I spent last week in Monterey, CA, visiting my son, Boyd Jr, and my daughter-in-law and granddaughter, Melissa and Kiara. My daughter Kristin was there, as well, so it made for a great week. In addition to spending time with my loved ones (whom I haven't seen since last year), I had a chance to revisit the Monterey area. I was stationed at the Presidio in 1975, so it was interesting to see what had changed, and what hadn't.

One of the first places I wanted to see was the old two-story apartment building where I lived back then. I was certain it would have been razed and replaced with something nicer, but it was still standing, and had even been fixed up a good bit. Of course, I didn't have a look inside, but it looked like a much nicer place than it was 28 years ago.

Fort Ord was the big military installation when I was there before, but it's closed now. Some of the housing is still in use (which is great for the many junior enlisted folks at the Presidio, I'm sure), but most of the entire fort is boarded up. Much of it looks like a cross between a ghost town and a slum. It wasn't a very pleasant-looking place back in the 70's, but it's really depressing today. Oh, and they still have a PX and Commissary, so that's a great benefit for the military folks.

The Presidio seems much larger than it was in the past. As I recall, the post more or less ended at "the top of the hill" where most of the barracks were located. Although the Presidio extended beyond that point, I never once ventured back there. Well, I did last week, and many, many barracks, sports facilities and a PX were constructed. I don't know what those new barracks were like on the inside, but they had a very attractive exterior. The sports facilities included a gym and a field (it looked like a football field through the trees) upholstered with artificial turf. Very nice.

Time had also twisted my memory of where various things were located. I had a hard time locating the general location of the building that housed my classroom back in the 70's, and when I finally found it, it was still among about five other identical buildings, so I couldn't figure out exactly which one was "mine."

We also visited the beach in Pacific Grove, which was as beautiful as ever, and Fisherman's Wharf in the heart of Monterey. There's some beautiful scenery around there, and I was glad to share it with my young 'uns.

But it's good to be back home, too. I'll miss seeing Boyd Jr, Kristin, Missy, and of course Kiwi, but that's just the way it is. Never enough time together, too long apart.