Thanksgiving on the Nimitz

….soooo, a Happy (Eastern Standard Time) Thanksgiving to all! Today was a day like most others; woke up, did a little work. I ate a mid-morning large breakfast to save up for our meal at 1600. I did a little more work, bought my ticket for an MWR tour in Dubai (a half day sandboarding/sand dune tour, which should be pretty cool). Then I got a good work out in. Despite my initial fear of running on treadmills, with our lack of ellipticals (only 3 onboard!) and very few opportunities to run on the flight deck, I had to suck it up. I did 30 minutes, alternating between a decent jog (for 5 minutes) and very brisk walking at a very high incline (for 5 minutes). It was actually a great work-out and probably works more muscles than just straight running, it’s my new fave.

Thanksgiving Dinner was pretty good- it was set up Sunday Brunch style. There were SO many huge turkeys- and they were carving it right there on station, and you could ask for white or dark meat! There was also a huge ham and a huge roast- yum! The stuffing wasn’t too shabby, nor were the green beans, although they definitely weren’t fresh. The usual disappointments included the mashed potatoes (from a box) and gravy (once powdered) and the pies (pre-made, no fresh whipped cream). In their defense, mashed potatoes would be a cumbersome dish to make for 5,000+ and it would take an awful lot of turkey drippings to make real gravy. Overall though, the Supply Department clearly put a lot of work into it and it was much appreciated. And the turkey really was quite phenomenal. Normally I just eat enough to be slightly full but I decided to go all out and go to town. Plus I sat at a big table with DESRON folks and we actually had an hour and a half meal together.

Now I feel ridiculously gross. The problem was, all of the food had a lot of sodium in it, since most of it isn’t fresh and mostly processed/frozen. Now, 3 hours later, I feel like I am stuck in the middle of a desert, parched as a cactus! Blech!

After dinner, I did “United Through Reading” which is this program that is funded by the USO. You can read a children’s book (they have a bunch you can pick or you can bring your own) and they video tape you reading the book. They send the DVD and book home to your children (or anyone you want)… since I (obviously) have no children yet, I filmed “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” for my niece Alexandra. I sent her the stuffed caterpillar last year so I am excited for her to receive the DVD of me reading the book. It was really fun- I even got to “talk” to her before and after and say a few words. It’s seriously an awesome program, all totally free, and you can do one a month while on deployment. So special J

Alright well I am off to bed (a lot of people went to bed early tonight so they can get up in the middle of the night to watch football, crazy I know!) so I am going to go in search for some water and then lots of good sleep! I am really excited to tell you all about our special visitor we had for the holiday- I will write lots more tomorrow and it should be a good one!

Thank you all so much for reading, following, sending me emails and all of the love and support. I am so grateful for each and every one of my family & friends today!

Also, a little bit of Navy, specifically DESRON 23 history for you today…

In the early morning hours of 25 November, 1943, Captain Arleigh Burke and 5 destroyers of Destroyer Squadron 23 intercepted and attacked 5 Japanese destroyers in what would become his most famous victory, The Battle of Cape St. George.

The 5 destroyers were AUSBURNE (his flagship), CLAXTON, DYSON, CONVERSE, and SPENCE. The squadron was limited in speed to 31 kts due to an engineering casualty onboard the SPENCE (one of reasons ADM Burke received his nickname 31-kt Burke).

During the battle, the Little Beavers sank 3 Japanese destroyers and damaged another without suffering any damage themselves. It was one of the more lopsided victories of the war. It was also Thanksgiving Day.

To all Little Beavers, be proud of your rich heritage and have a Happy Thanksgiving.