Our son, William M. Porter, Jr. advised us that he would be retiring from the USN on May 2, 2008 and wanted us to be there.  I can't remember if he supplied the plane tickets or we did since eight (8) years has passed since we visited with him and his family for a week and to attend his retirement ceremony.  My bride advised me that he provided the plane tickets!  Our last visit to his home was during the San Diego County, CA Wild Fires in 2014.

I still had the pixs archived of which Bill transferred them onto a disc and/or auxiliary portable hard drive with pictures taken from three different cameras.  I emailed pixs out of his retirement but for whatever reason, did not get around to creating a web page for his retirement ceremony.  Many of the facts about the trip and what we did during that week stay has certainly been lost in the ole brain and for the most part, the pictures taken will have to speak for themselves........grin if you must!  There is a non-medical name for this type of memory loss called CRS disease aka "Can't Remember Sometimes" which is the clean version.

Below pix of the Porter family home there in Vista, California:

Property in California is certainly at a premium and homes are close together without a lot of extra yard space. 

Click on below thumbnail pixs for a larger screen view:

The Porter home is lovely and spacious with all the whistles and bells needed.  Bill and his family are into the technology age and have the latest gadgets for TV, gaming, internet, music, photography, etc.  My bride did have trouble coming down the stair case one morning and forgot about the little short step landing and took a pretty good fall and was stove up for a day or two but nothing was broken other than her ego.

RETIREMENT CEREMONY - MAY 2, 2008

The retirement ceremony was held at the Veteran's Museum and Memorial Center, Balboa Park, San Diego, California at 1000 hours.  Bill has been stationed in San Diego for many years and fell in love with California the first time he was assigned duty there.  It is easy to understand why he liked the State of California so much since there is something for everyone.  The mountains can be seen in the far distance and many places to visit along the coastline as well.  There are various types of cuisine, amusement parks and indoor and outdoor activities for the various sports.  Bill is an avid mountain trail biker and his two sons are also into mountain bike riding, hiking, golf, camping, roller blade hockey, etc.

As usual, it doesn't take too much to get myself side tracked a little and now back to the retirement ceremony.  The Veteran's Museum and Memorial Center there in Balboa Park is awesome to say the least and very well maintained.  They have displays inside covering the different war campaigns with actual items the soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines used.  There is a gift shop located with plenty of T shirts and other things to mark the occasion.

Pat Kroll's camera had the wrong date programmed into it......grin if you must!

RETIREMENT BROCHURE SENT OUT BY THE US NAVY

Bill gave an excellent motivational presentation from the elevated podium signifying a position of authority.  I got choked up a couple times when Bill elaborated about how much he loved our country and the US Navy, whereas he got emotional himself.  Bill advanced to ETCM (SW) being a Command Master Chief E-9 which is the highest rank an enlisted man can obtain and we are certainly proud of his accomplishments.  Bill already has a new career lined up as a Defense Contractor and got on the ground floor with some new technology provided to the US Navy before his retirement and will continue with that technology.

There were several young seaman in the audience and they certainly did look very young!

Bill was presented his retirement shadow box plaque with his advancements through the Navy.  There is a special name for this type of plaque but will have to research it out.

Bill was saluted as he exited the ceremony with the ship's bell sounding.

LET THE PARTY BEGIN

After the ceremony, it was time for refreshments and a variety of excellent Hors d'Oeuvres were available.  My bride definitely learned what a "California Roll" is.......Sushi aka fish bait! 

After the refreshments, we gathered outside for a few more pixs.

BACK AT THE PORTER HOME FOR SOME "REAL FOOD"

Bill is cutting a Tri Tip Steak across the grain that he prepared on the charcoal grill and it was delicious.  His Father-in-Law, Myron Kroll taught him the technique for grilling that tasty cut of meat.  You rarely see that cut of meat on the East Coast.  Porterhouse and T-Bone steaks are my personal favorites along with Ribeye steak.  Filet mignon in my humble opinion does not have the flavor of the three steaks just mentioned because filet mignon from the tenderloin doesn't have the fat marbling content and is more of a social status cut of beef due to its cost.  The average weight of a whole tenderloin is 5 pounds and a steer will only have two of them and that accounts for the higher cost.  Filet mignon grilled rare, is about as tender cut of beef you will experience grilled but the flavor is somewhat lacking because of the near non-existence of fat marbling as just mentioned.

I don't remember exactly what was on the menu but it was all excellent food!  I believe Ben and Myron were hitting the portable bar that Myron brought along on a regular basis and those cold beers were getting gone pretty fast too!  Bill's in-laws Myron and Pat Kroll are separated with a pending divorce but seem to be getting along on amicable terms.  Myron had his younger than him red headed girl friend with him and she made a trip to the ABC store to replenish some of the consumed liquors.  I think he must keep a supply of those blue pills on hand too........grin if you must!  

VISIT WITH PAT WARNER IN ESCONDIDO, CA

I had Bill drive me to Escondido, CA which was is 12.9 miles or 15 minutes from Vista and got a chance to meet an internet business acquaintance Pat Warner.  I caught Pat off guard and got this pix of him:

Pat is a router guru and has much educational material available and I have a copy of most of the books he has written about the subject along with some of his products which are First Class All-American for sure. 

NOTE:  Pat Warner passed away July 28, 2017.  I definitely will miss him and his educational, instructional materials along with his products.  He was first class All-American all the way. Updated 09-02-17.

WILL AND JAKE ROLLER BLADE HOCKEY TOURNAMENT

Bill took us to a roller blade hockey tournament that Will and Jake were competing in and I was amazed at how fast that sport really is.  Below a few pixs taken.

SCENIC RIDE MOUNTAIN VIEW

Below pix of Jake

There are many mountain bike trails through out the Mountains in San Diego County and Bill has many of them documented with pictures, maps, technical reviews and video clips of his rides.

The above pictures were taken when Bill took us through the mountains for a scenic ride and my bride still remembers the orange groves with orange trees in peoples yard along the route with the delicious fruit ready for harvest.

In closing, it is hard to believe that over eight (8) years has passed since the above pixs were taken,  Bill and his wife Casey divorced a couple years ago on not too friendly terms, whereas both have moved on with their lives.  Bill and their two sons, Will III and Jake visit and they do things together which is very good.

My bride and myself had a wonderful visit with Bill, Casey, Will and Jake, Myron and Pat Kroll and Ben Kroll during the week along and other friends.

As I post at every opportunity on my blog, "Two of the Greatest Ships that ever Sailed, Friendship and Fellowship" and it certainly does make Life wonderful even with the normal obstacles that Life throws at you.

I give God through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, The Praise, Glory and Honor in all things! 

Web published by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 07-10-16 and updated on 07-11-16 and 07-13-16.

LEAVING ON A SPIRITUAL NOTE