There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat;
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures.
(Shakespeare. Julius Ceasar. act iv.)

With new wife and already a baby on the way, we drove her big Monte Carlo with my sprightly blue 1800E Volvo sports car in tow across the country from Philadelphia to San Diego. Except for some "black ice" in Nebraska, skidding out of control near Rifle, Colorado, and being snowed-in for days at Vail, the trip was otherwise, uneventful.

Shortly after arriving once again in San Diego, and NAS Miramar, it did not take long to determine this time things would be very different than before. On my earlier, 1970 arrival, there was a war going on, I was a bachelor, and I spent over a year training in the RAG at a relaxed pace.

Now in 1976, it was a "peacetime" Navy very unlike what I had experienced before. Now I was married and starting a family. Now my training would be abbreviated, and cut short. Now I would be joining my squadron already on cruise, rather than in the hangar next door.

Nevertheless, it was an exciting time. The F-14 was new to the fleet, possessed awesome capabilities, and I happily rejoined many of my old friends in the fighter community. It was the place to be.