Oakland

In the real navy the crew members "man the rails" in dress uniforms as their ship arrives in port. Aboard a merchant marine operated vessel like Michelson nothing even similar ever happened. A few of the twenty or so navy detachment people aboard might be seen hanging out on deck in work clothes observing the arrival. Others may have been in their staterooms changing into civvies, preparing to go ashore. Meanwhile the operating crew members were doing their jobs. 

Merchant ships typically don't have a bunch of extra crew to stand on deck showing off in uniform. According to an article written by a former merchant mariner, a licensed engineer, later a commissioned US Navy engine room officer, naval vessels typically need four or five times as many people to run a comparable ship.

So, coffee cup in hand I was out on deck as we passed beneath the Golden Gate bridge. We were headed for the Oakland Army Terminal, then headquarters for MSTS Pacific (Military Sea Transportation Service). This was exciting. Never having been to  California, I wanted to see all the sights of San Francisco.

Oakland (a/k/a Military Ocean Terminal and Naval Supply Center) was the west coast equivalent of the Brooklyn Army Terminal. Originally the embarkation points for troops and their gear going overseas in wartime, the terminals closed after the Vietnam war. Originally operated by the army, troopships and cargo transports went to the navy in 1948, to be operated by civilian mariners of the newly created MSTS, now called MSC (Military Sealift Command).

It was easy to get to San Francisco by bus. One of my roommates was from California. He was the appointed tour guide.

Everyone new to the city needs to go to The Top of the Mark, with its panoramic view from the 19th floor of the Mark Hopkins Hotel. After that we tried other hotel bars including one in the Fairmont. North Beach was not what I had expected, finding more tourists and sailors in the area than beatniks. I was dubious about visiting the EM club at Treasure Island navy base, but the city view across the bay was magnificent. At that time I didn't know that two months later I would be a customer there again while processing out of the active duty navy.

Michelson's carpenter used to build sea chests for those transferring off the ship. Preparing for the end of my enlistment, I loaded one of them with most of my personal stuff and a case of sea store cigarettes (at $1 per carton!). Our Loran C tech rep from Sperry was again back aboard ship. He drove me and my plywood foot locker to the Railway Express for shipping it home to New York. How many people today remember the Railway Express? It was a sort of prototype for Fedex, small shipments transported in special railroad cars on passenger trains instead of airplanes.
 

Oakland Army Terminal was next to the Bay Bridge on ramp.

The guy from Sperry was something of a gourmand. He found a steak by the ounce restaurant in San Francisco called Le Boeuf on Washington Street. We had to eat there before bar hopping. Apparently this dining format was popular at the time. You pointed out how thick you wanted your filet (or whatever) and they grilled it for you. Le Boeuf closed a few years later, displaced by the building that looks like a pyramid.

The 560 acre Oakland Naval Supply Center included Oakland Army Terminal (a/k/a Military Ocean Terminal) is outlined above. This was HQ for MSTS (Military Sea Transport Service) Pacific, the Navy's own steamship company, operator of USNS Michelson. All of this area is now the Port of Oakland.

The nearby Alameda Naval Air Station had an excellent navy exchange. Time to restock my clandestine shipboard liquor locker. Meanwhile, we waited for an available dry dock. Michelson had to be hauled out of the water again as the SASS array sonar transducers needed attention. A short trip up the bay to a shipyard in Richmond was in order.