How I spent July 4th
No fireworks in Connecticut today. Oh well.
My uncle Rudy retired from the Navy back in 2000 but can still come to the New London Submarine Base, perks and all. I wasn't aware of this when I saw him today, but a friend and neighbor of his is still in the Navy and invited him and I for dinner over at the base, along with one of my aunts and my Dad. What I didn't know is that we'd be eating at the Chief Petty Officer's lounge on the base! My Mom thought I was crazy when I told her where I ate!
For dinner we had fried flounder and potato slices. Nothing spectacular, but very tasty and filling. The lounge itself is maybe about 15 by 35 feet. There's a big screen TV in one corner, an arcade game in another, a bar with about 12 seats, and two of the walls are covered in submarine memorabilia and wooden emblems. I didn't notice anyone in uniform, then again it was their "day off."
After dinner, Rudy took us for a "guided tour" of the base (okay, the parts we were allowed to see!). We went past the submarine piers (I noticed three Los Angeles-class boats in port, along with a couple of accomodation barges and at least one ship in drydock), the golf courses, the old petty officer's lounge (which had a fire sometime in the past couple years), the naval hospital, the old admiral's house, and a couple other locations. We almost got lost a few times.
Unfortunately, I didn't bring a camera, because I didn't want to get caught photographing random locations at a military base while driving around in circles. But I can't say I didn't have an interesting afternoon.
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