MARE ISLAND

There is rarely a dull moment living with this man.....and for that I am eternally grateful! He keeps saying that we are running out of nearby things to do, but yet he keeps finding more things for us to do. I've done so many things with Lou that I never would have thought I wanted to do on my own. Yesterday, we did a tour of Mare Island.....the old naval shipyard near Vallejo.

I've lived in the Bay Area my entire life and had never been to Mare Island. The tours are given by appointment only. Lou called and discovered that the entire museum is maintained by and the tour is given by volunteers. He talked to Joyce, who said, "Sure I can give you a tour at noon" so we grabbed a couple snacks and headed to Vallejo, a little over an hour away. Joyce looked like she's seen quite a few years and I'd say she was in her 70s if not older. She was a great tour guide!

Our first stop was the huge museum showing many aspects of shipbuilding. Joyce was quite opinionated and made sure she shared those opinions with us! I liked that.

Joyce telling Lou something about the machine shop display.

I loved this sign that hung in one of the shipbuilding shops.

Our next stop was the cemetery on the island. Apparently there is a feud between the historical volunteers and a woman who "runs" the cemetery. Joyce was quite vocal about her dislike for the woman although she did consede that cemetery has been improved......ahhh, volunteer politics!

I'm not sure what the attraction is but Lou and I are both fascinated by cemeteries.

Some of the old, decaying headstones in the small cemetery.

After a stroll through the cemetery with Joyce's stories of Medal of Honor winners, naval officers and Russians buried there, we headed to St. Peter's Chapel. We were told that weddings are still held there and it houses the largest collection of Tiffany stained glass windows under one roof west of the Mississippi River. Fortunately, the navy has covered the outside of the windows with plexiglass to protect the stained glass.

The exterior of St. Peter's Chapel on Mare Island.

A few of the stained glass windows in the chapel.



The Admiral's House is 10,000 square feet and is available for receptions or other functions. This was the largest residence on the island....several others were about 7500 square feet. Many of those were purchased by individuals or are available for purchase if anyone wants to live on Mare Island. Joyce didn't tell us the going prices.

The Admiral's House on Mare Island.

A view from the large verandah of the Admiral's House.

Our two and a half hour tour concluded with a visit to the park. This gazebo is one of their historic artifacts which has been restored. Many of the buildings on Mare Island haven't been so lucky.

Joyce told us of many buildings which are probably beyond repair at this point. They can't even be demolished since that takes money and the money just isn't there. These Victorian homes are on blocks waiting to be relocated, hopefully, before they crumble. Joyce told us how the teenagers ride their skateboards all over the island and vandals get some twisted pleasure from destroying these relics from our not so distant past. They just keep trying to stay one step ahead but it seems to be a losing battle.

Hopefully these old homes will be restored in time.

It was a good tour and I was impressed that there are people who care enough to keep this history alive with no compensation. The sad thing is that I just don't understand why people feel a need to vandalize and destroy things for no apparent reason. Those are the ones who we ought to just slap upside the head and say, "Stop it!"