First Full Day on the Nimitz

The flight deck before the air show.

Standing over an arresting cable.

View of where the planes would come in.

From Vulture's Row, one ladder up from the flight deck, we watched a muster of the flight deck crew.  Purple shirts work with fuel, red shirts work with emergencies, green coordinate landings and take offs, and I can't remember what yellow does.

I slept pretty well the first night in my lower bunk in my room.  I was up at 6 to meet Offspring #1 outside my door to have breakfast.  He hates to wait in line so we eat all our meals early.  Breakfast at 6, lunch at 10:30 and supper at 3:30.  It's a little early on the last two meals but it works for me except I want to go to sleep at 8.  The food here is delicious.  I had scrambled eggs made to order, french toast and a banana.  Other options are hot and cold cereal, bagels, waffles, bacon, ham, chicken, sausage, potatoes, and 9 different kinds of fresh fruit plus juice, coffee, milk and hot cocoa.  I hung out in the hazmat (hazardous materials) department and got to meet some of the people who work there.  Most are male.  I think I saw 3 females out of the 15 people in the group.  Everyone was pretty happy with the results of the hazmat inspection in San Diego the day before.  With a good inspection behind them and the end of a 9 month deployment coming soon all were jolly.  We spent the morning walking around the ship.  I'm trying to get my bearings.  Hazmat is in the stern.  My berth is in the bow.  My berth is on level 02 (2 ladders up from the hangar bay).  The officer's lunch room is on level 2 (one ladder down from the hangar bay).  I'm glad I'm an officer tiger because the line for the enlisted and their tigers stretches up the ladder and all the way across the hangar bay.  After lunch we went up on the flight deck for an air show.  We go up a series of ladders and take a door to the outside where we stand on a metal platform.  Under my feet I can see the ocean going by.  Then we ascent a series of six narrow stairs that have no risers.  I can see the ocean inbetween each step.  It's scary! I am hanging on tight to the handrails.   At the last step is a big ledge to step over with no handrail. I think this is called the catwalk. Legs, don't fail me now.  I'm more comfortable as we move away from the edge.  The flight deck is skid resistant although there are round holes every 6 feet or so with a five star metal bracket inside each hole.  These are for tying down the planes.  I try not to fall in one.  We're still in southern California (I think - we can't see any land at all) but the wind is brisk and I'm cold up there.  I wear ear plugs.  We find a place near the bow to watch the airshow.  Three helicopters are pacing off the port side.  A F18 flies by and shoots straight up in the air.  Another F18 comes by the other side and goes so fast it causes a sonic boom. I can actually see the sonic booms disturb the air around the jet.  Wow.  Before I'm done absorbing that another F18 comes across the top of the ship and scares me half to death.  I never heard it coming until it was right over my head.  They are loud and close.  Normally aircraft can't go below 500 feet but out here in the Pacific Ocean no rules like that apply.  Then the F18's do a series of touch and go manuevers on the flight deck.  Holy Shamoley.  To see a F18 land and then turn on the afterburners and take off again only 30 feet away from me is so freaking scary I can't help but back up a few feet (as if that would help).  They're big.  They're fast.   They're loud.  And they're so close to me!  It's hard for me to describe what a sensory overload this airshow is. I know that a close fly-by is used to scare the enemy and I know it sure as heck would work on me.  When the airshow is over we step over the big ledge again onto the platform, down the open steps and back into the ship where I feel safer.  After an early supper we hang out until it's time for me to hear the admiral speak.  I must have read the schedule wrong because it was a Washington State Patrol officer speaking about driving safety.  He's worried about all these Navy peope back on the road after not driving for 9 months.  He shows us a gory series of car crashes on power point and he follows that with a terrifying film of semi-truck crashes caught on film.  After that I made my way to my berth by myself!  I am proud of myself for managing this because it wasn't easy.  I took several wrong turns.  And I didn't have my berth number with me to ask for help.  I know I was looking for the blue floor tile that indicates officer territory.  When I follow Offspring #1 I don't really pay attention to what the doors look like because I'm behind him.  I see one door that says Officer but it also says restricted access.  I reach for the handle but think better of it.  Restricted Access sounds like I shouldn't go in there.  Some doors say "No Tigers Allowed."  I know I shouldn't go in those (except I can ignore the one that goes to Hazmat).  I decide to try the restricted access door.  Bingo!  I see blue floors! I find my room and feel pretty darn proud of myself.  Tonight the waves are larger and I can feel the pitch and roll of the ship.  Like a baby being rocked in a cradle, I sleep great.