I started at 3:00 p.m. and it has been moving steadily. At least two big events are happening in San Diego tonight:
EasyRiders Custom Bike Show at the Convention Center, bringing hogs from all over the region. Some of the riders are hogs, too. I've seen some morbidly obese guys in leathers, blasting around downtown. Fortunately most have parked the motorcycles for the night and are taking cabs.
The other thing is the U.S.S. Nimitz is preparing for a long deployment starting early next week. It's a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, one of the biggest. The crew is about 5500. Sailors are getting one of their last nights out as free people.
I'm at 300 clams, and the night is still young.
And I made a great discovery tonight. I was in dire need of java, but couldn't find any good coffee shops that were both open and had parking available. So I finally went to 7-11. Whaddya know? They have drinkable coffee now. I didn't say "good", but the stuff they're selling now doesn't make me ralph. Booo-ya. I can go a few more hours.
Showing posts with label aircraft carrier. Show all posts
Showing posts with label aircraft carrier. Show all posts
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Sunday, March 18, 2007
The perfect ride
I was working again by 2:30 p.m. or so, and my first call was to the KFC at the NAS Naval base. KFC is across the street from the pier where the U.S.S. Nimitz is tied off. It's a mammoth ship, with the number "68" emblazoned several stories above street level. The History Channel and Military Channel show footage of these Nimitz class aircraft carriers all the time, but TV doesn't do justice to their size and majesty. One thought enters my mind whenever I'm this close to one: we're invincible (we'll discuss supercavitating torpedoes later).
My camera is with me, as usual, but I'm not so foolish as to take photos inside a Naval facility. Others can try that.
I picked up two young ladies who wanted a trip to Wal-Mart. They were from Florida originally, and were friendly and talkative. Fare: $38 plus a $2 tip.
It was the perfect ride.
SIDEBAR: I tried calling the owner of the cab today to get the registration stickers for the license plates (see last post), but she isn't working today. I'm risking a ticket again.
It must be noted that in my two years of driving cab, I've only been pulled over twice -- once for having a headlight out, and then last night for expired registration. Each time I had no prior knowledge of the problem. San Diego police didn't notice, but U.S. Navy police were on it. Good for them.
My camera is with me, as usual, but I'm not so foolish as to take photos inside a Naval facility. Others can try that.
I picked up two young ladies who wanted a trip to Wal-Mart. They were from Florida originally, and were friendly and talkative. Fare: $38 plus a $2 tip.
It was the perfect ride.
SIDEBAR: I tried calling the owner of the cab today to get the registration stickers for the license plates (see last post), but she isn't working today. I'm risking a ticket again.
It must be noted that in my two years of driving cab, I've only been pulled over twice -- once for having a headlight out, and then last night for expired registration. Each time I had no prior knowledge of the problem. San Diego police didn't notice, but U.S. Navy police were on it. Good for them.
