East coast adventure

Time to catch up on what I experienced while on my Space-A adventure back east. My first full day in Philadelphia was spent visiting the Liberty House, the Liberty Bell, and taking a hike all around the historical sights.

Liberty House

It was really interesting to see and stand in the same room that George Washington and the signers of the Declaration of Independence spent time in. As I walked around, I came across a hostel located on a side street and decided to spend the night there. Apple Hostel has excellent rates, is extremely clean, and is located only a few blocks from the Liberty House. Plus, they offered discounts at the local restaurants. I wish that I had more time to visit the local restaurants and pubs; it looks like a foodie paradise around the historic section.

The next morning, I decided to head to Brooklyn to visit see the sights. Only 90 miles away, it seemed to be an easy enough drive. Along the way, I had to pull off to make an ATM visit and ended up in Camden, NJ. Now I've been to some pretty "dangerous" neighborhoods before, but they were nothing compared to Camden. I told a friend of mine that it made East LA look like Disneyland. It was 8:30 in the morning, and the hookers were already working the streets. Burnt out buildings, trash in the streets; if you've watched "The Walking Dead", you'll have a pretty good visual of what the streets looked like. As I pulled up to a convenience store ATM, another car pulled up a couple of spaces down from me. I had an unusual feeling that this guy was waiting for me to get out, so I kept my car running and decided to wait for him to get out first to see if he was just going to grab something from the store. I waited and waited. He would glance over to see if I was going to get out, but I kept waiting. After I decided that he was probably looking for more than just milk and bread, I left and found another ATM in a safer location. 

Along the way, I decided to visit my old Navy buddy Dan in New Jersey. Haven't seen the guy since '84, so I met up with him at work. The snow started to fall pretty good when I got there, so he took a break and we went to the local 7-Eleven and grabbed a cup of coffee. We sat in the rental car for the next hour catching up on what we've been up to all these years. I consider myself fortunate that I've got these friendships from my Navy days that are still going strong.

I left Dan and headed to Brooklyn to see another shipmate, Patrick. Not a bad drive, but the $15 toll going into Brooklyn on the Goethals bridge caught me by surprise (it was $13 coming out of Brooklyn on the Verrazano bridge). Still snowing, Patrick and I went out for a quick dinner at a local pub (best cheese stuffed ravioli I've ever had!), and got caught up since our last visit in '09.

I left early the next morning to head to Chesapeake, VA to visit another Navy shipmate and his family. It was a pretty uneventful seven hour drive, and arrived just in time for dinner. Frank and Denise have a wonderful family, and it was a real blessing to meet their kids and Denise's father. Denise is an outstanding cook, so we had a great dinner and fellowship that evening.

By this time, I was four days into traveling, and it was time to take a break. I spent the next two nights in Chesapeake, resting, doing laundry, and planning my next few days.

I took off early the next morning and headed to Washington, DC. I checked into the Capital View hostel, a ten minute walk to the Capital building. Again, a really nice, inexpensive hostel conveniently located to all the local sights.

Capital Building

Washington D.C. was amazing! I had no idea that all of the monuments were located around the perimeter of the National Mall. I spent the next two days walking around to visit them, covering roughly 21 miles according to my GPS. I definitely got my money's worth out of my hiking boots those days. The Lincoln Memorial, the MLK memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, the Vietnam Wall, the WWII memorial; it's tough to say which one stood out the most to me. They were all pretty incredible; I wish that I had more time to visit the various Smithsonian museums. I'll definitely go back to see what I missed.

After my DC visit, I had to start thinking about heading back. Money was running low, and I was getting tired of walking 5-10 miles a day sightseeing. I drove back to Dover and spent the night. The next morning, I headed back to the Air Force Base terminal to see if I could get manifested on a flight back to California, but no luck. I turned in my rental car and hiked four miles to the bus station. I was able to catch a bus up to the Wilmington, Delaware Amtrak station, and then took the train back to DC. Another night at the Capital View hostel, and then I headed to Andrews AFB for the afternoon flight back to California. But, no luck; I couldn't get a seat on the afternoon flight and I ended up spending the night in the base air terminal. I lucked out the next day, and was able to catch a late morning flight to Travis AFB. Down to the last of my funds, I spent one more night at Travis AFB at the Westwind Inn and caught up on the sleep that I lost the night before. The next morning, I was able to catch a seat on a C5 going to Miramar MCAS. Finally home!

The whole Space-A experience was worth it. Next time, I'm going to plan it out much better and have some kind of itinerary before I head out. Trying to figure out where I was going to sleep every night was mentally wearing, but it did add to the adventure. 

I'm hoping to catch a few days worth of hiking up the coast next week, so I'll update the blog soon.

Cheesesteak adventure

So I've got about a month before I have to be at my next commitment. I figured that I could get some hiking in, maybe finish covering San Diego county.

But at the same time, I've also been thinking about taking advantage of my military Space-A benefit of free air travel from any military air base. Space-A is a great way to get around if you've got plenty of time and are very flexible.

I went to March Air Force Base yesterday, knowing ahead of time that they had a couple of flights scheduled. One to Fort Worth, another to Dover, Delaware. Either choice would have been good since there were plenty of seats, but since I've never been to Dover I figured that I'd give it a shot.

Since there were two flights to Europe out of Dover on Saturday, I was going to shoot for one of them. One flight to Rota, Spain and another to Ramstein, Germany. Although I really wasn't prepared for an extended stay in Europe, I was planning to wing it.

The flight from March to Dover was easy; 4-1/2 hours in a C-130, enough to take a long nap. We landed at 10:00 p.m., and found that there were no seats available to Europe. I was lucky enough to find a place to stay for the night, so I shared a cab ride with a couple of fellow Space-A travelers to a local Best Western.

The next afternoon (I slept in), I hiked a couple of miles and picked up a rental car. I asked some of the locals about sightseeing, but they didn't have any good suggestions other than visiting the local casino. With Philadelphia a 90 minute drive away, I decided to have an authentic Philly cheesesteak. I told my bro Bobby about my plans, and he suggested Tony Luke's.

I arrived an hour later, and found that I wasn't the only one that wanted a good cheesesteak. There was a 15 min line of locals, including a group that seemed to be on some kind of foodie tour. After another 15 min wait for my food, I was able to see what Tony Luke's was about. The sandwich was good and cheesy, and the steak was tender. The bread didn't seem fresh, since it was somewhat chewy. Although it wasn't disappointing, I'm pretty sure that I've had better elsewhere. Gaglione Bros. in San Diego, specifically.

New York is 90 miles away. I'm thinking "thin slice pizza" for lunch tomorrow.

Days 2 & 3 through Coronado Island

After I was unexpectedly stopped by an entry into an estuary the day before, I started day 2 of my hike by driving back to my last end point, and began walking from the north end of the estuary mouth. The weather was beautiful, and it made for an easy 5 mile hike through Imperial Beach. 

I had been concerned about crossing the beach adjacent to the Imperial Beach Outlying Landing Field. I wasn't sure if the beach was accessible or not; fortunately, it wasn't. I stopped at the south end of the Silver Strand park, where I was able to take a break and enjoy the scenery for awhile before jumping on the 901 bus back to my truck in I.B.The bus stop is located right at the entrance of the Silver Strand  Park.

No entry onto Naval Amphibious Base, Coronado

Today, I drove back to the Silver Strand Park, and began a 7 mile hike up the remainder of the Coronado coast. Since the Park is right next to Naval Amphib Base, Coronado, I had to detour to the other side of the highway through a pedestrian tunnel, since the beach adjacent to the base is closed to the public.

Ferry Landing

There's a bike trail on the East side of the Silver Strand highway. I followed the trail up into Coronado, finding the time to take a break for an excellent cheeseburger at Danny's Palm Bar & Grill. It's a little dive bar in the heart of Coronado, but it's clean enough to enjoy a good burger and a cold one. The walls are covered with memorial pictures of Navy SEALs that have been KIA. With Danny's being so close to the base, I'm sure many of those guys passed through Danny's during their time in Coronado.

After my lunch, I finished up my hike through Coronado by taking the Coronado Ferry at the end of Orange and First Street. For $4.25, the ferry took me across to downtown San Diego. I ended my day's hike by taking the 901 bus back to the Silver Strand Park to pickup my truck.

USS Benfold, DDG 65

I'll start my next hike from downtown San Diego as soon as I get some more free time.

Finally starting

Well, I'm still dealing with this family situation that requires me to hang out in San Diego for awhile. I have anywhere between 7-10 days of downtime before I have to attend to  business again (I'm intentionally being vague about what's going on), so I figured that I could get in several day hikes in between business days. I imagine that I'll be able to cover the San Diego county coastline with day hikes until I can hit the trail full time.

I started out by driving down to Border State Park and hiking about a mile down to the border fence. Of course I had to touch the fence, under the watchful eye of the Border Patrol parked 50 yards away.

I hiked along the beach for a couple of miles, until I came up to a inlet was too wide and deep for me to cross without going for a waist-high swim. So, there were a few lessons learned on this short trip:

- I will get wet. Whether from rain or having to cross a water way, I have to think about getting drenched. Salt water and electronics don't mix well, so I'll need to look into purchasing dry sacks for my phone, GPS, and solar charger. I've already got waterproof compression bags for my clothes, but anything else that is in my backpack that will have to be kept dry is going to have to go into some kind of waterproof bag.

- Walking on sand, even hard packed sand, is like walking on a Stairmaster set on level 4. I didn't use my trekking poles since it was going to be a short hike. After 10 minutes, my thighs were pumped up. I was only carrying about 15 lbs in my pack, and that will eventually increase to 30 lbs. The trekking poles will come with me next time.

- I need to preview each day's hike more closely. I didn't expect an obstacle today that would require a swim.

I'm heading back out tomorrow, and I'll start on the north end of the water inlet that kept me from crossing today. I'll have to figure out if I can hike the beach property adjacent to the Navy airfield in Imperial Beach, as well as the beach property adjacent to Coronado Amphib base. Even with my military ID, I'm sure the SEAL instructors won't appreciate me hiking through their workout space on the beach.

Delayed...

Well, I've hit a big delay. I came down with the flu during the third week of January, putting me in bed for almost 5 days. Of course I was supposed to be moving out of my apartment during that time, but I figured that I had one more week to move after I recovered enough to be up and about. But nothing ever goes the way that it's planned.

The last week of January, some family issues came up that forced me to travel to Northern California twice within three days. This situation will require my full attention over the next couple of months, so I'm currently couch surfing between my parent's place in Murrieta and my daughter's place in San Diego. I had to get a five day extension on my apartment to get the place cleaned out, and was able to finally move out yesterday with the help of my daughter and her friend. Everything is in storage, I finished up the last of the phone calls to the utility companies, and finally submitted my change of address cards.

I'm hoping to do some one- or two-day hikes starting from Imperial Beach, and then return when I need to take care of this business. This will set my completion date back several months, but then again, I'm in no hurry.

Preparations

I started collecting gear when I went an Outward Bound expedition in October. They provided a list of recommended gear, based on the location and the time of year.

I went through Sierra Trading Post and Moosejaw for clothes and gear, and Zappos for boots.

Recommendation on buying boots from Zappos: buy several pair a half size larger than your size. Wear medium weight hiking socks when trying on your boots. Try them all on, and then return the ones that don't fit well. Zappos has a great return policy, so don't be concerned about placing a large order on your credit card. The cost savings will be worth the temporary large balance on your card.

When I was looking through the selection of boots, I narrowed it down to a Gore-Tex constructed boot, then decided on ones that both weighed as little as possible and felt comfortable. I eventually went with a pair of Asolo FSN95. They broke in easily, and felt great. I spent a week in the Linville Gorge, and had no problem with blisters or hot spots, even when hiking up to the top of Chimney Rock.

I bought a pair of Columbia cargo pants and cargo shorts for the week in Linville Gorge too. Lightweight and comfortable, they dried quickly. They washed out easily too, after spilling coffee and food on them.

I've been using several layers to keep warm on some of my hikes, and have narrowed my clothing down to:
- A polypropylene top and bottom as a baselayer
- Three synthetic short sleeve tee shirts
- Three synthetic briefs
- Three pair of wool socks (I found the best prices on these at Moosejaw.com)
- One fleece vest
- A fleece jacket from Marmot
- A light rain jacket that I've also used as a windbreaker.
- A Columbia Heatshield beanie.
- Waterproof fleece gloves.

I researched a lot of backpacks, and found that other hikers recommended the Gregory Baltoro 65. Roomy, lots of pockets, and relatively lightweight. I haven't had a chance to take it out on an extended hike yet, but I figure it's going to be a lot lighter than the 85 liter pack that Outward Bound had outfitted us with. That pack had to weigh at least 60 lbs; my legs were extremely sore the entire week that we hiked. I've weighed my Baltoro 65 with my full load, and it weighs in around 35 lbs.

I'm still looking for a GPS device that will keep me on track to make my waypoints on time, not necessarily for navigation (I guessing it'll be hard to get lost if I just follow the beach). My co-workers and my brother each got me an REI gift card for Christmas, so I'll head over there and see what they've got. 

UPDATE- I purchased a Garmin eTrex 30 GPS device. It took some getting used to, since the Quickstart guide wasn't that user friendly. After using it around town, I really like it. I've been using EasyGPS software to format my waypoints and construct my route, then send it via USB cable to my eTrex 30.

I bought a Jetboil for my camp stove, and I love it! I've tested it out at home, and have cooked rice, pasta, oatmeal, and soups in it - pretty much the same stuff I'll be eating on the hike.

I purchased a down sleeping bag after looking at the arguments between down and synthetic. I figured that the down would keep me warm while keeping the weight down. It compresses down to the size of a bowling ball and weighs just under 2 lbs. I also bought an inflatable sleeping pad that weighs in at 17oz.

I'll have to post an update later on how the gear works out during the hike, as I may make some modifications to what I need to carry.

Packing out

I'm down to my last week in my apartment. I loved the location - a five minute walk to Old Town Temecula. I'll miss the nights of wandering over to Viva Vino for salsa dancing, or going over to the Crush and Brew to sample the excellent local Temecula wines or the beer from local SoCal microbreweries.

I got rid of a lot of stuff after I moved out of my house a couple of years ago, so I don't have a lot to put into storage. I tried to have some kind of organization to storing my belongings, so I bought some plastic storage containers and a vacuum-storage bag set for my clothes from Costco. The vacuum bags work great - I placed 6 sportscoats/jackets into the Large sized bag, and it compressed to a 3-inch thick package. I figure this will also protect my clothing from water/dirt damage while it's in the storage facility.

I have a two-bedroom apartment, and have managed to fit everything into a 10x13 storage unit. One of my daughters will be taking some of my belongings off my hands, so it just means less to pack away for me. I'll eventually settle down again somewhere and will need everything back, but for right now it seems as though that day is far away. After my hike, I intend to keep traveling.

I had to plan a lot of details before I leave. Setting up autopay for life/auto/health insurance, safe deposit box for valuables (free with Chase if you're a vet), mail forwarding to an address where I can pickup periodically, updating all of my accounts/subscriptions with the new address, autopay for my storage place... I'm probably missing a couple of things too, that I won't discover until it's on me.