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| The Big Drifter's Travel Guide (Places I have lived or visited for at least one week) (Click on Location for picture and additional information) |
| City/State/Country Anaheim, CA Anchorage, AK Atlanta, GA Bangkok, Thailand Camp Carroll, Korea Camp Zama, Japan Chambersburg, PA Chicago, IL Columbia, MD Dallas, TX Davenport, IA Denver, CO Fairbanks, AK Honolulu, HI Houston, TX Kenitra, Morocco Lakehurst, NJ Las Vegas, NV Los Angeles, CA Manila, Philippines Mililani, HI New Iberia, LA New York City, NY Okinawa, Japan Orem, UT Petersburg, VA Philadelphia, PA Pleasant Grove, UT Rock Springs, WY Rota, Spain Salt Lake City, UT San Diego, CA San Francisco, CA Seattle, WA Seoul, Korea Sierra Vista, AZ Suffolk, VA Sunnyvale, CA Taegu, Korea Tooele, UT Tokyo, Japan Wallace, ID Washington D.C. Wendover, NV Zweibrucken, Germany |
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 Disneyland in Anaheim, CA I attended four Share Conferences at the Anaheim Convention Center and nearby hotels. I went with my supervisor Masa Genka for two of these conferences and we had a good time. The biggest attraction is Disneyland which is located right across the street. Masa and I went to Disneyland once. The most fun place in the area for adults is the Orange County Beach and bars. Return |
 Anchorage, Alaska I went TDY four times to Fort Richardson which is located just outside of Anchorage. The Anchorage area is just beautiful with the ocean and mountains. I went sightseeing several times and saw variety of animals and birds including bears and moose. We stayed in Anchorage which is a clean modern city and had a great time! Return |
 Downtown Atlanta, Georgia I spent a week in Atlanta attending a conference. This was my one and only visit to Atlanta. I did find the Underground Atlanta quite interesting with all the shops, restaurants, and bars. Return |
 Bangkok, Thailand I went TDY to Thailand one time and had a great time. The Government assigned a lady Army Sergeant as by sponsor, driver, and sightseeing guide. I stayed in a 5-star hotel in downtown Bangkok and my work took me to the three Army computer sites. They included JUGMAG, the American Embassy, and a Joint Medical Research Center. The Reseach Center was very interesting. Doctors and medical research analysts were looking for cures for Malaria and AIDS. On one floor of the building they had about 40 monkeys they were using for Malaria testing and on the next floor was a steady parade of hookers they were testing for AIDS. Return |
 Camp Carroll Army Depot, Waegwan, South Korea In November 1968, I was working at Tooele Army Depot as a new Computer Programmer. There was an announcement saying the Army was putting together a Quick Reaction Team to go to Camp Carroll, Korea to program and automate their new Supply System. They had just received two new UNIVAC 1005 computers and were looking for experienced programmers to write the new system. Well, I had never even seen a UNIVAC 1005 computer let alone wrote any programs for it, but I said “what the hell” and put in to join the team. Apparently not too many people volunteered because one week later, I was on a plane to Hawaii and then on to South Korea. I must have done a good job because a couple of months later they wanted me back to help program a Labor and Production System. After that project, the big boss in Hawaii offered me a job at Fort Shafter. About a year later I took the job! Return |
 Camp Zama, Japan Camp Zama is a U.S. Army post located in the cities of Zama and Sagamihara, Japan, about 30 miles southwest of Tokyo. I went TDY there 30+ times during my 40 years working at Fort Shafter Camp Zama is a beautiful base with a lot of open space. The cities around it are cramped with very little open area. I usually stayed on post because of the big rooms compared to the tiny rooms in the hotels outside the base. There was only one small bar outside the back gate that I really enjoyed. The lady owner named a special menu item for me (Potato, Bacon, and Cheese). Return |
 Chambersburg, PA In 1969, after my adventures in Korea, I was selected to go on extended TDY to Letterkenny Army Depot located in Chambersburg, PA. The Army was installing a new computer system called SPEEDEX and programmers from all over the country were sent to Letterkenny to complete the project. Four of us from Tooele Army Depot (Rick Battison, Bob Dial, Albert Martinez, and me) went and we had a great time. Return |
 Chicago, IL I have been to Chicago 3 times (not counting the airport) - Twice to attend computer conferences and once for IBM training. I had fun all 3 times and never had any problems. Chicago police keep the homeless and thugs off of Michigan Ave. and other tourist attractions. Some of the things I did while there was go up to the top of the Sears Tower, which is the tallest building in the U.S. You get a great view of the city and Lake Michigan. I took the subway to Wrigley Field to watch a Cubs game. The best place I found in Chicago to get a Cheeseburger and a beer was at the Billy Goat Tavern. This famous establishment is located under Michigan Avenue about a block down from the Chicago River. Return |
 Columbia, MD I attended IBM training (presented by Amdahl) in Columbia twice. Columbia is a beautiful planned community with no tall buildings and with many trees. Even the MacDonalds sign is only 5 feet high. My favorite instructor was a lady named Judy who enjoyed drinking a few beers with us students. Return |
 Dallas, Texas I went to Dallas twice for training (once with friend and co-worker Andy Corbett and once with a co-worker named Laurie). Did you know that there are a lot of cowboy bars in the Dallas-Fort Worth area? We went to Billy Bob's Texas that promotes itself as "The World's Largest Honky Tonk". I rode the mechanical bull for about 10 seconds before getting thrown off. They had real bulls at this bar if you were really brave. Return |
 Davenport, Iowa My first Computer Programming training was at Rock Island Arsenal Island (in the Mississippi River) between the cities of Davenport, IA and Rock Island, IL. I stayed in Davenport for 4 weeks. There was not much to do in this quiet town but I did find a nice bar with a pool table. I also took a Mississippi River Cruise that I thought was fun. Return |
 Denver, Colorado I went to Denver TDY for IBM training one time. I also went to Denver once while working for the Rio Grande Railroad and I stopped there a couple of times while driving across country. The Denver area is very scenic but nothing too exciting happened while I was there. Return |
 Fairbanks, Alaska I went TDY to Fairbanks 4 times while working as a Project Manager for the Army's ACENET program. Fairbanks is located in the middle of Alaska in a large flat valley. It is not as scenic as the Anchorage area. The trip I remember best was in December 2010 a few weeks before I retired. It was SNOWY, DARK and COLD!! There was only about 5 hours of daylight and the temperature got down to -44 degrees. Return |
 Honolulu, Hawaii I went TDY to Hawaii in 1968 and 1969 and took a Computer Analyst job at Fort Shafter in 1970. For the first 3 months, I stayed at the Reef Tower Hotel located in Waikiki about 100 yards from the ocean. The Reef Tower had an outside bar with a pool table so this became my hangout. I moved to an apartment on Beretania Street across the road from the Central Union Church. I found a nice “local” bar on King Street about four blocks from my apartment building that was called the Lauhala Room. This is where I met my future wife Patsy - she was the bartender. We got married in December 1972 and rented a house in Kaimuki. Our family moved to Mililani in 1975. Return |
 Houston, TX I went TDY to Houston once with co-worker and supervisor Dave Tomooka. Houston is the biggest city in Texas and not easy getting around. We had a good time but I liked the Dallas-Fort Worth area better. Return |
 Kenitra, Morocco, Africa My first overseas station while serving in the Navy was the Fleet Weather Center located at Kenitra, Morocco. I was there for about 5 months before the Navy moved the Fleet Weather Center to Rota, Spain. Morocco is located on the Northwest tip of Africa with the Atlantic Ocean on the left and the Mediterranean Sea on the top. When you get away from the water, you are in the Sahara Desert. They have a lot of Camels in Morocco and my primary goal was to ride a Camel which I did. I found the Arab Muslim people there to be unfriendly and a bunch of thieves. Return |
 Lakehurst, New Jersey After boot camp and 6 months at New Iberia Navy Air Station in Louisana, I attended weather school at Lakehurst, NJ. I was the top Navy student in my class and they kept me there to attend advanced weather school. After that, they kept me there for another year to work at the school and play basketball. I was the top scorer on the weather school team and the base team. Return |
 Las Vegas, Nevada I have been to Las Vegas about a dozen times. The person I went with the most was my friend Donald Chong - We stayed at the downtown Queens Casino or the Gold Coast Casino near the strip. I also went TDY there for a computer conference and to Nellis Air Base while working for DSIS. I managed to have fun every time I went to Vegas but never did hit the big jackpot. Return |
 Los Angeles, CA I attended IBM training three times in Los Angeles. Once with Andy Corbett, once with Rick Firchau, and once by myself. Andy and I hit the sleezy bars on Sunset and Hollywood Boulevard. We also went to the horse races at Hollywood Park. Rick and I stayed at a Holiday Inn about a mile from the training center so we walked to class and had to dodge the many homeless bums along the way. The most fun thing we did was attend a Dodger game and eating a Dodger Dog and drinking beer. Here is what I learned about downtown LA - It is not too bad during the day but once it gets dark, everybody goes home to the suburbs leaving the homeless, the gangs, the hoodlums, a few tourists and me. Return |
 Manila, Philippines I went to the Philippines three times during 1986 and 1987. I went with George Lampros and Sam Inoue and our job was to help the Philippine Army get their mainframe computers up and running and to help them automate their supply system. We were there for a total of six weeks and I cannot remember a moment that I felt safe. It is bad enough with all the thieves and muggers but they also had the New People’s Army (NPA) running around killing people. With that said, I did work with and meet a lot of nice people and had a lot of fun. Return |
 Mililani Town Center, Hawaii We purchased our house in Mililani in September 1975 and haved lived in the same house to this date. We have a large 4-bedroom home with a family room and a swimming pool in the front yard. We have a brick wall all the way around our house so our dog has lots of room to run and play. Mililani is a clean quiet planned community and a great place to live and raise your family. Return |
 New Iberia, Louisiana After boot camp, I was stationed at the Naval Air Station in New Iberia, LA. I was scheduled to attend weather school at Lakehurst, N.J. after 6 months of on-the-job training I was a weather observer and recorder. Well, I thought I was doing a pretty good job until one rainy day when a tornado suddenly appeared and ripped through the base while I stood there watching it go across the Air Field about a half-mile away. It damaged a hanger and a few airplanes. This was my first and only time seeing a tornado in person. South Louisiana is Cajun Country and these Southern Rednecks didn't like us military people invading their territory. I didn't like this part of the country too much and have no desire to go back. Return |
 New York City, NY I have been to New York 3 times. Twice while in the Navy stationed at Lakehurst, NJ and once to attend IBM training. The first trip with some Navy buddies was fun and we saw a lot of scenic things like the Empire State Building and Times Square. The second trip didn't go too well since I drove my car which was broken into and I was mugged by three hoodlums. The third trip was with a lady from our office named Nancy Karasuda and it was a little stressful but fun. Return |
 Kadena Air Force Base, Okinawa, Japan I have been to Okinawa 4 times. The first was in 1999 as part of the Y2K project. The Army's computers are located at Fort Buckner and Torii Station but I stayed on Kadena Air Force Base. The next three times to Okinawa were part of the ACENET project and I stayed on Kadena twice and off-base once. Dave Millard, Grace Singleton, Bill Cabanlit, and Walter Taketa were with me when we stayed off-base and this was the most fun trip. Return |
 Oren, Utah I grew up in a small town called Pleasant Grove, Utah. My mother lived in our house for 75 years before moving to a condo in Orem in 1992. After my dad died, my mother had a hard time maintaining the farm so she had to sell it. My mother died in 2017 at age 99. Before that, I came to visit her in Orem at least once a year. Orem is also where my dad worked (Geneva Steel Plant) until be retired. Return |
 Petersburg, Virginia I went TDY to Fort Lee 4 times and stayed in or near Petersburg each time. We were there to transfer the SAILS ABX supply system (which was developed at Fort Shafter) over to Fort Lee to maintain. I was the technical person and Sam Inoue was the functional person on most of those trips. There was not a lot to do in Petersburg but we managed to have a great time regardless. Return |
 Philadelphia, PA When I was stationed at Lakehurst, NJ, I used to drive to Philadelphia on a regular basis to watch the Phillies play baseball. After the TDY to Suffolk, VA in 1998, I took some vacation time to go up to Philly to visit our daughter Tracy who was living in towntown Philadelphia at the time. Tracy took me on a Carriage Ride around the city to see all the historic sites. The next day, we went to Atlantic City for lunch on the boardwalk and do a little gambling. I had a good time. Return |
 Pleasant Grove, Utah Pleasant Grove is my hometown. I lived there for my first 18 years and for short periods of time after that. When I was a kid, Pleasant Grove was a quiet town of about 5,000 people (now there are about 40,000 people). The town is located at the base of Mount Timpanogos (elevation 11,752 feet) which is one of the most scenic and tallest mountains in Utah. Our family lived in a large house on a small 4 acre farm with a garden, fruit trees, pasture, barn, horses, cows, chickens, sheep, dogs and cats. Life was good in Pleasant Grove! Return |
 Rock Springs, Wyoming Rock Springs is located out in the middle of nowhere. Most of the people that live there either work in the coal mines or in the oil fields. The summer after my freshman year at the University of Utah, I had was the hardest job I ever had in my life. It was working on a oil well in Rock Springs, Wyoming. We worked 12 hours a day seven days a week for about two months. My job title was "Roughneck" and they don’t let you rest on those oil wells. When you are not pulling pipes out of the ground, you are carrying pipes or cleaning up the rig. Return |
 Rota, Spain - Great Beaches My last two years in the Navy were spent at Rota. My job was to play basketball and work in the Top Secret Crypto section at the Fleet Weather Central. Naval Station Rota is home to an airfield and a seaport. It is strategically located near the Strait of Gibraltar on the Mediterranean Sea. I really enjoyed Spain and the people there were friendly and fun to be around. One of things I remember best about Spain was going to the Bull Fights in Cadiz. Return |
 Salt Lake City, Utah I lived in Salt Lake while attending the University of Utah. Since I played basketball, I stayed in the "Jock Dorm" on campus. Salt Lake City has a population of about 197,000 and is primarily a Mormon city. However, if you know your way around, you can find about anything that is in any other large city. Salt Lake is famous for the Great Salt Lake and the many nearby great ski resorts. Return |
 San Diego, CA My first time to San Diego was for Navy Boot Camp which lasted about 2 months. Boot Camp was no problem for me since I was in great shape from playing basketball at Utah. At the end of boot camp we had to choose what we wanted to do for the next 4 years in the Navy. For some unknown reason I picked Aerographer's mate (Weatherman). Later, I went to San Diego for IBM training and again for a SHARE Conference at nearby Torrey Pines. Return |
 San Francisco, CA My first time to San Francisco was in 1970 when I drove my 1968 Oldsmobile convertable to Oakland in order to ship it to Hawaii. I stayed near Fisherman's Wharf and really enjoyed the city. I returned 3 more times over the years and noticed that the city was being overrun with more and more homeless bums, drug addicts, and queers. Return |
 Seattle, Washington I went to a computer conference with my supervisor Dave Tomooka and was impressed with this city. One thing I can remember us doing was walking the 4 miles to watch the Mariners play baseball. I returned to the Seattle area later to get Microsoft training across the bay in Redmond. The Northwest is a very scenic part of the United States. Return |
 Seoul, South Korea I maintained the Army's mainframe computer operating system at Fort Shafter, Hawaii, Camp Zama, Japan, Yongsan and Taegu, Korea for about 25 years. Yongsan Garrison is located in Seoul. I went there more than 30 times and usually stayed in a hotel in Itaewon (the shopping and bar area near Yongsan). I really enjoyed my trips to Seoul. Besides work, I would play ping pong with my friend Howard Lee and Korean Billards with my Korean friends Mr. Son and Miss Kim. The Itaewon bar area is one of the biggest in the world. My favorite bars weres the Apple Pub and the Nashville. Return |
 Sierra Vista, Arizona The Army Signal Headquarters is located at Fort Huachuca in the town of Sierra Vista. I went there twice for meetings. This base is out in the middle of the desert and there was not a lot to do. Every morning while staying at the Best Western Motel, I would go out back and watch the Roadrunners run around in the desert. The old West town of Tombstone is close to Sierra Vista and I found this place very interesting. Return |
 Suffolk, VA There is a little known small high security Army compound hidden in the trees near Suffolk. I was there for two weeks receiving Y2K training. There is nothing to do in Suffok - I could not even find a good bar. Fortunately, Norfolk was only 20 miles away and there are many things to do in this Navy town. Return |
 Sunnyvale, CA I went TDY to Sunnyvale twice for IBM training given by Amdahl. Sunnyvale is near San Jose and there are many technology companies in the area. This area is also close to California wine country so I took a tour of one of the wineries and to sample the various wines. Return |
 Camp Walker, Taegu, South Korea I have been TDY to Camp Walker 30+ times. Taegu has two main Army bases - Camp Walker and Camp Henry. The computer center and golf course are at Walker and the best bars are near Henry. Taegu is unique because of the large number of people from Hawaii working there. Some of the people I worked with or went drinking with include Bill Edwards, Mr. Pak, Ken Oya, Bob Pietrusiewicz, Stan Uyema, and Andy Wright. The event I remember best is the night my hotel burned to the ground. Here is the story: What I heard on that faithful night in February 1985 was Fire! Fire! Fire! in Korean. I had returned to my room around midnight and was awakened by somebody running down the hallway pounding on everybody’s door and screaming something I didn’t understand. Fortunately, I got up to find out what was going on. As I approached the door I could hear a crackling noise and when I opened the door a cloud of thick black smoke hit me. I did not have time to think – I just reacted by grabbing my wallet and started running for the front door. My room was located on the third floor as far away from the exit as you could get. I could not see anything except for the flames coming out of some of the rooms. I knew the stairs were at the other end of the hall and I run until I hit the wall and then down the stairs and out into the street. I tried not to breathe for the 20 or so seconds it took me to get out of this 3-story Korean Hotel, but I was choking and spitting up black stuff as I watched the Hotel burn to ground. I was in my shorts and undershirt and it was very cold. Some nice Korean lady came out of a house and give me a blanket. This was the closest I ever came to dying that I can remember. Return |
 Tokyo, Japan On some of my trips to Japan I would take a few days vacation and stay in Tokyo at the American Sanno Hotel. I liked this downtown Tokyo hotel because they had big rooms with big beds and you could eat American food and they had cheap drinks. I did take a couple of tours of Tokyo - one day and one night. I saw the Imperial Palace, went to the Ginza shopping and bar District, saw several temples, and went to the top of Tokyo Tower. When I was going to Tokyo it had the largest population and was the most expensive city in the world. Return |
 Tooele Army Deport, Tooele, Utah After I got out of the Navy in February 1966, I found a job about 6 months later at Tooele Army Depot in Tooele. I started out as a Woodworker making boxes for about 3 months and then worked putting Redeye Missiles together for another 3 months. In early 1967, I passed the test to become a GS employee and became a Computer Programmer. At first, I lived at home and drove back and forth to Tooele which was 60 miles one way. But after driving out there in the snow blizzard a few times, I decided to move to Tooele. I lived there for about 3 years until I took the job in Hawaii in June 1970. My favorite bar in Tooele was called the "48 Lounge" and was owned by an ex-pro wrestler. The bar had 2 pool tables and country music. Return |
 Wallace, Idaho In 1958, after graduating from high school, the Utah coaching staff got me a summer job with a Drilling Company. The actual job was in the mountains close to Wallace. I found out that I had to drive the truck with the drilling rig on the back up to Wallace where I would meet up with the guy (the Driller) I would be working with for the summer. I was 17 years old and this was the first time I drove a big truck and it was also my first time away from home. Somehow, I managed to “herd” that big truck up to Northern Idaho. We worked six days a week and every Saturday night we went to this bar in Wallace. I can’t remember the name but it was across the street from the Police Station and in the basement. It was a good bar since it had a pool table and country music so I ended up going there often. The funny thing about that Police Station was the fact there was a “cat house” directly above the it on the second floor. Yes, Wallace is a great little town. Return |
 Washington D.C. I have been TDY to the Washington DC area 10+ times. The Information Systems Engineering Command (ISEC) headquarters was located at Fort Belvoir. I went there a couple of times for meetings. The ISEC Army's mainfrome computers were in the MELPAR Building that was located in Falls Church, VA. I went there 5 or 6 times. I also attended IBM training a couple of times at Crystal City which is a area (mostly underground) in Arlington County, VA near National Airport. My favorite place to hangout was Joe Theismann's Restaurant located in Alexandria, VA. Return |
 Wendover, Nevada Wendover is 123 miles from Salt Lake city. Almost straight West on Highway US80 across the Great Salt Lake Desert. In my early years, there was no speed limit - now the speed limit is 80 mph. You can get there fast! There are five casino hotels in Wendover which are the Wendover Nugget, Montego Bay, Peppermill, Rainbow, and Red Garter. My favorite casino was the Nugget. I went to Wendover several times with my mother. I have probably been to Wendover the most with my friend and pool playing partner Albert Martinez. My last trip to Wendover was with my son Mike when we were in Utah for my mother's funeral. Return |
 Zweibrucken, Germany Me and my boss Art Lopkoff went TDY to Zwiebruken to attend some important meetings. The trip to Germany was the longest trip I ever took. We flew from Honolulu to LA, then to New York, then to London, and then to Frankfurt, Germany. The total distance was about 15,000 miles each way. We rented a car and drove to Zwiebruken on the Autobahn Highway. Art was going about 80 mph and everybody was passing us like we were standing still. At that time, my friend Dave Pfannes worked at Zwiebruken and my other friend Andy Corbett worked about 50 miles away at Augsburg. Dave and his wife Emmy lived out in the country in a very scenic area of green rolling hills. We had a party at Dave’s house on the first weekend and had a great time. Andy and his wife Judy come up from Augsburg and we had lots of good food (barbecued steaks) and lots of great beer. German beer is considered to be one of the best beers in the world and I agree. On the second weekend there we attended a German Beer Festival that was a lot of fun. Return |