The List

OK, so when I first found out about my trip on the Kearsarge, I sent out an email to my Navy Coterie.

Good Morning All,
Princess Crabby is going to sea! I know the saying is "cut my hair and send me to sea".....but the Rotation has vetoed the cutting of hair. LOL
Most of you are on the DOD New Media list so you probably know about the USS Kearsarge trip later this summer. I am going on the ORF to MIA leg.
Alright..........tell me everything I need to know!
Maggie
p.s. Yes, yes, I know I need sneakers. You know, despite how it appears in my blog, I don't totter through life in stilettos.

I got many responses by phone and email. It was a great help. Both before and during the trip. Before the trip they gave my enough reassurance so that I believed I could actually do this. I was able to relax and enjoy it.

So I get my nifty wheelbook and I write down all the suggestions in the first few pages. Some were serious, some were funny, some were the equivilant of having a "Kick Me" sign taped to my back. Most of them weren't explained, they were meant to lead me to my own discoveries.

It wasn't a long trip (Tuesday evening to Friday morning) and I wanted to pack every possible experience into it. My list helped me do that. If you put an ordinary civilian on a Naval ship - or even an extrordinary one, such as myself - that person wouldn't even know where to start. with the list, I was good to go.

On Thursday night, we were sitting in the Wardroom, Bruce, Danny, Chris and I. I was wiped out. I had been running up and down ladders and pways all day. I had been jumping over kneeknockers and opening and closing hatches and blast doors. I wasn't sure I could feel my feet. It was all I could do to sip my water and contemplate how I would make my way down to my rack in female troop berthing.

An ensign came in to grab a quick snack and sat at the table next to us. I called over "Hey, can I ask a favor before you start eating? Can you just move over here so we can grill you while you eat?" He took it in stride. By this point all my polite facade had worn away and I was in true Princess Crabby mode - demanding. Another Ensign popped in and I didn't even let him try to sit elsewhere. Everyone was asking questions and I mentioned some of the things I had done and still needed to do. One of the Ensigns asked how I knew to ask..........I told him it was on my list. Chris started laughing and explained I had this crazy list which was making my trip more like a scavenger hunt "I feel like I should give her a broken pencil or something." They wanted to hear it and it cracked them up. But they were impressed with the places it took me to.

If I had stayed on until the next port, I would have finished the list.