M&T Alpine-Tales: SoCal 15th Anniversary Rally in Chula Vista, California

This special 15th anniversary SoCal rally lasted just three days, from Friday March 31st through Sunday April 2nd. And what a celebration this was!

Many of us arrived on the Thursday before the rally and several of us lingered an extra day, extending our fun.

There were 36 coaches and several more couples who joined the celebration without their coaches. Our rally hosts, the Prodanoviches and Giddens, planned a super party. It was in fact a blast.

Chula Vista RV Resort is a terrific venue, right on the water at the marina, about 10 miles south of San Diego.
Sunny, warm skies, and pleasant evenings added to the perfect time.

The very first rally we ever attended after purchasing our Alpine two years ago in Virginia was the SoCal rally in Pismo Beach. Back then, we arrived at the Pismo RV Park after our long cross-country trip and received a warm welcome from the SoCal group. They became our first Alpine family, and without a doubt they remain as warm and welcoming. We always look forward to the SoCal rallies.

This rally included the usual events: breakfasts, Happy Hours, dinners, planned outings, and free time to explore the area or visit with friends. In addition, this rally's focus was specifically on celebrating 15 years since the association formed and on honoring the founding members. And we certainly partied.

The first evening of the rally officially kicked off with an Adult Pinata event.... there were whispers among us as to what exactly an Adult Pinata was all about. The Prodanoviches created an "Alpinata", a pinata in the shape of an Alpine.
Watching adults take turns whacking at this creation with great gusto was hilarious. Eventually, as with all pinatas, the contents poured out onto the grass and it was even more hilarious watching adults dive in for the kill which in this case was chocolates and miniature bottles of liqueurs.

mad scramble for pinata spoils

Happy Hours and dinners were the time for us to gather, renew friendships and meet new folks. We personally caught up with folks we had not seen since the first rally in Pismo. The clubhouse swelled with happy chatter and laughter every morning and late afternoon into the evening.

Dinners included a pot luck, a catered authentic street taco fest, and a catered fine gourmet buffet. We never go hungry at these affairs.

Perhaps the fondest memory for me was that every evening after dinner, folks shared their stories about past rallies and Alpine escapades, some of which were very funny. It was a walk down memory lane for the folks who have been with the group since it began 15 years ago. But what became evident to me is that there is a bond between all these people that goes back many years, of friendships and camaraderie and a common interest. And although I wish we could have had an Alpine coach a lot sooner to have shared in this group's decade-and-a half of gatherings and outings, it is wonderful to be embraced by them and to know that the group is still going strong. We hope to foster friendships of similar closeness and duration.

Of course, there were the inevitable repairs that the guys seem to enjoy. Or at least some seem to enjoy giving expert advice.

I too had my turn to give Michael a helping hand one morning. But not because I am an expert on matters that are technical. He wanted to check the axle tag that shows the load carrying capacity on Jack's '99 Alpine. However he can't see as clearly close up as I can, so I offered to scoot under the body to read the numbers. The guys standing around were quite amused but were also kind enough to withhold comments!

he sees far and I see near...we make a perfect team

poised to look out for whales as we leave the San Diego harbor

Most of the group took the metro rail into San Diego to enjoy a great day of whale watching. We boarded the boat and secured our viewing spots on the top deck. But the outing turned out to be a bit of a fiasco when the boat developed some mechanical troubles and had to return to the dock before we had even left the bay. So instead of spending the next several hours spotting whales, all we got was a great view of the harbor and the San Diego skyline before the boat turned around and limped back to port.

However, all was not lost. The USS Midway aircraft carrier was right next door and several of us took the opportunity to tour this gargantuan instead. It was the first time I have been on an aircraft carrier and the size of the vessel is almost too much to comprehend, let alone that this 69,000 tons of steel actually floats in the water. Commissioned in 1945, a week after WWII ended, the USS Midway operated for 47 years, was decommissioned in 1992, and is now a floating museum in the San Diego Harbor. You can't miss her! The carrier overpowers the dock area.

ready to tour the Midway, audio-tour devices set to "play"

We first watched the excellent movie about the Battle of Midway, the 1942 battle after which the carrier is named. We went to the flight deck next, where my plane crazy hubby (plain crazy?!) could well have spent at least another day looking over the various planes and helicopters on display.

With what time we had left, we toured the living quarters below deck. It was all very interesting and I especially enjoyed learning about the day-to-day life on board the ship. Below the 4.02-acre flight deck, there was an entire fully functioning city, consisting of a crew of 4,500 of whom 600 were engineers, 225 were cooks, 200 men were pilots supported by the 4,300 others on board, 40 were corpsmen, 5 were physicians, 3 dentists, and 3 chaplains.
The galley staff of 70 Mess Management Specialists and mess cooks prepared 13,000 meals daily. Imagine that grocery list! There were 24 convection ovens, 6 eighty-gallon kettles, 4 deep fat fryers, 2 pressure cookers, and 2 griddles the size of dining tables.

ship's galley

imagine stirring the stews in these 80-gallon kettles

We poked our heads into the mess hall, the officer dining room, and officers' quarters.

The laundry had super-sized washers and dryers and must have been in operation 24/7.

There was a barber who did brisk business with 4,500 heads of hair. And, oh joy, there was even a sewing room on board!

It was perhaps no surprise to discover that there would be mending to do and someone to operate sewing machines.

For more mind-boggling statistics on various aspects of the USS Midway, here is a great link: http://www.midway.org/files/USS-Midway-Statistics.pdf

We stayed an extra day and took a drive to Imperial Beach. When we did our Journey to the 4 corners of the US in 2002, Imperial Beach was our southwest "corner", and we spent a night at the Silver Strand State Beach campground before making our way back north to Seattle. For old times' sake, we took a walk along the beach.