The Final Voyage

Today, a dream came true.

I was fortunate enough today to be able to get aboard the USS JFK for a private viewing of the carrier. Absoulutely awesome time. The JFK arrived in its last port of call yesterday before it heads off to be decommissioned. And for the next few days, it will be allowing tours for people to view the ship. So today, I got to get aboard and have a looksee.

Braving the pouring rain, I boarded the carrier to take a glimpse of the ship, and this actually meant something to me. Since I can remember, I always wanted to see an "active" warship, let alone a carrier. I know, some kids dream of world peace and solving global warming when they are growing up, but all I wanted to do was visit a warship and see how it operated. As a kid, I always read books on warships and how they operated and loved watching movies like Flight of the Intruder and Top Gun. But I never got the chance to see such a vessel.

So today, I got to ride the huge airplane elevator, see the hangers and the flight deck of such a massive ship - while having a grin on my face the entire time. So with the faint smell of jet fuel in the air, we mingled with the crew, ducked through bulkheads, and climbed up and down the belly of the ship while getting a view of how the crew lived. It was an interesting time. I loved it.

My dream came true, now all I still want to do is land on a carrier one day. Is that too much to ask? That would be an experience!