San Diego

So I made it down to San Diego and have been on my boat for about the week trying to get turned over and relieve as XO. I am staying in the Bachelor Officer Quarters on the sub base (the picture above was a sunrise from my room) until more permanent housing is available. I signed a lease for an apartment down on the main base near National City and move in Saturday. I will post more pictures when done moving.

Most of my week has been spent checking in and talking to the guy I am relieving. The rest of the crew is on liberty following a very succesful deployment. I actually get a few weeks to get my feet on the ground before they all come back. Then I am in and out for the next several months.

Missing the family a lot and love calling to talk to them. I am going to try to spend some time in Los Angeles visiting my brother, Greg. I have to figure out how to get away from the boat occassionally.

I will post more when moving in.

Moving On

My time in Groton is nearing the end (thankfully). Not many memories that I will look back on favorably. The Submarine Command Course was challenging and frustrating. It is a necessary event, I suppose. I am glad it is done.

Next stop is in Newport, RI for two weeks of leadership training. After that I am home for a couple of weeks and then on to San Diego to report to the USS Topeka as XO. I am looking forward to this chapter of my career and hoping it turns out well. Anyone that finds themselves in the San Diego area - give me a call. I won't have a house or anything like that, but we can get dinner or something.

I spent Thanksgiving at home and it was great. Got to engage in relatively thoughtless activities like cooking and such. It was nice to see the family again. I am really looking forward to spending Christmas at home. This is my favorite time of year.

Take care.

Groton, CT

I made it to Groton, CT for the first stage of my school prior to relieving as XO on USS Topeka. Pretty uneventful trip through Detroit, MI. I arrived Saturday evening and friends Mark & Janelle picked me up and took me to their house for a little food and football watching. I got to my room on base at around midnight and set up shop. The room is alright. Clean and modern but no cooking facilities.

I have about a month here before we transition to the at sea phase where we ride a couple of submarines and do some war gaming stuff. Then back up to Groton to debrief the at sea time. I will be home for Thanksgiving and back to Newport, RI for a leadership school. Should be home for Christmas.

The Honda Fit is in the shop getting fixed after an accident Melissa had (no injuries). Total damage - $6,500. Ouch. Insurance pays for most of it, but the premiums seem likely to go up now.

I finished my ride to Glacier National Park the week before I left home. It was awesome. I posted some pictures over on my web site at www.web.mac.com/tnjallen. Not much riding in my future for now. Just have to keep looking at pictures.

That's it for now. Take care.

My Faith Took A Little Hit

So, walked out to the Honda Fit (Melissa's ride) to look at a paper in the window and this is what I saw when I came around the driver's side. Someone stole the rim and tire from the left front! And took the lug nuts, too. Unknown perps, but they have apparently been hitting people around our area and we are the third or fourth victim to have tires stolen from a Fit. At first I was just frustrated by the meanness of it, but now that I have the bill from the dealer (around $750), I am mad, mad, mad.

Not sure if I am more surprised at the lack of respect someone had for my property, or that I had any faith in that concept to begin with. Melissa suggested electrifying the car so they would get a surprise the next time. There is a little bit of me in that kid.

Either way, does no good to obsess, so on with life.

Naches Loop Trail

The family went hiking together last weekend on the Naches Loop Trail near Mt Rainier. It was pretty gloomy to begin but the sun managed to sneak out and the day was pretty nice overall.

Been busy and keeping busy this month and next. I just got back off a short ride on a sub and will be leaving next weekend for Japan for another ride - hopefully my last in my current job. After I get back I will be heading out for a week of motorcycle riding with a couple of friend out to Glacier National Park. The week after that I head out to Groton, CT for my school prior to going to my XO assignment. Busy, busy.

Glacier or Bust!

Only about a month until I leave on my motorcycle trip with friends to Glacier National Park in Montana. I am getting really excited!

My friend Ken and I are leaving western Washington on the 11th of September to meet up with Jason in Moscow, ID. The rest of the itinerary is purposefully vague as we plan to make it up as we go to a certain extent, and it is difficult to predict how far we will ride each day with so much awesome scenery to see. Destinations include Glacier, Helena, MT (Ken has family there), and two stops to see dams in Montana. Last year we pretty much stayed in motel rooms the entire trip. This year we will be camping a bit and that is another part I am really looking forward to.

I'll try to blog about the trip. I will also try to get some pictures posted on line as we go. Internet connectivity may be an issue, though. For those who haven't checked, or didn't know, our family web page is being updated again. The address is:

The Allen Family

Check it out. I have added a few short videos, too (need broadband for those). I plan to keep it updated in the future.

Other than that, I discussed a change in orders with my detailer and it looks like I am going to serve as XO in San Diego now instead of Hawaii. This is a much better deal for us as the family still plans to stay in Silverdale until Melissa graduates high school in 2011. I now await my orders.

Kids are getting ready to start school again. Melissa has band camp next week.

Take care!

Home Again

After the better part of 8 days and 3000+ miles, we finally made it back home Friday afternoon. It was a great trip! It was interesting that the weather back home was setting records while we were enjoying temps that were below normal and very comfortable for the most part. Highlights of the trip included Yellowstone, Mt Rushmore, the Crazy Horse memorial, Custer State Park, the Needles highway and lots of wildlife. We managed to experience a buffalo crossing on three separate occasions!

I have to say that Mt Rushmore was awesome. The visitor's center is very nice and clean, and getting in and out was pretty simple. We were here a week before the Sturgis bike rally and there were motorcycles EVERYWHERE! Made me a little bit in need of a fix, but that would have to wait. We were abel to hike a short trail around the base of the front of the mountain that gave interesting perspectives of each of the figures. The amount of detail is amazing. You could even see the glasses on Teddy's face. Mt Rushmore is only the centerpiece of the Black Hills, though. There is a full day's worth of adventure (maybe more) surrounding the area, and those mountains are some of the more picturesque I have seen.

Another interesting place to visit in the Black Hills is the Crazy Horse memorial. I have to admit that they are very interested in your money there, but it was worth it. The carving of crazy horse on the granite mountain is a privately funded venture. It has been in progress for a long time (like 40+ years) and all there is to see is the head and part of the arm. You can see the mountain in the background in the picture above. The white model in the foreground is a 1:34 scale model that I managed to capture with the mountain (not hard - it is set up for success). The memorial includes a rather large native american museum and restaurant and was a good stop.

The Needles highway in the Black Hills was also a very cool visit. It meanders up through solid granite and is rather narrow and very scenic. The drive included three tunnels carved out of solid granite. The most narrow was around 8 1/2 feet wide and I pulled the mirrors in for that one. That tunnel is in the picture above. Spectacular drive!

Our trip home ventured back through Montana, Idaho and eventually back into Washington. Jeannette and I went to a concert at Qwest Field in Seattle Saturday evening that included Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Montgomery Gentry, Sugarland and Kenny Chesney. It was awesome! Looking forward to a quiet day at home making sure the house is still standing before heading back to work for my last month and a half before transferring off to Perl Harbor.