Never Forget; Shipmates; Chain O’ Lakes State Park; Ready on the Right, Ready on the Left, Ready on the Firing Line!

11 September 2001 was a day Americans should never forget. I was not in a good mood to blog yesterday.

We have completed our repairs to The Bus and have moved on to Laotto, Indiana to visit Operations Specialist Master Chief Petty Officer Dale Hilliard, US Navy (Retired), an old shipmate of mine from USS IOWA (BB-61) and his wife Becky. Dale had kept me out of trouble (for the most part) during my tour as operations officer aboard IOWA. Although I was nominally third in command of the ship seniority-wise, after the Captain and Executive Officer, I was always happy to have then Senior Chief Dale Hilliard watching my back and advising me. Operations Specialists in the surface Navy spend more time at sea than any other rating, and Dale had more sea time than most members of the Goat Locker (that’s what they call the Chief Petty Officers’ mess aboard ship). I was honored to speak at his retirement ceremony in Norfolk and am even more honored today to call him my friend. When we arrived at his 20 acre estate in Laotto, he had a campsite ready for us and delicious venison stew on the fire in a small cast iron pot. I say small because his medium size pot is 12 gallon and the large size is 25 gallon. 

Wednesday morning Dale took us to Chain of Lakes State Park for some kayaking. There are tiny canals connecting each lake. Here is a screen shot of the area, just in case you were wondering why they called it Chain-of Lakes...   

After launching our kayaks, which have been used far less frequently than we had planned during this tour, we headed down this shallow, algae-covered canal. Suzanne is in the hot red boat (Ferrari-colored); I am in the sedate green boat (a Jaguar shade)... she says the colors sort of fit our personalities... I'm not too sure what she means by that...

It was a delightful paddle, but a very strenuous workout in the canals because of the algae, weeds and very shallow depth. Here is Our Lovely Paddler smiling while paddling through the muck.

One of Suzanne’s favorite moments was paddling up to this frog-on-a-log and taking his picture just before he jumped into the water. 

Here is your Intrepid Correspondent trying to figure out whether the safest path out of the wilderness is through the Deliverance Band’s Shotgun Alley or the Prana-infested swamp. “Did he pick the right way out??? Tune in next week to find out...” 

Dale is one serious hunter. He had sent me some venison sausage last winter made from deer he had “harvested”. Today, he took me out to the range for some target practice with a small part of his armory: .45 Colt and .40 Smith and Wesson pistols; 12 gauge tactical shotgun; and a newly-acquired crossbow. The blue tarp is to catch expended brass casings for reloading.  

It’s been awhile since I’ve qualified on the range, but Dale is an excellent teacher as well as marksman. After awhile I wasn’t totally embarrassing myself. Dale’s range backs up to a 100 foot hillside, so there was no problem with safety. Only plastic and paper targets and a few leaves were damaged during this practice firing.  I knew I was in good hands, though; after retiring from the Navy, Dale became a Registered Nurse (RN); so is his wife Becky. They also were Search and Rescue (SAR) first Responders and had their own working dogs doing SAR work.

The most fun was using the 12 gauge tactical shotgun in a “walk quickly toward your target, stopping every 5-10 feet to fire from the hip until the magazine is empty” drill. 

We then practiced with Dale’s new crossbow. I had never seen one, except for a 16^th Century model in a museum in France. The 21^st Century versions are made of aluminum, graphite, and carbon fiber, and are very powerful and accurate.

Dale’s best shot of the day was the yellow arrow (or bolt, as it is often called) in the center of the bulls’ eye, with one yellow very close; my two were the others, not as close to center but still not too bad for a beginner. 

Suzanne was off doing laundry while the Macho Men were working off high testosterone levels with pistols, shotgun and crossbow. She came back in time for the only serious campfire we’ve had this trip; I was roasting hot dogs over a hickory fire. 

I was able (with some difficulty) to entice her into eating turkey hot dogs and chili. I think these were the first hot dogs she’s eaten in our 16 years of marriage... and you know what, I think she really liked them!