Yokohama Navy Exchange was where?

I was interested to read about the piers in Yokohama in the 1970s.

20 years earlier, some piers were not as developed and the cargoes were early basic industry feedstock: teak and mahogany logs. These were floated in from the Philippines and SE Asia in log rafts.

These rafts always were found in a place we called "Jellyfish Harbor." Jellyfish was bike riding distance from Area 2 where a pal lived who knew the territory and took me.

Thousands of identical blue/clear jellys lived amongst the logs and my bud and I would walk about on the logs and look at the jellys in amazement. We also found this a good place to smoke an occasional "Peace" cigarette from the pachinko parlor or some of my dad's Camel straights.

I came and went six times from a Yokohama pier and have a few pix of the MSTS ships and our arrival/departure with streamers from the shore.

Typos ? What Typos..I didn't see no stinking typos..

Now Wally has someone else to pick on.
I used to love to shoot black powder..except for the clean up, what a mess.

Once got some foot powder from the Dispensery..It was leftover from the Korean war. Still worked. Huge scandal when I was there. Woman went in with labor contractions
they sent her home saying it was premature. She had the baby in the hallway of her quatrers of in area 2. Dad was at sea. Lucky for the Dispensory, he would have torn it apart.

In your profile, it says you live in Washington..... state or D.C.? I live in Washington state and am 53 yrs. old. Possibly we live somewhat close to each other??

I lived in Yokohama twice: from April of '80 thru March of '82; then again from August of '85 til May of '86. My husband was stationed on the USS Midway (in one of the squadrons).

If I remember the dates right, I think the Midway came to Yokosuka for homeporting during your time living in Yokohama. Do you remember this? It would have been big news at the time, as it was the only aircraft carrier homeported outside the U.S,

I just discovered Bing Maps which are pretty much Google Maps except that you can get a 3-D view.
Go to: http://www.bing.com/maps
enter Yokohama, Japan
center the area you want to look at
Go to Aerial
Go to Bird's Eye
The height of many of the buildings really makes me appreciate how much Yokohama has changed.
Also has a good search engine at http://www.bing.com/

I never was much interested in black powder but unusual long guns have attracted my interest.
The latest acquisition is a .50 cal air rifle, made here in Missouri. It shoots a .495 round ball at about 850 fps. I use a scuba tank to fill the little tank under the barrel. It is a single shot and makes a report like a big car door being slammed shut.

Would you mind pointing that thing the other way, thanks!

Hi, Stefi!
I've very much enjoyed YOUR tales, too!
Very unique perspective you have, of Yokohama.
Change of Subject: I've notice that folks are occasionally logged in as (Guest). I'm guessing that's a format for replying w/o needing to enter an answer title? How's that work?

I live in Kirkland. Work for Bellevue (Utilities).
I recall quite clearly the day the Midway first came in! There had been over a week of demonstrations (all scheduled with the Base and the Yokosuka Mayor's Office in advance, of course. These things really MUST be done in a proper way, after all!), by various groups, each with their own distinctive banners and helmets. You simply HAD to have the right color helmet of your particular group or you just were not conforming properly!
As I bussed from Yokohama to Yokosuka every day for High School, this usually meant we were always late for 1st Period (Yay!) class. Somewhere along the way our busload had gotten enamoured with Cheech & Chong, so we'd pass the time doing all their routines, right down to the voices. I still know the Kamizake Pilot one by heart.
After things settled down, I got to go aboard the Midway a few times, once for a Dependant's Cruise of Tokyo Bay. One of the Chiefs in charge of the catapults was a friend of my Dad and brought me up to the underdeck bow where the "Cat" was. Dared me to toe up to the edge of the stop point for it when it was throwing planes. I watched him do it first and, as he didn't get turned into red paste, I gave it a go. Scared hell outta me...but it WAS rather cool!

I got into blackpowder shooting when I was stationed at Madigan/Ft. Lewis. Lived in Nisqually then and my neighbor was out in his yard, shooting across the river (we was kinda rural, don'cha know?). Went to see the show. Got amazed by the size of the .58 cal. Minie Balls he was shooting. He said the group he shot with also shot cannons(!!!) and would I like to check it out?
I joined the Civil War Skirmishers Assn. a week later and never looked back.

Since it's the Season and all; anybody remember Christmas at the PX?
I dropped out of HS Basketball in '73 when the Store Mgr. at teh time asked me if I wanted to be Santa at the Toyland annex that year.
I only weighed in at MAYBE 140 (and I was 6'3"), so it took wrapping myself in a parka and the two biggest pillows Mom could find in the house to fill out the suit properly.
But, I did have the "Santa voice" down cold, and a pair of John Lennon frame glasses to add to the disguise.
Made $500 between the weekends at the PX and one evening's performance at the O Club.
Not bad for 1973.

Eric, those log rafts had to be really something to see! I've seen old photos of the log rafts they'd make in these parts back in the early 1900's, and those blew mw away!
"Peace" cigarettes are still available in Japan, I'm told. I didn't pick up the habit until after I left Japan, and have since quit, so I guess I'll never know how they stack up to Camels or Marlboros.

Regarding black powder; I fired a pal's .58 round ball a couple of times and instantly disliked the pause between the trigger pull, the ignition of the powder and the big boom. After watching the 45 minute cleaning process, I became convinced smokeless powder was for me and the acquisition of the air rifle is cleaner still. The ball is slow but hits like a hammer with 2500 foot-pounds of energy.
I quit the cigarette habit on March of 1986 when the company I worked for delivered a new company car, a Chevy Caprice. It smelled so good I couldn't bare to smoke in it and I had been thinking about quitting for several months, anyway. I quit cold turkey; no gum, no patch, just a bit of self-hypnosis. I also kept it a secret from friends until about three months had passed and someone finally noticed and offered congratulations.
That made me feel good since the worst of the habit was behind me. It took a full five years before I quit reaching for one in my shirt pocket, however.

Eric- I can only surmise that your friend was trying to use too coarse of a grain of powder (F or FF, perhaps?), or the nipple was partially occluded. A properly set up caplock firearm has no more delay than a smokeless one.
Now, that .49 cal. air rifle you speak of, THAT sounds impressive! Who makes it? I remember reading that the Lewis & Clark expedition brought along an air rifle to conserve powder and to impress the natives. Brought in a lot of venison for them, they said, until it was lost in one of the many boat wrecks they had.

Check out www.quackenbushairguns.com.

The same Quackenbush family that made those air guns for L & C...

I fill to only 3,000 psi, slowly. The rifle will take up to 4,000 psi but I see no need to fill it that much. There are kits that allow this volume to be pushed to 6,000 psi. At 3,000, the .495 ball will penetrate a one inch pine board.

I live in Shelton. Not too far from Kirkland and much closer than some of others who take part in this forum -- Missouri, NYC, etc. I'm enjoying your contributions/posts. (My husband is a black powder enthusiast, also.)

Lori-
Yep, been to Shelton many times! Friends of ours have a vacation/retirement cabin we helped them build there, among other things. If I had my druthers, I'd probably live over that a-ways (more trees, fewer Urban Democrats trying to be all up in your business), but I still have to get a bit more coin put away first.
Does your husband shoot any particular type of blackpowder arm?

Eric-
Great Jumpin' Jehosephat! 1" pine at what distance?
I took a look-see at their website. (Thanks for that link!)
Knocking down BISON with one? I'm simply in awe...

The .50 Bandit will take deer, north-south or east-west, if you get the drift.

And here I was all impressed with my Gamo one-pump pellet pusher. Methinks after I get back from the trip to Japan my wife & I are aiming for, I'm gonna upgrade a notch or two.

Just got back (8:30 p.m.) from the annual Holiday Tractor Parade through town. The snow was really coming down as farm tractors of all sizes and manufacture, late models and antiques, adorned with colored twinkling lights, pulling floats and farming attachments, paraded around the town square. It was very festive. Nothing says �gHappy Holidays�h like a festooned John Deere fertilizer spreader!