The Gipper's Guide to America
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My nephew stands at parade rest as his ship sails under the Golden Gate bridge during the S.F. U.S.Navy Fleet Week. He is the CWO in charge of all communications and computer systems on board ship. Some 23 years ago my brother kicked him out of the house for not working while hanging around some questionable losers who were also going nowhere. He joined the Navy and eventually got so good at his job that he was assigned to the joint services top notch world combat team that operated out of Ft. Bragg. He went through all the special warfare schools, communications/computer schools and even jump school to a be a part of that major command group. Smart kid who grew up to be a very sharp Naval Career man and Chief Warrant Officer (E-8 I believe). I'm very proud of him and also of my 1st cousin who just retired from the USMC as a Lt. Col. My nephew has put in for retirement, but because of all the $$ they have put into him, they may not let him go yet.
My nephew stands at parade rest as his ship sails under the Golden Gate bridge during the S.F. U.S.Navy Fleet Week. He is the CWO in charge of all communications and computer systems on board ship. Some 23 years ago my brother kicked him out of the house for not working while hanging around some questionable losers who were also going nowhere. He joined the Navy and eventually got so good at his job that he was assigned to the joint services top notch world combat team that operated out of Ft. Bragg. He went through all the special warfare schools, communications/computer schools and even jump school to a be a part of that major command group. Smart kid who grew up to be a very sharp Naval Career man and Chief Warrant Officer (E-8 I believe). I'm very proud of him and also of my 1st cousin who just retired from the USMC as a Lt. Col. My nephew has put in for retirement, but because of all the $$ they have put into him, they may not let him go yet.
He's a SCPO (Senior Chief) (E8), not a Chief Warrant Officer. I retired from the Navy as an E9 (Master at Arms). (Master Chief).
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My nephew stands at parade rest as his ship sails under the Golden Gate bridge during the S.F. U.S.Navy Fleet Week. He is the CWO in charge of all communications and computer systems on board ship. Some 23 years ago my brother kicked him out of the house for not working while hanging around some questionable losers who were also going nowhere. He joined the Navy and eventually got so good at his job that he was assigned to the joint services top notch world combat team that operated out of Ft. Bragg. He went through all the special warfare schools, communications/computer schools and even jump school to a be a part of that major command group. Smart kid who grew up to be a very sharp Naval Career man and Chief Warrant Officer (E-8 I believe). I'm very proud of him and also of my 1st cousin who just retired from the USMC as a Lt. Col. My nephew has put in for retirement, but because of all the $$ they have put into him, they may not let him go yet.
He's a SCPO (Senior Chief) (E8), not a Chief Warrant Officer. I retired from the Navy as an E9 (Master at Arms). (Master Chief).
He's a SCPO (Senior Chief) (E8), not a Chief Warrant Officer. I retired from the Navy as an E9 (Master at Arms). (Master Chief).
Thanks. Navy has weird ranks so I didn't know what E-8 translated to. Damn squids!?
EDIT: What would an E-7 be in the Navy?
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He's a SCPO (Senior Chief) (E8), not a Chief Warrant Officer. I retired from the Navy as an E9 (Master at Arms). (Master Chief).
Thanks. Navy has weird ranks so I didn't know what E-8 translated to. Damn squids!?
EDIT: What would an E-7 be in the Navy?
Thanks. Navy has weird ranks so I didn't know what E-8 translated to. Damn squids!?
EDIT: What would an E-7 be in the Navy?
I got out of the Army as a CPL (E4) in 1973. Went into the Navy as an OSVET (Other Service Veteran) in 1976 as an E4. An E7 in the Navy is a Chief Petty officer (CPO). Same as a SFC in the Army.
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I was just thinking about our Gipper touring across America and was thinking about one of my carry on staples.......a cheap, simple, AM/FM radio with a few basic requirements:
1. Must have a lanyard. 2. A light color easy to see/find at night. 3. Simple operation 3 buttons/switcher here. 4. Cheap, lose it no big deal. 5. Two AA batteries.
Here is my eheap pocket size radio, great for sports, news, weather, et. It was $15.45 in November 2016 when I bought it from Amazon, discontinued model......but still there years later, an Amazon thing, they're around forever, sometimes.. Not even a stereo, just as you see it. Hmmmm, now $21.99? I have many better radios this is definately NOT one.
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I just completed a trip to northwest Iowa, and environs, and while there I visited the following new National Park Units:
Pipestone National Monument. This is in fairly much the southwest part of Minnesota. This park centers around the quarries, ancient and current, where the rare stone material "Catlanite" is mined. This fairly bright red stone material. Pipestone (Catlinite) is the sacred red clay stone that American Indians use for making prayer and ceremonial pipes. It is found in only a few places in the world. Only native Americans are allowed to quarry for the pipestone currently and only under approved licensing. Within the park, in addition to the quarries, there is a very scenic trail along cliff sides where the pipestone is often seen.
Missouri National Recreational River. A100-mile stretch of North America's longest river, a vestige of the untamed American West. Two free flowing stretches of the Missouri (undammed) make up the National Park. This park is both South Dakota and Nebraska. I drove into parts of it from Yankton SD to Sioux City Iowa.
Parks I had already been to but revisited: Effigy Mounds National Monument, in eastern Iowa.
This now makes 349 of the 417 National Park units that I have visited.
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well, I'll bet that Gipper has never been here:
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/conrad-maldives-underwater-villa
lol.
question - some friends called, asked if we would be interested in the four of us going to Yellowstone, etc.
Never been out west. What all is out that way that we won't want to miss?
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well, I'll bet that Gipper has never been here:
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/conrad-maldives-underwater-villa
lol.
question - some friends called, asked if we would be interested in the four of us going to Yellowstone, etc.
Never been out west. What all is out that way that we won't want to miss?
well, I'll bet that Gipper has never been here:
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/conrad-maldives-underwater-villa
lol.
question - some friends called, asked if we would be interested in the four of us going to Yellowstone, etc.
Never been out west. What all is out that way that we won't want to miss?
Looks like some 007 stuff.....but interesting.
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well, I'll bet that Gipper has never been here:
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/conrad-maldives-underwater-villa
lol.
question - some friends called, asked if we would be interested in the four of us going to Yellowstone, etc.
Never been out west. What all is out that way that we won't want to miss?
well, I'll bet that Gipper has never been here:
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/conrad-maldives-underwater-villa
lol.
question - some friends called, asked if we would be interested in the four of us going to Yellowstone, etc.
Never been out west. What all is out that way that we won't want to miss?
At least the drive through Rocky Mountain National Park on Trail Ridge Road. I know it's a little out of the way from a direct drive to Yellowstone, but well worth it for the spectacular mountain views. If you go in the summer let me know when and I can be your guide. Also the Grand Tetons just south of Yellowstone. Got to see that.
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I once saw a copperhead ouside my front door. Just repainted my house:
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I once saw a copperhead ouside my front door. Just repainted my house:
I once saw a copperhead ouside my front door. Just repainted my house:
That there is the best kind of girlfriend to have.Bet she never gives you any sh-it about anything. Just sits on that rail and stays quiet.?
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well, I'll bet that Gipper has never been here:
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/conrad-maldives-underwater-villa
lol.
question - some friends called, asked if we would be interested in the four of us going to Yellowstone, etc.
Never been out west. What all is out that way that we won't want to miss?
well, I'll bet that Gipper has never been here:
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/conrad-maldives-underwater-villa
lol.
question - some friends called, asked if we would be interested in the four of us going to Yellowstone, etc.
Never been out west. What all is out that way that we won't want to miss?
Tell you probably want to read this entire thread to get some ideas and some stuff. I’m on my phone so this is not the best way for me to answer that question but I can give you a few highlights as far as out West. He obviously going to Yellowstone is a top place. Yosemite national Park in California. The Grand Canyon. Crater lake in Oregon. I guess the real question is which parts of the West do you want to visit ? It’s a big country
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Yosemite. Grand Canyon. Yellowstone.
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well, I'll bet that Gipper has never been here:
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/conrad-maldives-underwater-villa
lol.
question - some friends called, asked if we would be interested in the four of us going to Yellowstone, etc.
Never been out west. What all is out that way that we won't want to miss?
well, I'll bet that Gipper has never been here:
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/conrad-maldives-underwater-villa
lol.
question - some friends called, asked if we would be interested in the four of us going to Yellowstone, etc.
Never been out west. What all is out that way that we won't want to miss?
If you happen to be passing by the Little Bighorn here is some history for you. Just so you know I don't let political differences get in the way of relationships with people I have more in common with than not. One of my best friends is a former Special Forces/Secret Service big time Trump supporter with whom I share racquetball, the Vietnam experience and love of the outdoors. We have ongoing emails and personal conversations on politics, but we also have ongoing shared interests which we discuss as well. I like him and he likes me so "there it is" as they say. I love the West, history, hiking the trails and firearms. So does my younger brother who is further right than you if you can believe that's possible. He would think John Birchers are pinko commies. Now with him we just stay away from politics except when I am sharing my likes of Republicans I'd rather see running the country.
There is one glaring mistake in the narrative in this video, "For thousands of years Indian tribes road the northern plains...." Not until the Spanish introduced the horse to the Americas did they ride anything unless somebody found a way to tame a buffalo. LOL!?
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well, I'll bet that Gipper has never been here:
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/conrad-maldives-underwater-villa
lol.
question - some friends called, asked if we would be interested in the four of us going to Yellowstone, etc.
Never been out west. What all is out that way that we won't want to miss?
Tell you probably want to read this entire thread to get some ideas and some stuff. I’m on my phone so this is not the best way for me to answer that question but I can give you a few highlights as far as out West. He obviously going to Yellowstone is a top place. Yosemite national Park in California. The Grand Canyon. Crater lake in Oregon. I guess the real question is which parts of the West do you want to visit ? It’s a big country
Tell you probably want to read this entire thread to get some ideas and some stuff. I’m on my phone so this is not the best way for me to answer that question but I can give you a few highlights as far as out West. He obviously going to Yellowstone is a top place. Yosemite national Park in California. The Grand Canyon. Crater lake in Oregon. I guess the real question is which parts of the West do you want to visit ? It’s a big country
Since we both got sick this past week we had to cancel going to Boston/R.I., but we have rescheduled to go again Memorial Day week with two of her sisters & husbands and are staying that Fri-Monday at Whaler's Inn in Mystic Seaport. One of the reasons I loved Melville's Moby Dick was the details in the book about how the whaling ships operated. This is the big attraction in Mystic for me, the last remaining wooden hulled whaler, Charles W. Morgan, which is moored there. Have any of you been there?
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Tell you probably want to read this entire thread to get some ideas and some stuff. I’m on my phone so this is not the best way for me to answer that question but I can give you a few highlights as far as out West. He obviously going to Yellowstone is a top place. Yosemite national Park in California. The Grand Canyon. Crater lake in Oregon. I guess the real question is which parts of the West do you want to visit ? It’s a big country
Since we both got sick this past week we had to cancel going to Boston/R.I., but we have rescheduled to go again Memorial Day week with two of her sisters & husbands and are staying that Fri-Monday at Whaler's Inn in Mystic Seaport. One of the reasons I loved Melville's Moby Dick was the details in the book about how the whaling ships operated. This is the big attraction in Mystic for me, the last remaining wooden hulled whaler, Charles W. Morgan, which is moored there. Have any of you been there?
Since we both got sick this past week we had to cancel going to Boston/R.I., but we have rescheduled to go again Memorial Day week with two of her sisters & husbands and are staying that Fri-Monday at Whaler's Inn in Mystic Seaport. One of the reasons I loved Melville's Moby Dick was the details in the book about how the whaling ships operated. This is the big attraction in Mystic for me, the last remaining wooden hulled whaler, Charles W. Morgan, which is moored there. Have any of you been there?
Actually if you want the real Moby Dick thing go to New Bedford Massachusetts to the whaling Museum there. That is actually where they filmed parts of the Moby dick starring Gregory Peck
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I am right now in Marshall TX waiting for the Wonderland of lights to start......about 20 minuets to dark.
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I am right now in Marshall TX waiting for the Wonderland of lights to start......about 20 minuets to dark.
I am right now in Marshall TX waiting for the Wonderland of lights to start......about 20 minuets to dark.
That is worth seeing. Went to it about 10 years ago. Georgetown, Tx. also now has some pretty good amount of lights around the courthouse/town square lite up every night.
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Some notes about my latest trip:
1. Attended my second away Browns game in Houston. Previous one was in Nashville a couple of years ago.
2. Went to 2 National Park units I had not been to before:
A. New Orleans Jazz. They have a visitor center near the French Market, but in asking them there, they said that the location of the park was anywhere in the city where jazz was being played. So, I did stop here and there to listen to the music that was being played all over town. Every third building on Bourbon St. had a band playing....plus all around Jackson Square
B. Jean Lafitte National Historic Park. There were a couple of sections of this I visited. The Brarataria Preserve, south of the city....which was set in the swamps of where Lafitte held sway in his various endeavours. Also, the Chalmette Battlefield. aka, the site of the Battle of New Orleans, where the scrabbled unit of Americans led by Andrew Jackson made mincemeat out of the professional British Army. Only 20 Americans killed there compared to 1500-2000 Brits.
3.Also drove another portion of the Natchez Trace, from Jackson Miss. to Natchez.
4. Also did a bit of a grand tour around Louisian Bayou country....from New Orleans over to Lafayette to Lake Charles and along the Creole Nature trail.
Ate Crawfish etouffe....and liked it pretty well. Did not have to peel the crawfish, which was a bonus.
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Since we both got sick this past week we had to cancel going to Boston/R.I., but we have rescheduled to go again Memorial Day week with two of her sisters & husbands and are staying that Fri-Monday at Whaler's Inn in Mystic Seaport. One of the reasons I loved Melville's Moby Dick was the details in the book about how the whaling ships operated. This is the big attraction in Mystic for me, the last remaining wooden hulled whaler, Charles W. Morgan, which is moored there. Have any of you been there?
Actually if you want the real Moby Dick thing go to New Bedford Massachusetts to the whaling Museum there. That is actually where they filmed parts of the Moby dick starring Gregory Peck
Actually if you want the real Moby Dick thing go to New Bedford Massachusetts to the whaling Museum there. That is actually where they filmed parts of the Moby dick starring Gregory Peck
We did that last trip. Sat in church pew where there is a sign that he had sat there, the scene of the sermon in Moby Dick. Loved the whaling museum as well. We also went to the Mayflower replica and could not fool the actress on board into believing her friend Elizabeth Tilley and John Howland were the umpteenth great grandparents to my wife, "But sir, Elizabeth is only 13!". LOL!
PS-whenever we went to the beach in Texas we always dug for Lafitte's rumored buried treasure.
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With my trip to the Battle of New Orleans site, I have visited most of the sites of the major battles of The War of 1812. At least those that occurred on American soil. There are several in Canada that I have not been to.(the most decisive of which is called the Battle of the Thames).
The only one that I really have not been to is the Battle of Plattsburgh. But that is deceiving, as that battle is also called the Battle of Lake Champlain, and like the Battle of Lake Erie, it really took place out on the water. Though, I believe, like Lake Erie, there is a museum dedicated to the battle on the lake there in the town of Plattsburgh, which I will have to try to get to someday.
Also, with my trip to New Orleans and the two National Park units there, I have now visited 351 out of the 417 National Park units.
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