USS George Washington Family Cruise September 5, 2009

Shane has only been assigned to an aircraft carrier for 2 months and I've already had the chance to take it out for a spin...well, me and about 2,000 friends and family of the crew! Just like my experience on the sub, it did not disappoint but I was verrry happy to be home by the end of the day! I was only on board for 12 hours, I just don't know how they do it for months at a time!


This was the scene when we first walked on the ship...PEOPLE EVERYWHERE!!! There are approximately 5000 sailors assigned to the ship, so it's literally a floating city on a typical day, with all of the guests on board there had to be close to 7,000 people. So sorry in advance that many of my pictures have strangers in them, it was nearly unavoidable! This a picture of the hangar bay which was used for a little bit of everything during the cruise...bounce houses, baseball pitching and sumo wrestling(with padded suits) for kids, breakfast and lunch was served here, a stage for the USS GW band and taiko drummers, booths set up by groups on the ship selling random souvenir type items, and probably other things that I was completely unaware of!

It was a very early morning since we arrived at the ship about 5:45am, but it was a gorgeous day and I was really excited to get my first GW (USS GEORGE WASHINGTON) tour! This was the view of Yokosuka from the flight deck as the ship was leaving the pier.

What could Shane be thinking about???

Jumping overboard or submarines??? Neither! He was thinking about how AMAZING it is to have his fabulous wife on board!!! :) ANYWAY, it's pretty surprising how easy it would be to jump/fall overboard...that little net is all that protects you from a very long plunge into the ocean (and I could clear it pretty easily!) The sub in the picture is one of about 10 that the Japanese have in Yokosuka. It was conveniently passing us as we were heading out to sea and of course I had to get a picture! It's strange to think that Shane might never be on a sub again - mostly a relief, but at times I miss how close knit the sub community is!!!

A view from the 4.5 acre flight deck - huge. This is one of four catapults that launch planes. They accelerate 45000 pound jets from 0 -150 mph in 2 seconds and can launch a plane every 20-30 seconds. I also find it interesting that planes are launched on autopilot...pilots don't take control until the plane is off the ship! (I would have serious trust issues with that!) The arresting gear is also on the flight deck - to land a cable catches and stops the plane in only 180 feet!

I think this is sooo funny! You'd think people were riding a roller coaster! This is one of 4 elevators on the ship that goes from the flight deck to the hangar bay and are used to move planes and supplies between the levels.

Shane in the ship's GW museum. We toured the USS Ronald Regan when it was in Hawaii and it had a museum...before we found this room I asked Shane if the GW had a museum and he told me no. I love it...the ship is soooo big that he LIVED on it for 2 full months and had no idea this room existed. Even better, a couple of other guys have been on the ship for over a year and they didn't know about it either!

This is a room that Shane knows well...it's where he eats! It's one of three officer galleys on the ship and where we spent a lot of our time during the family cruise. I just can't get over how much space there is...this room is bigger than the entire crew's galley on the sub! In addition to the 3 for officers, there are 2 large enlisted, 1 Chief's, 1 CO's, and 1 admiral's galley. All total, over 18000 meals are served a day while the ship is underway! The pic on the right is at the very front of the ship...the foc'sle...it's where the anchors are raised and lots of extremely large chains and ropes are kept!

Outside the reactor department office. The sign says don't even think about coming in unless you are authorized...or something along those lines! This is where Shane works and is getting used to the many differences between one reactor on subs and TWO reactors on the ship...oh and being part of a different division...oh and having over 100 guys (AND gals) in the division vs about 12...and I'm sure there are a million more differences, but as always he's adapting and I'm extremely proud of him!!!

Probably my favorite picture...a you are here sign...and it's not just there for the family cruise!

This plane had some sort of satellite dish on top, if you look closely you can see the wings going out in preparation for take off. In the last picture you can see the big heat shield thingy is up behind the plane to prevent someone from being hurt by jet blasts!

I'd tell you more about the planes if I knew anything other than they're fast and loud!

Did I mention it was windy?! Oh, and I promise the helicopter didn't land on those people though it looks entirely possible from this picture!

As you can see we got our own airshow at sea! It was really impressive watching the planes take off from the ship. After launching they did several fly bys and showed off their skills. I was only able to capture one of them on video because they were sooo FAST...

This was really a once in a lifetime experience and I just can't believe how close we were to the planes!

Possibly my favorite thing about Shane being on a ship...the post office!!! Also, a picture of one of the crew's mess halls.

Taiko drummers...if my camera hadn't died I would have shown a picture of Shane taking a nap while they were playing...clearly he can sleep through anything because they were LOUD.

When I realized we hadn't taken a single picture together all day!

These 4 pics are of Shane's stateroom. As you can see he (and his 3 roommates) have a tv, dvd, cable, computer, sink, and a whole lot of space!!! Shane's bed is on the bottom and I'm proud that I'm physically capable of getting in it (I couldn't climb into his bed on the Florida, not enough upper body strength. Seriously!)

One final shot from the back of the ship as we were headed home. Beautiful.

Homecoming

SHANE IS HOME - WOOHOO!!!!!

Shane spent 2 weeks in Japan before flying out to meet the USS George Washington on her summer deployment. While I was adjusting to the cultural differences of Japan, Shane was adjusting to the differences between a submarine and an aircraft carrier. (I'm not sure which was a bigger adjustment!) During his two months away, the ship pulled in to Australia, Singapore, and the Philippines so he got to add some new countries to his travel list! For those of you who have been asking, quality of life is a lot better on the carrier - we had (almost) real time email for the entire deployment, we were able to mail each other letters and packages, he had internet access and a computer in his stateroom, and the best part of all PHONE CALLS!!! Somehow he just seemed closer when I was able to hear his voice.

I can't tell you how excited I was to see the ship pull in on September 3rd!!!

As you'll soon see, I kept myself entertained by taking pictures! Unfortunately, the pictures just don't do justice to the enormous size of the ship!!


Manning the rails!




At the pier!

Do I look excited?!

Do you see the elevator?

Going down!

Lowered from the flight deck to the hangar bay!

To all my submarine families - I was in awe of the homecoming festivities. They had tents...

...and cake, fruit, water, complimentary Avon products (very random), flags, and red, white, and blue leis! (This is considered a "low key" homecoming! Ha!)

Apparently I should have been taking less pictures and paying closer attention to the people on the ship. At one point I could have seen Shane "supervising" shore power but didn't know it until he got off the ship a few hours later! He tried looking for me but gave up quickly because all he could see was a wall of people on the pier!

Now that Shane is finally home and we are mostly settled in to our house, we are taking advantage of the many fun things to do in Japan! We went to a new sushi joint just down the street from our house, drove to Ikego, went for a hike and have many more plans before he has to leave again!

Bon Odori Festival

Bon Odori is a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor deceased ancestors. It lasts 3 days and is commonly celebrated with festivals, food, and visiting relatives. I had read about this holiday about a month ago and began wondering when it would be celebrated in our area.

The first sign was lanterns like the ones above - hung at the train station, around stores, and over the street surrounding the shrine near our house. A few days later the festivals were held. The picture on the right shows 2 portable shrines that were carried down the street by a group of very enthusiastic people who were singing and cheering as I (and many others) gawked from the car!

These are pictures of the shrine less than half a mile from our house. Normally, this is a very quiet street, but on August 21st it was very busy! I didn't get a chance to go this year, but I snapped a quick pic as I was driving by (don't try this at home kids!)

I did go to the Bon Odori Festival held at the military housing base in Negishi. When we arrived the 7th Fleet Band was kicking things off with Michael Jackson...the lead singer even did the moonwalk! Something about Michael Jackson being sung in a military uniform makes me laugh...but they were very good!

Next up was the Hongo Ohayashi Music team and lion dance.

Just outside the base was a park too beautiful to leave out!

The vendors had a variety of American and Japanese foods and souvenirs. It was a really hot day and the pineapple on a stick was cold/frozen so I couldn't pass it up! On the right are goldfish for sale! I watched the kid in blue accidentally drop one outside the tank...fortunately the owner saved it. Oh and the other great thing in this picture - the girl has a blow up dog on wheels with a leash! I miss you Sammy and Lola!

The highlight of the day was the Sagami Dragon Drummers. The kids were awesome!

I wasn't a fan of the dancing, but the outfits these ladies were wearing are pretty cool.

Here's a little video of the kids...enjoy!