Welcoming Home The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower

Friday morning began way early! Normally my day off, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower was coming home from deployment. Austin, Jonathan, and Stuart are three of the sailors we know that are stationed on the Ike.  We found out Thursday night that the ship was going to be pierside at 0830!

That meant getting up early enough to get ready, plan for heavy traffic getting to the base, parking, walking to the pier from the parking lot, and being at the pier by 0730 just in case the ship arrived early. But we made it! Glad this wasn't our first rodeo!

Yvonne stayed up later than I did putting the finishing touches on her sign. After all, when you're in a crowd of 10,000 to 20,000 people, you have to have a sign so the guys can see you!

Oh, and did I tell you that we knew we had to bundle up really well because it was only going to be in the upper 30s on the pier? However, nobody said it was going to be really windy to boot!

We got there just in time! As we walked up to the pier we could see the ship comin' round the bend.

There were literally thousands of people on the pier, and more pouring in all the time! And did I say it was windy and cold? Uh huh! Everyone kept saying they didn't want to get too close to the edge lest they get blown over!

This is the parking spot for the ship. Now ya'll know how hard it is to parallel park a car on a busy downtown street, Well, just imagine parallel parking a giant aircraft carrier along a pier. I can't imagine how hard it must be for the four little tugboats that are maneuvering that behemoth into that little space! There was already a ship parked on the other side of the pier.

But, as you can see, the tugs have now turned the ship from being perpendicular to us to coming straight at us. Well, almost.

Then it drew nearer...and nearer...

Then we had a patrol boat come through the area making sure everything was clear for the ship as it came up to the pier.

And all the while the tugboats are doing their parallel parking magic! Topside the sailors manning the rails unfurled their state flags.

And suddenly, lo and behold...what to my wondering eyes should appear? But a jolly little man in a red suit! My goodness! The ship gave Santa a ride to Virginia!

And moms began waving...wives began cheering...and the kids began calling for Santa Claus!

After the ship got tied up, the ladder was added by the crane on the pier, and the crew started pouring off the ship!

Then Yvonne and I walked to our car and promptly got ourselves locked into a gridlock situation. It took us a whole hour to start moving after we got out of our parking space! It was worse getting out of the parking lot than it was to get to the base in the morning. But, with a few frazzled nerves, and crabby moments, we made it back home.