Sure do miss Ridgecrest and Inyokern.  I often think about the Drive Thru Dairy's large fountain drinks.  I worked at the Wherehouse record store in the 1990's, but that is no longer there. My grandmother, Maggie Murphy, was a bus driver in Inyokern for several years.  It is great to see there is a site for all of us that want to take a walk down memory lane.  Thank You!!!!!

As if it were yesterday... I will always cherish the memories of the summer vacations of 1974 and 1975 spent with my cousin, Kriss Dominy in China Lake.  My uncle, John Dominy worked on base. We were 14 and 15 years old with no worries in the world.... throwing our 10 speed over the fence to go into Ridgecrest, get Rus Stedman, we (Greg Bryant, Jeff Bryant, Kriss Dominy, Rus Stedman and myself) would then head over to one of the hang outs.... Johns Pizza, Fosters Freeze, Hobo Jo's, and the game room (with the old archade games), I dont recall the name. Those were the best years of my life.  We spent a lot of time at the pool and the bowling alley on base.  I remember.... holding on for dear life as the guys loved to take us for rides on the motorcycle over the sand dunes and in the dry lake on base.  And not too many people can say they went swimming in a pool that was created from the crater of a test bomb that was dropped.  That was one of our favorite places. 

I have enjoyed reading and looking at the old picture.

Thanks!

Becky Smith Olmstead

I served in the Navy from 1968 to 1972

From Jan. 1969 to Dec. 1970 I was stationed

at The China Lake Naval Air Station

and was an Aviation Machinists Mate 2nd

class working on A-4, A-7 and F-4 aircraft.

Coming from New York City where I was born

and raised it was difficult adapting to living

in the desert, small town life was so different

from living in a big city. My next duty station

was Naval Air Station Key West, Florida which

is the southernmost point in the entire U.S.

just 90 miles north of Havana,Cuba. After my

discharge in 1972 I settled here in Florida

about 60 miles north of Miami where I've been

ever since.Although I left China Lake 35 years

ago I remember the day that I bought a used

Volkswagen(model year 1962) at Eliopolis Motors

in Ridgecrest which used to take me throughout

California on free weekends and leave. Wow,

where did life go, I was 18 then and 55 now.

God Bless All

Chuck Sussman

Boca Raton, Florida

I was stationed at Naval Weapons Center in 1983 and 84. At the time it was my first assignment as a Naval officer. It was an un- accompanied assignment and my wife stayed in San Diego. Of course I had to drive back to San Diego on some weekends but not all. The wife would come up occasionally and we would drive around and sightsee.

Many people thought I was crazy for taking the assignment. What they didn't know was I grew up in Phoenix and I loved the desert. My jobs were as Targets Maintenance Officer and Intermediate Level Maintenance Officer. It was a great time. My little Toyota pickup got around the area a lot. Many drives up nine-mile canyon, poking around Trona, going over to Kernville and Lake Isabella.

We loved China Lake and Ridgecrest and my wife and I still discuss retirement there.