USS George Washington

Yesterday started very early with our alarm going off at 0430 so we could get up and get to the ship by 0530. We got to the ship, Damian checked in with medical then he took me to his Stateroom (mostly because he still needed to get into uniform). It was pretty small, but it was cool to see where he "lives" while on the ship. Then we went back to medical so he could show me around... the ward, the ICU, OR, and his desk.

After that we went to the Hangar Bay where they were having live music, breakfast, and where most of the people were congregating on the ship. He took me on a pretty thorough tour of the entire ship... a few places they had closed off for visitors, including the nuclear reactor areas! We went and saw the anchor lines which was pretty amazing. Damian had me climbing up and down stairs around the ship all day. Just so you have an understanding of how big the GW is.... 1092 feet long, 245 feet wide, and about 24 stories high!!! It's gigantic!!! The ship usually has around 100 aircraft on board but because they were recently back from a deployment there were only a few. This made the ship MUCH lighter than usual and it was really swaying more than I thought it would. For a few minutes I felt a little seasick, but it passed eventually :)

Damian and I also stopped by the administration department so I could personally thank all the people who helped Damian get me to Japan... as most of you know it was not simple and it was nice to be able to thank them in person and put faces to names I saw on many emails!

One of my favorite parts of the day was riding the aircraft elevator up and down. It was pretty cool to be standing on it and to feel how fast it moves! Going down sort of felt like the Tower of Terror at Disney... Once we were up on the flight deck it was really windy... the ocean was pretty choppy as well. The flight deck is 4.5 acres... if that helps anyone understand how big it is. It was humid (of course) and my hair was super frizzy (my new norm).

My second favorite part of the day was the air demonstration! First a Seahawk helicopter took off which was neat, but the planes being launched from the catapult was amazing! They launched 2 F18's and a Prowler which was really loud... then they did touch and go's where the plane would circle around and come back on the runway then fly off again!!!! I was like a little kid watching it, and Damian doesn't usually get to be up on the flight deck watching all of this so I think he liked it too!


After the air demonstration we had lunch and were pretty tired... We went down to medical and took a nap in the ICU for a little bit, then walked around some more. We didn't get back to port until around 1830 and we were both tired. Luckily our new apartment is only a 10 minute walk from the ship!!! It was so great seeing where Damian has been working and living the past few months and to meet a lot of his coworkers. It was a great day spent together!

Early to bed again last night! Damian was up early this AM for Duty (24 hours on the ship) which means I'm on my own again today... I am coming down with a little cold and have plenty of unpacking still to do so it's no big deal.

Tomorrow I have my first day of AOB (Area Orientation Brief) which lasts 5 days... hopefully I will be out early enough to have a date night with my hubby! I'm craving sushi and am dying to get off this base and explore!!!!

Japanese word of the day:
Onegai shimasu: Please