Aircraft Carrier Trip

The ship was really fun for me. A lot of people say that ship life sucks but it didn't seem too bad. I mean yeah its not a four star hotel but what the heck do you expect you're on a ship. Things were tight and there were some horrendous smells! You learn to suck it up though. Nothing not worth the experience. This was the first time I really felt like I was a Sailor in the Navy. Working on helicopters on land is fun without a doubt but when you think of Navy what do you think of first? Ships right?

It was really easy to get lost on the carrier. It's so big that you cant help but lose your way at one point or another. I sure did but after a while you keep your sense of direction and know how to get at least to the main areas of the ship. The Berthing (sleeping quarters) are real close together. Im not a very big guy so it kinda works in my favor, haha. I did have the top rack which has an opening but my short statue worked against me as it was hard to look inside my locker! i would recommend the second rack. Its not too high or too low. You can bring your laptop, Ipods, or portable dvd players

The heads (bathrooms) were pretty smelly but thats pretty normal. I loved the mess hall (cafeteria). I'm not much of a picky eater so the food was good to me. There were desserts and a salad bar too. You eat three times a day.

The ship did some pretty cool tests including high speeds and high speed turns. The ship would turn to one side and everyone would have to keep from falling over. Good stuff.

I sprained my ankle on the last night there. There were high winds on the flight deck so we had to tie down the helicopter. I was running and since it was dark I didn't see the charged water hose on the ground and I rolled my ankle as I stepped on it. Ouch.

The best part of this short trip was the ride home. We flew home in the helicopter! That was badass. One of the reasons why I chose helicopters to work on was that I figured there was more chance of riding in a helo than a jet or any other aircraft. Well I got my ride!