It's basically where a certain number of dependents can sign up to ride the submarine for a bit. I think we had a limit of 24, but I'm sure it varies every time. Basically family members can ride along, usually wives but there were a few kids and maybe one dad with us. This sort of thing doesn't happen very often, for example the Engineer's (a LCDR) wife never had the opportunity to do it and they've been in a good long time. The Cheyenne did it maybe 5 years ago, if I heard correctly. It was neat.
We left around 8, I think. Let's go with 8. We left at 8. Michelle, Nick (Michelle's son), Ruby, and I were set up with harnesses to stand on the bridge while we took off. The bridge is the spot on top the sail where the Captain and a few others stand when they leave and arrive places. It was very cool. Everyone got to go up there once to see what it was like. I took a ton of pictures, as you can see on Picasa.
When I got down I was given a packet. It had a little welcome book, photo of the cheyenne, a decal, and a paper of things I had to do. I had to check off certain things that I did or saw in order to become an honorary submariner. It was a cute way to be able to check off different things we were allowed to learn about the boat. I also got to crawl inside a torpedo tube. That wasn't on the list...but it was fun!
We spent the day on the boat, and were served lunch in the Wardroom as well. The food is delicious! Let's see. In addition to tours and certain activities (like learning out to flush their toilet and getting into the rack) the boat showed off a few shenanigans, too. Mainly a lot of us stood in the Control room when we went under and also the boat did different angles, fwd, back and side to side to show us what it felt like. It's so weird to stand crooked. I have pictures to try to portray it. The screen is covered because of the info that was on it.
My favorite part of the boat was the sonar room. I really liked hearing the recordings of what different types of whales, dolphins, and even shrimp sound like! Shrimp are just crackles, but it was cool. I heard the water grubbling when we went under, too. I was definitely fascinated by all the sounds.
At the end of the day we climbed off the Sub onto a rafty boat to stay in Maui for the night. I didn't rent a car so John and I hung out in Lahaina for a day. Thankfully he was allowed off the boat, but only until 2 the next day. It was nice to see him for a little bit even if we did sleep in until 11 and only have a few hours together. After he left I wandered around the little town by myself and did a little Christmas shopping. I got at least one person finished! Well one more, I already had a few done before the whole trip.
\
P.S.
In Maui I got to see the Banyon tree thats the size of an entire block! It looks like multiple trees, but it's all connected. It's so very cool
No comments:
Post a Comment