Boarding The USS Nassau

When we landed on the ship, the pilots on the Osprey had a camera ready upfront and asked to take a picture with me.

Ummm... I felt like I should be asking to take a picture with THEM! :)

They led me off the Osprey and straight into a hangar area. I had my overnight bag, my purse, my fiddles, and then all that crazy gear you have to wear... The engines and propellers were really loud, and I was also on a natural high from that breath-taking (and stomach dropping) flight... so everything was a big swooshing blur. I remember walking into the hangar and seeing 2 formed lines of Sailors at attention on each side of me... chills...



And then Sailors in uniform start taking the bags off my shoulders, and got all the extra gear off of me. Someone I've never seen before introduces me to the 3 of the top ranking Officers of the Ship including Captain Ronald Reis, The Commanding Officer of the Ship.


The rest of the bands did not come in for at least five minutes - I had this entire crew and line of high ranking officers all to myself which was another one of the most surreal moments of the trip. They are asking me questions excitedly, welcoming me aboard, telling me how excited the crew is for the concert. And then I remember the Colonel of the Marines asking me all about my Chucks I'm wearing. Can you imagine what it is like to be standing with a top ranked Marine in full uniform and the first conversation you have with him is about the customized Chucks he just ordered off the Chuck Taylor website? It was excellent :) I think it added to whirlwind effect in my mind, though. It's not that I expect to have abnormal conversations with them... but having a "normal" conversation in the context seemed absolutely ABNORMAL!

Soon the boys started arriving. And then The Real whirlwind started to occur!!!


Our stuff was whisked away... we were all handed schedules that mapped out 10 minute increments for the next 24 hours. We headed through lots of tiny corridors, down ladders, and hallways and into the Captain's office... where there were cookies (that I couldn't even eat!!! Hmm... that was my first clue I wasn't feeling quite normal) and they formally welcomed us all and briefed us on the upcoming 24 hours.

... To Be Continued ...

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie