Pulled in this morning at 02:30... rained all the way from Fayetteville, NC. So, this is how it went:
Started out Thursday morning at 07:00 on the bike for Charleston, SC from just north of Richmond, VA. The big yellow POS rode great, never heard a motor hum like the old EVO. Arrived Parris Island, SC, that afternoon at 14:30 (2:30 for all of you in the Army, Navy and Air Force)... tried to call my buddy, but his cell phone number was busy...
Pulled into the Recruit Depot Main Gate area with a wife beater t-shirt and nasty jeans... waved by the Marine on Duty right through... LMAO, they pulled me over at the next check point... "... um, Sir, you need to wear a long sleeved shirt, reflective vest while on base (the Base Commander is anti-motorcycle). I explained that I had all but the reflective vest... the watch officer kicked me off the base. Got ahold of my buddy about fifteen minutes later, rode to his place and changed... about 16:30 (4:30 pm) I found my daughter leaving the Post Exchange (mini-mall) with her Mom and Step-father... she looked awesome... she was never heavy, but, they cut all the baby-fat off of her... and she looked wonderful. She mentioned that she had a fight with a swarm of fire ants during the Crucible... she was just now recovering...
Spent a wonderful hour with her, and told her I would meet her in the morning after the Graduation Ceremony... We headed back to the house and I met the rest of the family (Marine buddy I stayed with)... I told him about the gate incident, and he laughed about the duty officer (mentioned that they called him "One-bullet")... anyway, the rest of the evening was uneventful... slept like a rock...
Next morning, up at 06:00 and headed on base with the bike (and reflective vest) to see morning colors... the Marine Band was great, and my body was responding to a routine that I havent had to experience for four years (once a Marine, always a Marine)... after, we walked over to the parade deck for the graduation ceremony. DAYUM... I have nothing but love for those Drill Instructors... I would have loved to been on the Drill field, but this was only the third time in my life that I was able to observe all of the training and life that the young Marines are transitioning through... the Graduation Ceremony went without a hitch. OK LADIES, this is where you get yours... the Command Staff for the Ceremony, was all women... and they looked every bit as good (if not better) than their male counterparts... I mean they leaned back and strut like they had rods strapped to their backs... the sword drill was impeccable... and their command presence was exemplarary... that really made the Graduation something to see. They asked all the parents that were former Marines to stand and be recognized... you could just see all these people swell with pride to stand in front of their kids getting ready to Graduate... then they finally dismissed the kids... we took pics by the Iwo Jima memorial and I was able to grab some shots of the morning activities... stand by for posting.
All-in-all... the whole 72 hour sequence was memorable... even riding all the way home in a rainstorm (from north of Fayetteville, NC to Ashland)... I am sure there were drivers that were amazed that the bike was moving that fast in rain... I hope everyone had a great week... BENNI make it home safely... ASH, call and/or write...
Stay posted for pics...
Gunny
W'04
13
Started out Thursday morning at 07:00 on the bike for Charleston, SC from just north of Richmond, VA. The big yellow POS rode great, never heard a motor hum like the old EVO. Arrived Parris Island, SC, that afternoon at 14:30 (2:30 for all of you in the Army, Navy and Air Force)... tried to call my buddy, but his cell phone number was busy...
Pulled into the Recruit Depot Main Gate area with a wife beater t-shirt and nasty jeans... waved by the Marine on Duty right through... LMAO, they pulled me over at the next check point... "... um, Sir, you need to wear a long sleeved shirt, reflective vest while on base (the Base Commander is anti-motorcycle). I explained that I had all but the reflective vest... the watch officer kicked me off the base. Got ahold of my buddy about fifteen minutes later, rode to his place and changed... about 16:30 (4:30 pm) I found my daughter leaving the Post Exchange (mini-mall) with her Mom and Step-father... she looked awesome... she was never heavy, but, they cut all the baby-fat off of her... and she looked wonderful. She mentioned that she had a fight with a swarm of fire ants during the Crucible... she was just now recovering...
Spent a wonderful hour with her, and told her I would meet her in the morning after the Graduation Ceremony... We headed back to the house and I met the rest of the family (Marine buddy I stayed with)... I told him about the gate incident, and he laughed about the duty officer (mentioned that they called him "One-bullet")... anyway, the rest of the evening was uneventful... slept like a rock...
Next morning, up at 06:00 and headed on base with the bike (and reflective vest) to see morning colors... the Marine Band was great, and my body was responding to a routine that I havent had to experience for four years (once a Marine, always a Marine)... after, we walked over to the parade deck for the graduation ceremony. DAYUM... I have nothing but love for those Drill Instructors... I would have loved to been on the Drill field, but this was only the third time in my life that I was able to observe all of the training and life that the young Marines are transitioning through... the Graduation Ceremony went without a hitch. OK LADIES, this is where you get yours... the Command Staff for the Ceremony, was all women... and they looked every bit as good (if not better) than their male counterparts... I mean they leaned back and strut like they had rods strapped to their backs... the sword drill was impeccable... and their command presence was exemplarary... that really made the Graduation something to see. They asked all the parents that were former Marines to stand and be recognized... you could just see all these people swell with pride to stand in front of their kids getting ready to Graduate... then they finally dismissed the kids... we took pics by the Iwo Jima memorial and I was able to grab some shots of the morning activities... stand by for posting.
All-in-all... the whole 72 hour sequence was memorable... even riding all the way home in a rainstorm (from north of Fayetteville, NC to Ashland)... I am sure there were drivers that were amazed that the bike was moving that fast in rain... I hope everyone had a great week... BENNI make it home safely... ASH, call and/or write...
Stay posted for pics...
Gunny
W'04
13
VIEW 15 of 15 COMMENTS
i think i peed a little bit.
i just need a hug. that's all.
Cheers.