Memorial Day, 2013

It's a time of reflection for those who have sacrificed for our freedoms – freedom of religion, or lack of it; freedom of choice to believe or not believe; freedom to speak for or against the government; freedom to carry arms or not.

Hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day and spent a few moments to think of those who have given us our freedoms.  Thank you, Mr. Hobbs.

That's why all of us in our diversity have the freedom to do what we like, to speak out for what we believe in, or don't believe in. I cherish the right to believe in God, to speak out against what I believe is wrong, or right, and to carry a weapon if I so choose. If I do not believe in my country fighting for me, I have the right to move to a country where I think I'll be treated better, which won't happen. My choice is to live in and love my country, the United States of America. May she live on forever.

Yes, I do carry a gun ... and bigger is always better!!!

Thank you to those who have lived and died for my rights, to their families and all who have served and will serve.

Memorial Day weekend is also a time for my fellow motorcyclists to get together, to ride, to eat, to mingle, and for some, to attend memorial services.

And yes, to just relax in the beautiful, warm sunshine.

A group of us left Anchorage on Saturday, May 25, heading to Denali to the Grizzly Bear Campground, to camp (or stay in a cabin as many of us do) and to partake of a barbecue most recently taken over by the Black Sheep, a part of the Harley Owners Group.

It was a gorgeous day; one could ask for no better. And we rode like the wind, enjoying every ray of sunshine, every mile of the road, every twist and turn. It was spectacular, with Mount McKinley making nearly a full appearance.

Pam and Maria.

Natasha and Doug.

Captain Cupcake and Sprinkles.

As always we made the usual stops, Talkeetna for gas and gab with other groups riding north for the event; Denali View South to have a drink and snacks and a photo opportunity at the mountain. It was glorious and I felt more alive than I had in awhile. Maybe it was the sun, or perhaps because it would be the first long weekend of riding with friends and being on a mini-vacation.

We bypassed Cantwell as the one gas station open there hates bikers. Our beloved Chevron station is in the process of a rebuild since it burned down, and there has been a lot of work going on. We later heard the gas pumps are now open. Yay. It was a favored place to stop as they liked us, and it has a large paved parking area so we could gas up, rest and mingle with others who stopped there.

Birdie and Mike ... waiting for check in.

On our Memorial Day Meet in the Middle run we pretty much fill up the campground, hotel and cabins.  What a super time we have ...

On to Grizzly where the snow was still covering a lot of the ground. We checked in for our regular cabin and found half of our parking area covered with snow. As usual, we made it all work and got our bikes situated, helping each other back up or forward and putting kickstands on something solid so they didn't sink into the dirt. We unloaded the bikes, enjoying hugs and conversations with those who had arrived earlier and who stopped by to see us as they passed on the little dirt road that runs through the cabin area.

Captain Cupcake, Trapper and Zookeeper, getting a bike situated.

 Once we were moved in for the night we all walked up to the barbecue area where people gather and the partying would begin.

Our Robin, HOG photographer, nearly always has a camera at hand.  Be alooking or she may get your photo.

Robin's husband, Jim, did not have a camera at hand that day. 

Almost ready.

Oh yea, almost food time, according to Grant.  Or, pattycake, pattycake, baker's man. 

By the time dinner was served (and yes, Zookeeper was first in line) there were 75 people who had eaten, more than the previous year. It was a great meal, as always, with folks from the Kenai Peninsula, Fairbanks, Anchorage, Wasilla and who knows where else, all getting together to enjoy it as well as the catching up we must do since we usually don't see each other much during the winter months.

But Zookeeper always has his ticket and is ready to show it.

Glenda did a good job of fending Zookeeper off until it was time to eat, using what she had at hand ... a plastic tray!!!

There was tons of food and no excuse for anyone who went hungry.

The Black Sheep (sheeples or sheep people as I call them) have prepared our food for several years now and do a great job of feeding us, leaving no body unfed.

You can never have too many cooks in some kitchens, Eric, Troy and Grant.

There are no bad photos of Barbie (our current Miss Harley-Davidson) and her husband, Ron.  We so love them.

Trapper and his wife Char came up this year (they are currently living in Colorado) and it was a pleasure to see them both.  Trapper (and even his son Kody years ago) did the cooking for the meal.  And there was no one left unfed, unless they just didn't show up on time.  He and Char and their helpers, Steve and Mary come to mind, kept us well fed for a number of years and we truly appreciate all they have done for us over time.

The bonfire always an attraction and is a yearly tradition. What a wonderful time it is … as we are welcomed to Grizzly Bear as the trial run for their establishment as summer kicks off and the tourist season begins. We've been doing this run for about 20 years now; the Grizzly folks treat us very well and the event never disappoints. We even had Trapper and Char at the event, formerly from our HOG group and currently living in Colorado. It was a special treat to have them there.

There's just too much fun to be had at this event.  If you missed out, there's always next year.

There was still a lot of snow left at the campground, but bikers use everything to their advantage.  Notice the lower right hand area in the snow; it's being used as a beer cooler. 

Trapper and Char brought some presents, which we doubled up putting the glasses on the face.  Then we gave our cabin key to the responsible party.

Birdie, me and Petitest. 

Sometimes you use the photo-bombed shot rather than the nice one you have of Dan and Traci.  Couldn't help it.  Love this one.

Sunday morning came too soon. Many of us ride to Healy to Rose's Cafe, a small place but very capable of handling a large group of leather-clad bikers. Rose and her husband enjoy us coming by to have breakfast (or another meal depending on if we go through there at other times), and always comes out to greet us personally. And the food is excellent!!

Most of the crowd went back to Byer's Lake for the Memorial Day service, or to the McKinley View Restaurant to participate in a parade to the memorial. It's well worth it, to ride or even to just wait for the bikes to come in at the memorial and be a part of the service honoring those who have fought for our freedoms.

Oh what a beautiful day ... yet again.  What a gift of wonderful weather we've been having.

A group of eight bikes went north from Rose's to Fairbanks, via Salcha and the Knotty Shop for ice cream, then on to Tok where we'd spend the night at another bike-friendly establishment, the Golden Bear Motel. We continued to have weather that defied our imagination as we rode in cloud-free zones for the entire day. As we neared Tok we saw a motorcycle overturned in the ditch. We later learned it was a lady from Delta who lost her life in the accident. Rest in peace, Gail, and may your family know that others care even if we don't know your lady.

Golden Bear Campground and Motel in Tok, biker friendly.  He's not tossing bikers into that furnace.  It heats the place via pipes coming under the driveway.

Monday arrived and once again we rode cloud-free as we headed to Glennallen. This weekend could not possibly be topped for weather and warmth … 70s+, oh yeah. We were loving it, shedding gear as we went along.

Birdie was doing her usual ABCs of Touring and stopping here and there for photos with road signs. Several of us are doing the Alaska/Yukon museum run, and so we've stopped at various museums, parttaking of history and knowledge if they've been open. Thank you, Barry, for getting us sleazy bikers a little smarter than we were before.

Jaz and I elected to go to Valdez and take the ferry to Whittier, the tunnel route to Portage and home. The rest of the group left for Eureka for lunch or pie and home from there. And all arrived safely, which is what we always want from a road trip.

Jaz and I rode in to Copper Center to see how the rebuild of the old lodge was doing since it had burned down.  This is a biker-friendly place as well.  We learned that the restaurant has been moved to a location just across the parking lot for the time being.  We will be back.

The ride to Valdez was in another cloud-free zone. We stopped at the Worthington Glacier to find that most of the parking lot was still covered with snow, and the trails and outhouses were not yet open or accessible. Ooooooh, bummer. Hang on, hang on.

A few more weeks of this lovely weather and the parking lot will be free of snow and the glacier out for all to see and walk up to.

As we continued toward town we stopped at Bridal Veil Falls. The ice formations around the falls were spectacular and we could hear ice cracking and see small pieces falling We never saw anything huge fall, but knew as soon as we left most likely one of the big ice pieces would drop like a rock to the river below. Oh well. What we saw was awesome.

There's a lot of ice and snow even at the end of May.

Jaz and I stayed at the Totem, visited one of the museums, ate at Mike's Palace and walked around town a bit. We'd had a long weekend so hit the rack early.

The snow dump sites were still way taller than us.  This was just across the street from the hotel.

On our way.

In line, waiting to board.

On Tuesday we had to get up to catch the ferry by 6 a.m. Wow, yet another cloud-free zone. Would it end? Well, yes, but we were so enjoying this special weather.

Our ship awaits.

A beautiful day, a beautiful ship.

Boarded and tied down.  I took the key with me when we went upstairs.  Princess Bee-a-trix did not like her fob being gone as she was blinking her lights and sounding her siren.  They came looking for me.  I left her fob with her.

What a wake behind us.  That, too, was beautiful ... or maybe I was just in a zone of everything being right.

Oh what a beautiful day.

Glacier, icebergs, birds, sea lions, otters.  There was a whale spotted, but we didn't see it.  It was still an awesome trip.

The map showed where the ship was in its travels and brought back childhood memories of when my folks and I would go fishing or camping out of Whittier on the two boats we owned.  It was a great childhood.

Everyone was enjoying the sun, including the sea lions.

The ferry was spectacular and we had breakfast, walked around multiple times, sat for a while, watched the live-time map of where the ferry was, walked some more, watched a life boat drill (come back, come back), saw otters, birds, icebergs. It was an awesome trip, with mostly glass-like water and sunshine that warmed our bodies when we weren't standing in the wind.

Putting around, heading back to the ship and the pulleys to get it back on board.

The lifeboat being brought back onboard.

Our arrival in Whittier was non-eventful. We had some lunch, and wandered through the museum. It's mostly a military museum, but there was an area dedicated to Whittier, the town coming into being.

That would be me, second from the left, seated.  Wow.  Brings back memories.

And there on the wall it was … a photo of the military bowling alley in the Buckner Building, showing some kids learning to bowl … and me. I'd know those pig tails anywhere. Who'd a thought?

Not many vehicles going through the tunnel the day we were returning to Anchorage.

Then to the tunnel to wait to go through. Bikes ride last. While we were standing there chatting with the gal with the radio we could hear a voice say, “There's a motorcycle parked in the employee parking.” We told her we knew who it was. And cleared that up … it's Birdie and she's waiting for us.

Enjoying the sunshine at the mouth of the tunnel, waiting to ride between the rails to Portage.

We got to the other side of the 2-1/2-mile-long tunnel and found Mike Sweet. We'd thought to surprise him. NOT!! Turns out there are loads of cameras everywhere and he'd spotted the bikes while they were parked on the other side waiting to get through. He saw the yellow bike and identified it as mine from nearly the minute we rode into the tunnel staging area. So much for the element of surprise.

Mike chatted with us for a while, then Jaz, Birdie and I headed into town. What a great weekend, great friends, great weather, great ride. It was a Memorial Day worth remembering, for so many reasons.

Anchors aweigh …

The ship is here; the ship is here.  Welcome.

Hooray, hooray, today's the first of May, officially known as May Day. It's a very special day in the City of Anchorage as the USS Anchorage arrived. The 684-foot ship is a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship, and is the second U.S. Navy ship to be named for our city.

The ship docked at the Port of Anchorage.

The USS Anchorage arrived here to be commissioned in her namesake town. And special to me, and about 50 others is that the local Harley Owners Group chapter was allowed a private tour. Yahoo.

Some of us were wearing the special edition shirt the Harley shop had made for the USS Anchorage's arrival.

The HOGs all gathered down by the Comfort Inn near Ship Creek, in the heart of downtown Anchorage about 6:30 p.m. Hobbs rode down with me, but had no intention of going on the ship or the tour. Hobbs (AKA Biker Bill) says the ship is nothing more than a taxi cab for the Marine Corp. He said every time he's ever gotten on a military ship it's always taken him someplace he didn't want to be, dropped him off, and never came back to pick him up. So he elected to stay with the bikes and keep an eye on them.

The bus took us to the port where we'd board the ship.  With all our carrying on it's a wonder Randy, the bus driver, didn't toss our butts to the curb.

There were special busses to take us down to the Port. In order to board we had to show identification, then onto the bus we went. The driver, Randy, said there'd been a 45-minute delay onboard the ship, so when we got to the holding area (outside in view of the ship), we ended up standing around for probably that same amount of time.

But HOG folks are very good at entertaining themselves ... taking photos, jumping into someone else's photos, telling bad jokes.  HOGs just wanna have fun.  And they do.

There were other private tours happening so in order for us to board the ship we had to wait for them to siphon other groups through. It appeared we were the last group of the evening, which turned out to be the best since we didn't get off the ship til sometime after 9:30 p.m.

Finally, going up the gangplank to the ship. 

 

Welcome aboard.

This helicopter and a vertical take-off aircraft were setting on deck, on the stern of the ship.

As we boarded, we could see a landing area with a helicopter and an Osprey, which is a vertical take-off and landing, fixed-wing aircraft. It can land and take off like a helicopter but once airborne the propellers are rotated and moved into place so it flies like a regular aircraft. What a fascinating piece of machinery that was.

The Osprey is one exciting piece of machinery.  Sure would like a ride in one of those.

We were allowed to roam through both aircraft, and it was a thrill to be able to see what they're all about. They were sitting on the flight deck, which is about an acre in size, but there's an area inside the ship where they can be transported in the event of bad weather so there's no chance of them being washed or falling overboard.

My favorite photo of Pam looking out of the helicopter.

Okay, this is a HOG ride.  We're ready for take off. 

Then we were taken inside. There's what appears to be a full hospital with operating rooms, x-ray machines and the like, which is necessary when housing hundreds of Navy and Marine personnel at sea.

For surgery at sea. 

No one signed up for x-rays this evening.

Frank sure did want to ring that ship's bell.

Stacey and Dennis stood near the ship's logo, notice the moose horns.

And Lauren makes the moose horns look even better.

We saw berths where the personnel sleep, red curtains for the Marines, blue for the Navy folks.

What can I say?  Red rules.  Semper fi.

We got to wander through the galley and the mess hall, and found that someone had discovered one of the best pizza places in town – the Moose's Tooth. There must have been a dozen pizza cartons setting around.

Part of the mess hall.  Very clean, and comfortable looking.

Julie found the lunch trays, but she didn't get a free lunch on board.

Up on another deck, I could look over the bow of the ship.  What a nice view.

Here and there we'd be given information about various parts of the ship.  Inside this area (where we did not go) was a no-photo zone. 

The tour continued up steep little stairwells, through what are called hatches, into the control room (although we weren't allowed to photograph there), onto the bridge, into the pilot house.

Ed did not take the life preserver.  He may have been thinking about it.  But then we saw the lady with the gun. 

Just in case one might forget, there are guns located in many locations on board.  Yes, Virginia, this is a warship.

Along the way one was reminded that this was a warship as there were various guns located on the outer decks.

This was just the best photo with Becky and a Navy person at her gunnery station.

Of course, I had to pose with as many of them as possible.  (More of that later.)



Navy and Marine personnel on board were more than happy to share their ship with us during the evening. 

The pilot house has a GPS, but mostly the crew relies on maps … because they're more reliable. I well know that, having travelled with folks who use GPSs. They're only as good as the information that goes into them, including that gained from maps. But still, using technology on this ship is quite a change from some of the older ships and what they used to navigate. Think sun, moon and stars, going way back to when the earth was “flat.”

Barry was sitting in a chair on the bridge, ready to weigh anchor and lead us off on a sunset cruise.

One of the many computers in the pilot house.

As we moved through the various areas, you could see rows of cable above your head. Our guide was asked how much of it there was. The response, “About 30,000 miles.” I could remember that number only because that's about what I ride every year. That's a lot of cable.

Now we're to the good stuff, compliments of the Marines.  Humvees, eight-wheeled land assault vehicles, a hover craft.

Two of the Marines struck a pose for me.  This one's for you, Hobbs.

Then we moved into the areas with the “good” stuff, the Humvees, track vehicles, the howitzer. This might be a man's world of goodies, but I was totally enthralled. And … had to the go ahead by the crew to climb on, get in, go on top, pretty much run rampant. And I did.

Heather and I were on top, ready to kick some butt.  Yep, we were feeling pretty tough!

Down the hatch.

My beady little eyes are behind this piece of glass ... watching you.  How on earth does anyone see anything out of these things, much less be able to find a target, or even the road? 

I was at the back of the pack since I was busy getting in and out of all the equipment.  Then one of the Marines said they bet I'd like this ... I turned around, and there was this 23-pound gun, a squad automatic weapon, with a bipod.  Oh yeah.  I was loving it.

Then we saw the M777 howitzer.  Who says bigger isn't better?  We were showed the shell (which would weigh I think they said 95 pounds), and how they load it and shoot it.  It has a usual range of about 8 miles, but up to a bit more than 20 if necessary and probably depending on the size of the charge.  Whatever.  Very impressive.

One of the vehicles had a helmet in it, with a sound suppression system as well.  Even they have to wear helmets and they're quite protected inside these vehicles.

I got inside this vehicle, too, but time was running out, so it was a quick run in and out again.

There's a lot of big equipment on this ship, contained in a huge parking and maintenance area.  A deck section can be flooded so hovercraft, boats or amphibious assault vehicles can enter through giant doors on the stern.

And then, suddenly we looked around, and there were only a few of us left. Everyone else had left the ship and we were being herded off. The tour was incredible, the time spent fun and informative. What an opportunity, and I believe one that was enjoyed by all of us who were able to make the event.

Julie looking down at me as we wound our way back up to disembark.  There were a lot of steps up and down again, a lot of decks.  But it was fun and so worth all the exercise we got.

We were leaving and the military folks were returning.  What a day, a great day!!

 The ship's keel was laid down Sept. 24, 2007 at the Avondale Shipyard in New Orleans. She was launched Feb. 12, 2011, christened May 14 of that year and will be commissioned in Anchorage May 4, 2013, at which time she will officially join the Navy's fleet. When she leaves Anchorage she will return to her home base of San Diego.

4395 sailors returning to the ship