Skunked Again At Waukegan Harbor

My friends Dan, AJ and I went out to Waukegan Harbor this morning at 5:30 AM. It was cold and windy and we were freezing! Just the walk from the car to the pier had my fingers totally frozen! I wear gloves that have the fingertips exposed, but I think it might be best to wear full gloves in conditions like this. I also had on athletic running shoes (I like them because they are light in weight) but that was a mistake as well. Wind goes right through that nylon material and my toes were freezing too!

We did our best as the wind was relentlessly battling us. AJ had to leave early because he wasn't feeling all that well from his previous outing there and the cold just added to the miserable feeling. Dan and I stayed on longer, but eventually decided it wasn't going to be productive. So he took me on base at the Naval Station Great Lakes. While I would have liked to catch a fish, getting on base was a nice substitute. I had never been on base before and really wanted to see it from the inside.

In the past, I had been on base at Miramar in San Diego when it was part of the Navy still. I learned from Dan that in the early or mid 1990's the base was given to the Marines. I recall seeing F15 fighter jets constantly circling the I-15 freeway while they practiced their manuevers.

I went to Miramar (where they filmed the movie Top Gun) because I was working for the DA's Office in San Diego at the time and we had a case involving a Naval Officer. I was impressed how large it was. While Naval Station Great Lakes is not quite as large, it was cool to see Navy boats in their harbor and large guns on the lawn in front of some of the buildings. Dan pointed out the new combat uniforms that they now wear and I was surprised at the color of them. I won't give it away here... you'll have to see them for yourself.

We will head out again in the future to fish, but I think I'm going to wait until the weather cooperates more. Taking a beating by the wind and cold temperatures just takes a lot of the fun out of fishing. I think even if it is windy, but not cold, I can handle that. But the combination of the two is a killer!

The two photos of me were taken by Dan. Thanks again Dan! Be sure to click on each photo for a closer look.