Southwestern Odyssey

It is strange that when one returns to a location that is very important in one's life, he imagines that it will somehow be magic. Yet when one actually does return, he often simply rehearses the common, ordinary moments he enjoyed when he was there the first time. That's what happened to us today. We started down at Fisherman's Wharf, where we used to take long walks. On a previous visit here, we even boarded a fancy sailboat called the Derek M. Bayliss and went whale watching. But today, we just wanted to be--to be here. And to remember. Just outside the old San Carlos Hotel (now the Marriott) we encountered a young man who had the best-trained dog I have ever seen. His eyes were fixed on his master's. Constantly. And the young man simply whispered a wish, and the dog complied. Instantly. Repeatedly.

We took our hike today in segments, so the trek did not seem long at all. We passed the old historic gate of the Presidio, passed the ancient Army building that used to serve the cavalry unit posted here. Now it is the Museum of the Presidio of Monterey. It is, incidentally, the only building on post that the public can visit. Since Nine-eleven 2001, one needs special clearance to visit any Army base. That holds true for the Presidio as well, although the Defense Language School is more like a college campus than an Army base. Surprisingly, in a recent BRAC (Base Reduction and Closing), the government closed hundreds of military installations deemed no longer necessary. Even Fort Ord and the Presidio of San Francisco were shut down. I was surprised that the feds left little POM open. I heard the decision not to close the Defense Language Institute West Coast (DLIWC) was because of pressure from local Congressional Representative Leon Panetta. That may be true, but it may also be the case that the Army considered language training essential. Although there are differences. When I was here, all of the large classroom buildings house the Asian language departments--Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese. Other languages were taught in smaller buildings or even mobile classrooms down at the bottom of the hill. Now the Asian language departments are in those smaller buildings, and the big classrooms at the top of the hill are occupied by the Arabic and Pharsee departments. For our last visit here I arranged with the Chaplain's Office to secure a pass, so we were able to go on post. Despite the new heightened security, the officials were quite free about allowing us to take pictures. We stopped for lunch at a quintessential British pub called "The Crown and Anchor." It is operated by a British couple who moved to California several years ago. They were concerned that there was no proper pub here, and they opened one that has everything nautical you would expect in an English pub except Admiral Nelson.

We traveled out as far as Point Piños. I snagged some sea lions, sea otters, and one house I have always admired. I have heard that this house belonged to the singer/producer/TV personality Merv Griffin. I also heard that it was the home of actress Kim Novak. I don't know if either is true. Soon we will leave this place, but it will always be in my heart.Read more