September 30, 2000
Friends and Family Day Aboard the Truman
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Becky and I arrived at 5:30 a.m. and boarded the Truman. There were a few other people there (about 13,000) but we made good time getting on board and purchasing our souvenirs. We had a good breakfast and we went exploring while Bill had duty from 8:30 to 10:30. Then we had lunch and headed to the flight deck for the air show.
We went to the Starboard Catwalk for a great view of the show. Check out this picture of the "floor" of the catwalk. We were about 50 feet above the water and we had a terrific view of the activities.
These are some of the wonderful sites we saw. The fighter jet, jets in formation, a Navy picture of a jet breaking the sound barrier (we saw this live!) and The American Flag flown under a helicopter. It was thrilling! And I will admit to ducking a couple of times (they were so close I felt the heat from their engines!).
By 2:00 p.m. it was time for a nap. Becky and I had little sleep the night before and we were really dragging. Bill found us a real tiny room to nap in. We had to crawl over this huge pipe thingy to get to it. I couldn't possibly make this stuff up! But we got a great 20 minute nap and felt quite refreshed.
Then it was back to the hangar to enjoy the activities:
We saw a roping demonstration, people playing Bingo, Elvis and a Dance Contest.
Bill took us to the Fantail and it was great. We watched the Truman churn up the ocean. Bill has actually seen Dolphin from this vantage point.
It was finally time to wait to disembark and take one last shot of the Truman. It was dark out when we arrived (5:30 a.m.) and dark out when we left (8:00 p.m.). And it was one terrific adventure!
Return to the Fall 2000 in Virginia Page
Becky and I arrived at 5:30 a.m. and boarded the Truman. There were a few other people there (about 13,000) but we made good time getting on board and purchasing our souvenirs. We had a good breakfast and we went exploring while Bill had duty from 8:30 to 10:30. Then we had lunch and headed to the flight deck for the air show.
We went to the Starboard Catwalk for a great view of the show. Check out this picture of the "floor" of the catwalk. We were about 50 feet above the water and we had a terrific view of the activities.
By 2:00 p.m. it was time for a nap. Becky and I had little sleep the night before and we were really dragging. Bill found us a real tiny room to nap in. We had to crawl over this huge pipe thingy to get to it. I couldn't possibly make this stuff up! But we got a great 20 minute nap and felt quite refreshed.
