We had another adventure coming our way during this year. I received orders to Petaluma, CA where the ET School was moving to. So, after living in the gritty city for only a year, it was time to pack up and travel across country once more. The three of us (Lisa, me and Anthony) had the movers come and pack our meager goods and we set out once again with our sights on California. I had bought a Ford Ranger in Cape May and that is what we traveled in. The back was full of our short term stuff and some camping equipment. I don't remember much about the trip out to CA, but I do remember staying at a campground near Petaluma when we first arrived and sitting through a rain storm that completely soaked our gear.
After a short time staying in guest housing, we were told we had a house in Novato, CA about 20 miles south of Petaluma. We arrived at Acme Ct in Smurf Village to our new home for the next four years. I say new, but the houses were anything but. They dated back to at least the last world war, but it would be home for a while.
Almost immediately upon our arrival, our next door neighbors came over to introduce themselves and welcome us to the neighborhood. Sandi, Paul and their little baby girl Felicia were an Army family. Both Paul and Sandi had been active duty and had met in Germany. We very quickly became fast friends and have kept in touch all these years as the services have pulled us here and there.
Like the shop had been for us in Cape May, this neighborhood became our favorite place to live during my career. Our cul-de-sac was such a mixing pot. We had families from the Coast Guard, Army, Navy and Marines. We mostly got along great and I know the spouses loved the support they got from each other as they all sat "in the same boat" and could relate to the hardships of being a military spouse.
We lived at the end of the street and there was a small yard like area between our house and Paul and Sandi's and we quickly set up a volleyball court. We spent many a weekend day playing there and trying to not hit the ball over the fence into the woods and stream that ran behind the house.
Back at the ranch. I say this because the Training Center was on an old sheep ranch, I settled into my old job which was new again. A brand new building at a new place for us. We were far from the sea. The only waves were the rolling hills of Two Rock Valley where the Training Center resided. A lot of us instructors who were in NY were transferred out to CA, but there were a few others who had come strait here from other places. So there were new people to meet and new things to do.
After being in our new home for around a month or so, I arrived home one day after work and was standing in the living room talking to Lisa when all of a sudden the whole house started to shake. I reached out to hold the flimsy entertainment center steady and waited for the earthquake to end. We had just had our first earthquake and it was a pretty serious one. The Loma Prieta Earthquake. It did some extensive damage down in the city, but we were left rather unscathed. We did take the opportunity to have a neighborhood party outside where we made a fire in a Weber grill and hung out talking about the excitement.
Year 7: 1990
Life continued out in California. Work was good. I moved down to the LORAN section and started teaching that. I had never been to a LORAN Station, but I always said it was just electronics and I adjusted well and taught the technicians the basics of the system and some of the equipment.
During the Superbowl, we all went to Pt Reyes Lighthouse instead of watching the game. The Niners were in it again and they were gaining on the Steelers for number of wins, so we had no interest. It was a cold and windy day, but we had fun.
Later that year Lisa and I went on a backpacking trip out on Pt Reyes. We stayed out two nights. The first night brought us to a nice clearing that had tent spots and tables (Glen). At first we were all alone and a grey fox kept circling around the camp and checking each site for left food. He came right into our camp while we laid in the tent and Lisa got a couple of pictures. After a while an older lady showed up and set up here bag right out in the open. No tent, just a little tarp over her upper body. We thought that was cool.
The next day we hiked to the beach and stayed there overlooking the ocean (Wildcat). We had a nice driftwood fire. The hiking wasn't too strenuous, but Lisa kept getting tired and the going was slow at times. We found out later that she was expecting our first child, and the little parasite (JK lovely daughter) was sucking up all her energy.
The Cul-de-sac transitioned throughout the years as every military neighborhood does. When we moved in the street looked like this: Paul, Sandi and Felicia, Larry and Tracy, Paulette and Mark, Ann Marie and Mark, Dave and Penny, Ken and Jean. The other half of our duplex was empty.
Year 8: 1991
Let's see, what happened in 1991. hmmmm. Oh yeah! Lisa and I became parents. Shauni Lee Harold was born at 1021 on January 31, 1991. She weighted 8 lbs 8.6 oz and was 21" long. Lisa did a very good job of delivering Shauni and the two bonded immediately. Becoming a parent was a new challenge and boy was it different from anything else we had ever done, but we were looking forward to seeing what we would do.
Right away we figured out that a Ford Ranger with two bucket seats wasn't going to get the job done, so we went out and bought a Hyundai. (we probably did this in 1990, but my memory is very foggy in my old age).
We "baptized" her Roots style by holding her up to the night and presenting her to the stars proclaiming "Behold, the only thing greater then yourself."
Acme Ct was transitioning again as any military neighborhood will do. Now instead of Larry and Tracy, we had Richard, Sonya and Ricky. Another family we still keep in touch with (and will someday hike with on the AT). Alice now lived in the other half of our house and Mary and Ray had moved in across the circle.
Work continued as usual. I was trying real hard to advance to Chief and did pretty good on the test that year. It would be quite a while until I put on my anchor, but I didn't have to test for it again. Just wait.
I found my old journal that I used to write in sproadically back in these times, so it is helping jog my memory. Here is a quote from the journal. October, 1991: "Shauni is eight months old. She has 6 teeth, crawls, will walk with help, talks to herself in her own language. Momma is a common term. Laughs a lot, knows where her nose is, is the light of my life."
Year 9: 1992
We went out to Pilsbury Lake a lot during this time. One time we were sitting around and a earthquake came flowing through. It was the most peaceful earthquake I ever felt. Also the first time we went there Shauni developed a fever and we had to come home early.
Early in the year my brother Tom and my Dad came to visit. My Mom couldn't come due to an ear infection. We had a real good time.
I re-enlisted for six years and got a decent bonus. I guess this sealed the fact that I was going to make this a career.
The court changed again. Paul and Sandi were gone and John and Candy had taken their place. Gretchen and Rob, Scott and Becky, Joe and Nicole were the nubes.
I started brewing homebrew and Anthony was picked up by an UFO. That is how I would explain it anyway as Lisa had heard him climb up to the roof as he liked to do and we never saw him again. By the end of the year another cat had adopted us. Momma Kitty was living in the woods after Rob stopped caring for her and Lisa started feeding her. She would stay with us for around 14 years.
I got rid of my Ranger and bought a Toyota 4Runner and went to my first Renaissance Pleasure Faire.
We went to PA for the holidays and Shauni saw her first snow. She thought it was bugs as the flakes flitted by her face. While at home I had found out that I was going to make Chief. There were a lot of SNAFUs with the list, but in the end I was sitting pretty. The waiting game had begun.
One last quote: December, 1992. "Shauni can count to 10. Can you believe it? Potty trained and counting before she's two." It was Dec 22nd and I still had shopping to do. Some things never change. :)
Year 10: 1993
The year started off with a New Year's Party over John and Candy's with her mother and brother. It was a pretty memorable party.
Shauni's obsession during this year was the Disney movie Beauty and the Beast. She would watch it 2 or 3 times a day and I can still recite the next line if I ever catch a piece of it on TV. Be our guest, be our guest. Put our service to the test..
Lisa and I celebrated our five year anniversary. She got me another wedding ring, since I has lost my original in the Russian River during a canoe trip a while back.
We finally received orders to leave Petaluma and I was headed back to sea. We would head to Portsmouth, VA and I would train for a year or so and then do a tour on one of the 270s there. It was time for a new adventure.
Our sixth cross country trip was pretty fun. We towed the car and Momma Kitty hung out back there. We just camped and and stayed in hotels as we made our way across country. Camping on the edge of the Utah salt flats our tent almost got blown away as Shauni slept peacefully and we tried to hold down the corners. I remember seeing snow in the air in Rawlins, WY on June 24th. Gotta love those mountains. We enjoyed some time in PA then it was time for me to head to Portsmouth and check in.
I left the girls in Philly and found an apartment to rent. I don't remember Lisa telling me not to get an apartment, but she swears to this day that those were my instructions. Well, I (we) regretted that decision as the apartment I found wasn't in the best of neighborhoods. I'm pretty sure the 12 year old kid that hung out in the complex was the major drug dealer of the area. You could just tell by looking and talking to him. The late night gun shots were a little alarming and the constant battle to kill the cockroaches that kept coming in from the next apartment was a lost cause. We cancelled the lease and found a townhouse to buy.
Our latest adventure was to become homeowners. The place was near our old Cape May friends Gerry and Wendy who lived down the street. Gerry was out of the CG now and working for NOAA. Tom Daley also lived nearby and was stationed on the Northland which was the ship I was hoping to go to after my training.
Marty and Michele came down and helped us move to the new place and we settled in to our new neighborhood.
I went back to PA to do some deer hunting that year, but didn't get anything. It was good being (relatively) close to family and PA again.
At the beginning of December we found out that having sex makes you pregnant (but my dad said it was because we bought a new house). Lisa had pretty much known but the doctor confirmed it for us. We checked the underway schedule of my likely ship the Northland and were "pretty" sure I would be in port for the birth. We would find out how close that can be in the months to come.
