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While serving on the West Coast onboard HMCS Saskatchewan (part of what the East Coast sailors lovingly called the yacht squadron) we were in San Diego for a weekend of R & R. The main attraction of course was Broadway, which contained a plethora of bright lights, clubs, arcades, and tattoo parlours specifically designed to peak a young sailor’s fancy. Just outside of the city proper was another type of nightlife which included dancing to live music; this area was called National City. A number of bands who went on to become famous including Santana, Sly and the Family Stone got their start playing in these clubs.
Anyway on with the story; after an evening of great music, dancing and far too many drinks, a winger1 and I decided it was time to head back to the ship. As we proceeded up the street in the hope of finding a cab, we were overtaken by a bread truck, which to our surprise suddenly pulled over directly in front of us. It was not until we reached the front door of the truck that we realized one of our shipmates was behind the wheel. Another head with the HMCS Saskatchewan cap tally appeared through the door leading to the back of the truck and said; come on boys hop in we are on our way to the ship and the back door is open.
Well of course with the number of drinks we had consumed this sounded like a first-rate idea. Upon entering the rear of the truck we were greeted by no less than 5 other sailors. It became quite apparent by the chocolate, jelly and jam smeared faces smiling back at me that the sweet rolls, doughnuts, and sticky buns had been found.
In the morning the bread truck was found at the end of the jetty by a very upset local constabulary. Inquiries were made aboard each of the three ships in the hopes of finding the culprits who had not only borrowed the truck but ate all of their doughnuts.
Needless to say, many a laugh were had, over a cold one reminiscing about the night we were fortunate enough to be a part of the infamous sweet ride.
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