, or rainy [and personally, I own a gas-fired grill. Really easy to start, but just not the same as charcoal…..] Some ladies present, however, were not overly impressed; of the opinion that if you have to pay, ya might as well have the restaurant prepare it…. probably why 2 of the 3 Grate Steak locations have recently closed…
{This comment has drawn some heat. The whiners did not elaborate, exceptto say that it bothered them. Good. Git yer bothered ass over and eat at Grate Steak. Let's keep the one remaining location in business!}


On to the ship…. xxxxxxx, that is. Big, big hull. Designers had foresight in that ramps are available to move airframes from down below wherever up to the flight deck [and, yes, plenty of ladders still, going down into the engineering spaces and such]. In short, with all the running around, I think I am about even on the calories [still gotta work on that 'chloresterol', though…. 'chloresterol'… I know, it's family humour ! ]

Down in Morehead City, a million degrees and a hunnerd percent humidity, I'll probably have difficulty keeping the weight on [unless my arteries clog first]. Do I love my job? Oh, yeah – great bunch of peeps, I get to be on Navy bases, and go aboard ships. Awesome, really is…..
now, back to Wisky [thought I'd forgotten her, did ye?] Sits, moored with anchor chain[!!] in a slip next to the Nauticus museum, which is pretty cool. Got done, heading home, had some time to kill, so I stopped by. Did not get lost first. The Navy was sponsoring the day, so the museum and the ship tour were free [not bad for Friday the 13th, eh?]. Spent a lot of time yakking with Jim Curtin, a docent at the museum and a thoroughly knowledgeable gentleman; turns out he is from the Morehead/Beaufort area. Good guy [for a Coastie ;-) ] Walked all around the ship, saw a re-enlistment and a retirement. Teak decks…trivia time: the plugs in the wood, where the teak has been bolted to the deck and the holes are plugged-up, those plugs are called Dutchmen [in honour of the story of the little Dutch dude who saw a leak in the dike around the Zuider Zee and plugged it by poking his finger in, undoubtedly]. More trivia – the Navy built 4 IOWA class battleships, but had 2 more in the works when the war ended. These two were cannibalized [the boilers and turbines in DETROIT and the other AOE-1's came from these battlewagons]. Wisky had been in collision at sea which had rather severely damaged the bow, so the bow off Ex-USS KENTUCKY [not sure if she would have been BB-65 or 66] was cut off and grafted on. Weird…

I have my own bit of trivia…. we were in Philly Shipyard drydock, back in late '93 on DETROIT. I was Opso, and one of my sailors wanted to re-enlist. Onboard WISCONSIN. We checked, and there was no guard; she was sitting over in Inac Ships…. can't remember the sailor's name, darn it. Anyway, I asked him if atop #2 16 inch turret would be okay, and he liked the idea, so we looked around [somewhat surreptitiously!], making sure nobody was going to accost us, and climbed up, having the ceremony at the top. Man, THAT was cool….. Anyway, nice gift shop with reasonable prices, cool goodies for my peeps {Confidential to Baron von Boyle, the ol' Pharmacist's Mate hisself….}

Hey, Matt – project ship ballcaps seem to be in rather short supply [so I am looking into having some stitched-up]. Meanwhile, I hope you will be content with a WISCONSIN BB-64 cap [now, send me yer address, so's I can Fedex it out, eh?]

Not bad, all in all, I considered the week quite a success. Gotta cruise down there again on Tuesday. Joe's driving [at least we won't get lost ;-)]
I'll keep ya posted.

Until then, I wish you a Fine Navy Day.
Chuck sends