During my second class spring break, a number of us ‘74 guys along with some from ‘73, and a few ‘75 classmates (3rd classmen then), headed to southern California to help some churches and do outreach on some college campuses.
During our exploits, we stopped at a Christian camp in California to do some construction work. Don Swallom, ‘74, wanted to get a picture of the whole group….we were shore side, and he was on the dock for the lake. Since he couldn’t get everyone in the picture, he kept backing up, and backing up….till he got an awesome picture of the sky, as he backed off the dock right into the lake!!!! I think he ended up flying helicopters (definitely not a fixed wing guy!!).
We had a great week together of fellowship, serving local area churches, and meeting students at “normal colleges” and hearing about their life goals, as we shared ours, centered on the love of God.
The most amazing part of the trip, was on our return, after visiting the Grand Canyon. Heading back to USAFA, except for gas money, we had exactly $3/apiece to pay for sleeping accommodations for the night. (Sounds like a cadet thing, right!) (Remember back then we only got allowance stipends each month). We found kind and generous folks, who allowed the 20 of us to bunk on the motel’s expansive front porch for $3/each.
We arrived safely back at USAFA in time for call to quarters on that Sunday evening. Trips like that developed life-long friendships that I still cherish to this day.