since we couldn't take ourselves to the U.S.

... the Navy brought a piece of the U.S. to us!  I felt so much happier about celebrating our nations birthday when I heard that a U.S. navy ship would be pulling into port in Dubai for the holiday weekend.  I was hoping it would be the USS Pearl Harbor because my friend Bec's husband is a dentist on that ship, but we got the USS Abraham Lincoln.  Still cool!  Because of my sweet connections, a friend of a friend contacted me a couple days before the ship pulled into dock with questions about what she should bring, try to see, wear etc. on her short trip to Dubai to see her Navy husband of FIVE months, who had been on the ship for FOUR of those months!  Of course I was excited to give her the scoop and try to help her and her man out with transportation and such.  My pleasure- I was just happy to play hostess to someone since none of YOU have come to visit me yet! 

Plus, it's fun to help newlyweds, and friends of friends, and military families, and fellow Mormons, and get to tour the ship and make new friends in return.

   

Lucky us -John was especially thrilled!  The Navy husband offered to take us on a tour of the ship the next day (July 5th).  John found friends to watch the kids so that I could come too (he didn't want me to miss this "once in a lifetime" opportunity).  It was great.  This wasn't just any Navy ship, this was an aircraft carrier.  So cool.  Just like in the movies, Top Gun, Behind Enemy Lines!  I of course wanted to know if they ever used the airplane catapult to shoot footballs off the ship like I saw Owen Wilson do.  I was fascinated by all the planes and helos* that fit on the flight deck and in the hanger. I can't believe these Navy pilots can land their plane on such a short runway- a short moving runway!

some other tid-bits  

• there are 5,000 sailors that live on the ship
  
• they've just been hanging out in the gulf "keeping an eye on things"
  
• some of the sailors looked really young
  
• they use lots of acronyms and nicknames (sometimes they don't even know what the acronym is for)
• *helicopters= helos.  Being old school, I thought they called them choppers or copters and maybe they do, but a 'helo' was the more prominent reference on my tour.
• lots of ladders and tiny doorways- no elevators for people but a HUGE one that they use to move the jets and helos up onto the deck and out of the hanger below
  
• President Bush landed on the USS Abraham Lincoln for his famous Mission Accomplished speech.  
  
• according to wikipedia, the ship also made a cameo in the movie Transformers.
• I love the US military and the people that sacrifice their lives and their time and probably lots of other things to serve their country; my country!

I wish I had better pictures, but had to be sensitive only take pictures when given the "okay".