CHAPTER FOUR
Mare Island Shipyard – Vallejo, California
Two weeks later I found myself standing at the sub-marine pier at Mare Island Shipyard. I could spend all day telling you about this place – not just all day, the whole damn week. It’s incredible.
Mare Island lies across the harbor from Vallejo (you pronounce this va-lay-ho), a few miles north of San Francisco. Most of the piers are parallel to the shore, and when the fleet is in, the sight is magnificent – especially at night. From the piers, the waterfront extends flat for about a quarter mile. Then emerald green hills climb several hundred feet, bejeweled with buildings – some new, and some going all the way back to before World War II. And on the hills, trees everywhere, beautiful, lush, green.
I keep making an issue of green,
