Mare Island Naval Shipyard

Was with an old girlfriend a few years after the Navy and Marines closed up shop and left. It was really strange, since before that the last time I saw it was when I was getting out of the Marines after being stationed here for almost a year.

This was when I was eight to ten years old — got my first camera, first read Tolkien here, first got into ‘pop music’ as such (thanks Sean Cassidy!), so in ways it’s actually a memorable location in my psychic landscape. Though of course much of the shipyard was a typical Navy base, where we lived near the Marine barracks was nice — big huge parade ground right in front of our house that was perfect for flying kites on, some lovely tree-lined roads, and a side dirt road that went down to a slightly mysterious wetland spot. Probably all changed now after the sale, but the memories are in my mind.

Mare Island was the location of my last Navy tech school, before deploying to the fleet. It was not a bad little place. I believe it’s now been closed down and sold, so the “worth/not worth visiting” rating is really irrelevant.