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Unmarked Trail

Ever found yourself driving by the very spot you’re trying to get to but can’t without first driving all over the county? This is exactly my experience every night. Going home is more involved for me than parking next to a house and walking in. It's a process and a hike, neither of which is ever appealing.

The first part to my adventure starts with the facts that I live on NASNI and my car is new and without base stickers. Until Tuesday morning, I must park in the lot furthest from my ship, walk a quarter mile to the gate to check in, then begin my mile hike to the pier.

The other half of my journey is that I don't live on the ship itself. I live in a barge, near the ship, down by the bay. It's a temporary place for junior Sailors, like myself, to live. Is it anything like living in a van down by the river? Yes, and I get to go home to its snuggly greatness each night.

The lot that I must park in is also the farthest from the pedestrian check-in at about a quarter of a mile. From there I walk the mile toward the barge but a fence prevents me from just walking onto it. It's a thousand feet in the opposite direction to the ship’s check in. On the other side of the fence, I take that thousand feet back toward the barge. The entrance to the barge is right there. Theoretically, I could hop one more fence and be on it. But the plank onto the barge is at the aft end, two hundred feet away. Up and over and across and then I'm finally home.

Each day that I hike across base to go explore San Diego, I know that I can look forward to a refreshing hike on the way back. This is what I'd expect if I lived remotely where the road ended miles before the cabin. But while my home is on a barge on a military base, and vehicle decals are temporarily unavailable, I will be roaming the base trying to get to home.

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Ever found yourself driving by the very spot you’re trying to get to but can’t without first driving all over the county? This is exactly my experience every night. Going home is more involved for me than parking next to a house and walking in. It's a process and a hike, neither of which is ever appealing.

The first part to my adventure starts with the facts that I live on NASNI and my car is new and without base stickers. Until Tuesday morning, I must park in the lot furthest from my ship, walk a quarter mile to the gate to check in, then begin my mile hike to the pier.

The other half of my journey is that I don't live on the ship itself. I live in a barge, near the ship, down by the bay. It's a temporary place for junior Sailors, like myself, to live. Is it anything like living in a van down by the river? Yes, and I get to go home to its snuggly greatness each night.

The lot that I must park in is also the farthest from the pedestrian check-in at about a quarter of a mile. From there I walk the mile toward the barge but a fence prevents me from just walking onto it. It's a thousand feet in the opposite direction to the ship’s check in. On the other side of the fence, I take that thousand feet back toward the barge. The entrance to the barge is right there. Theoretically, I could hop one more fence and be on it. But the plank onto the barge is at the aft end, two hundred feet away. Up and over and across and then I'm finally home.

Each day that I hike across base to go explore San Diego, I know that I can look forward to a refreshing hike on the way back. This is what I'd expect if I lived remotely where the road ended miles before the cabin. But while my home is on a barge on a military base, and vehicle decals are temporarily unavailable, I will be roaming the base trying to get to home.

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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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