When I left you last, 15 bloggers were anxiously and nervously awaiting the COD flight to the USS Nimitz. I left out the part about the briefings that scared us shitless, but suffice to say there was a solemn, ironic silence among those of us who can blog and talk like no other.

And then the silence was swallowed up by the reality of the situation. It was time to board the COD and take our place among the DVs that dared travel the same route before us.

First impressions

Before we knew it, we were a-flight, most of us anticipating the forewarned landing more than anything else that was on the horizon. In fact, there I was sitting in the very back of the plane, facing the rear entrance of the COD and wondering, would we survive the landing?

Though of course I wasn’t so preoccupied with morbid thoughts that I couldn’t capture a few final photographic memories. After all, the Twitterer in me had been completely shut off, for fear of the iPhone getting fried, without an addiction recovery plan.

I also noticed that my thoughts started to drift towards military men and women in general, those subset of individuals that I’ve probably never truly appreciated until this moment in time. I looked around. To my left was a bunch of foreign controls that I was sure took rocket science to operate, and to my right was a very intense Officer trained and equipped for everyday missions such as this one.

A few minutes later this very same man was not so surreptitiously eating strawberries. I found this rather strange as my breakfast, or lack there of, wasn’t sitting pretty.

But as I was saying, my thoughts were focused on the many men and women who had taken this very same flight under very different circumstances. And then my thoughts wandered to my brother, who I miss terribly even though he’s been gone for about a month. See, Jeffrey Allen Van Grove, had recently joined the Coast Guard and is currently going through the hell that is Bootcamp in Cape May. In this moment, I admired his courage and appreciated his ambition more than ever before.

A few stomach grumblings later, the build up of the COD catching a trap on the Nimitz was brought to climax. We hit the ship safely with a thud, a bang, and an abrupt stop. That wasn’t so bad. Quite fun actually.

And then I felt like we were in an episode of Lost. The back of the COD slowly opened to reveal a whole new world, unlike any I had ever seen before, with men and women wearing their respective Flight Deck gear and cranials peering in at us, The Others.

We were then quickly guided inside the Nimitz, where we were stripped of our gear and paraded down a hallway of sailors. I can’t speak for the others in the group, but I remember feeling elated, surrounded, and not exactly possessing a presence of mind.

Captain Nasty and the TV Studio

Our first and most frequent stop was the TV Studio. There we were re-briefed, introduced to LCDR Jason Salata and LTJG David Bennett, Public Affairs Officers and our primary guides for the trip, and formally greeted by Captain Mike Manazir, whose call sign happens to be “Nasty.”

I was most surprised to learn that as the Skipper his primary duty is to maintain the morale of the ship. He later proved himself to be a generous man with a wealth of information that he couldn’t help but be passionate about imparting. But at this moment in time we posed for pictures, said the pleasant niceties expected of us, and then headed off to lunch.

Lettuce and Pilots

Oh lunch, and food in general, how you plagued me aboard the Nimitz. I remember thinking, the only thing I can eat here is lettuce. Even the salad dressings were cream-based or included high fructose corn syrup.

The eater in me wanted to ignore the new found vegan diet that I started at the beginning of the year. The determined woman that I am, I didn’t back down and politely tried to find appropriate meal options. Both Jason and David proved instrumental in this pursuit. So, though I do believe the Navy to be strangely behind the vegan times (we did learn that they accommodate all religious diets), I was impressed and humbled by the extra effort made by these relative strangers.

Taking one step backwards time, I remember walking into the room where we would be consuming most of our meals and feeling that shy side of me rear its ugly head. I could barely look up, let alone look anyone in the eye. This feeling would evaporate quickly, but for a moment I stood in complete terror of the dozens of pilots and officers that were innocently consuming their meals around me.

It was at this lunch where I was really starting to feel a solidarity amongst group members. Labels and expectations had been shed aside, the people eating with me were just people all eager and anxious just like me.

*lunch photo by Guy Kawasaki

Vultures overlook the Flight Deck, but the Bridge knows all

The eye opening experiences of the day came courtesy of being within such close proximity to the Flight Deck that we could feel the intensity of each take off and landing.

Our first taste came a top Vultures Row, an overlook with a vulture’s view of the Flight Deck. The wind was blowing incessantly, the temperature was dropping, and yet the grandiosity of the moment was enough to make me think that I could stand here forever.

Never before had I seen such amazing feats of technology and human orchestration, the Flight Deck functioned like a machine. Four planes quickly positioned at each Cat (catapult), shot off the carrier, and then replaced with four more.

Then F-18 after F-18 landing, sometimes barely catching a trap, coming to a complete stop, only to be replaced by a more recent counterpart 45 seconds later. To say that my adrenaline was pumping would be a huge understatement.

And then there was Freak Show, otherwise known as Samuel Kesler. After returning to the TV studio, Freak Show bounced in with a palpable effervescence and exuberance for his job. He was to be our guide as we journeyed out on to the unexplored frontier that was the Flight Deck. This former member of the circus, pilot, and now Shooter (essentially in charge or orchestrating operations on the Flight Deck), was a captivating individual with a personality and a half.

My fate was actually to venture up to the Bridge prior to journeying out on the Flight Deck, so our two groups went our separate ways for the time being. Up on the Bridge, the Captain proved to be a jovial spirit with a mountain of wisdom. He tried to explain the complicated procedures that went into the elaborate system behind the cats and traps, and while I learned a lot, I feel I could stand up on that vantage point for hours and still be fairly ignorant of the actual goings on. This isn’t child’s play.

I was shocked by the Captain’s humanness. He appeared to be just like any other individual, just with a 5,000 person liability in his hands. He let me sit atop his throne, in the Captain’s chair, and he even poised for pictures, and took shots of others himself. The whole crew on the Bridge was simply fantastic, especially the women who were pretty much in charge of navigating and steering the ship.

And I’ve gone and done it again, so many experiences to share and yet I must prolong the rest of the adventure for another day. Here’s a few more photos to keep you intrigued for more.

My favorite photo from the Flight Deck:

In the mist of it all:

*Vultures Row and Freak Show photos by Guy Kawasaki

As you may already know, I was lucky enough to be one of those 15 distinguished visitors (DVs so the Navy likes to call us).

So there I was on the morning on the 29th, nervous, frightened, intimidated, and just plain star-struck alongside Guy Kawasaki, internet god Robert Scoble, Charlene Li of Groundswell and Forrester fame, Pamela Slim published author and cubicle naysayer, Jenny Larson The Bloggess, Andy Sernovitz Mr. Word of Mouth Marketing, Andrew Nystrom the LA Times social media guy, marketing guru Jennifer Jones, travel blogger Jennifer Leo, Tech Mama and Silicon Valley Moms spear header Beth Blecherman, Jefferson Wagner the future Mayor of Malibu, Avere Group founder Dennis Hall, Venture Capitalist Bill Reichert, and milblogger Captain Carroll ‘Lex’ LeFon, USN (Ret). If you don’t know them, you should make it a point to, they’re some of the most influential bloggers and web/tech leaders around.

Let’s start at the very beginning

I think I need to rewind a bit. Let’s start with the invitation. After really connecting with Guy Kawasaki at SXSW, I was totally in awe of how genuine someone of his stature could be. A few short weeks later, he followed up to inquire if I would be interested in an invite to attend Bloggers Embark, a night aboard the USS Nimitz.

Of course I said yes, but I had no idea was to come. In fact, my outlook on the military wasn’t especially too high. I mean I live in a military town, frequently sing karaoke at a military dive bar, and sometimes see the negative side effects of young enlisted men who drink too much.

But I said yes, and my email commitment was my word. Little did I know that there would be minor hiccups to actually making my way aboard the Nimitz, but I’ll save those highlights for private discussions.

Dining with celebrities

Now fast-forward to the night of the 28th, the eve of the Nimitz trip, and our scheduled dinner with embarking bloggers. I was so nervous that I barely spoke a word. See, what many people don’t know about me is that I’m shy, and I’ve always been shy. I was a loner as a child, adolescent, and even more so as a young adult. Now I’m just a shy person masquerading in a confidant woman’s body. It’s the only way I know how to live, because I’ve learned that one must build relationships and that meeting the right people means being extroverted. So I typically put on a strong face, saunter up to anyone that will listen, and do my best to find something that can help me get acclimated to the situation. It’s usually talk of social media or web and technology news.

Okay so I’m sitting at dinner. Jennifer Leo (amazing travel writer for the LA Times) is sitting across from me, Jenny Larson is to my right dishing about sex toys and lick-able tattoos for the sailors (I learned later that she has social anxiety as well), Andy Sernovitz is to my left, and Charlene Li is to his immediate left. Did I mention that Jefferson Wagner is to be the next Mayor of Malibu? I felt trapped in a sea of really important people. And then we had to introductions, which was terribly awkward for me because my accomplishments pale in comparison to those around me.

I balked a bit, but I made it through the dinner. In fact, after a glass of wine I was able to strike up a few meaningful conversations and get to know Andy Sernovitz as Andy, and The Bloggess as Jenny. Of course, LCDR Charlie Brown was a fantastic and friendly resource who was fielding questions left and right, and definitely made me feel more at ease about the whole experience. And then there was Lex, the retired FA-18 Hornet pilot and fellow blogger, who — over the coarse of dinner — made me start to really anticipate the next day’s adventures. Maybe I could do this after all.

The morning of and minor freak outs

As the procrastinator that I am, I flaked on the packing part until 6:30am the day of departure. It’s what I do. So I packed and showered in a rush, and knew that before reporting to North Island Naval Air Station that I would need to stop by the bank, pick up missing travel toiletries (seriously how do I go through these so fast?), and stop by the Westin to grab my carpool buddy, The Bloggess.

After throwing everything in my bag haphazardly, I ran out the door and drove the two blocks to Ralphs, where I threw a few travel items in my basket and ran to the checkout counter to consolidate errands and get cash back instead of stopping by the ATM. And that’s where the anxiety set in. After a few failed attempts to enter my pin number correctly (I don’t withdraw a lot of cash), I tried to pay via credit, and that transaction was subsequently declined.

As the line grew behind me, I started to feel the tension of the situation become tangible. Not only was I now late to pick up Jenny, but I couldn’t purchase my items, withdraw the requisite cash for the trip ($50 for the stay plus meals), let alone make any purchases. I started to freak out.

After being on hold for what seemed like forever, my bank informed me that my account had been blocked due to entering an incorrect pin number multiple times. Thankfully I was able to remove the block, remember my real pin, get my cash, and pay for my toiletries. Picking up Jenny took all of 2 minutes, and after my unnecessary breakdown at Ralphs, we actually were early to the North Island meeting spot.

There we all banded together, dropped off our bags, and learned that we would have no connectivity on the ship (they do have internet access, but it’s limited to the Library and a few other computers), and that all iPhones would be fried on the Flight Deck if they were left on. Yikes. I decided to turn off my iPhone then and there. Well, only after streaming another live video to Qik…

I’m not sure when the exact moment was, but somewhere between that pre-embark dinner and the moment we boarded the COD to fly to the Nimitz, the group dynamic shifted from relative strangers to fast friends.

Maybe it was the combination of embarrassing, albeit so cool, gear we had to wear, or the fact that together we were all about to experience something remarkable, but whatever it was, I noticed a perceptible shift. A calm came over me as I realized that I was among friends and this was about to be an experience of a lifetime.

After this short commercial break

This is where the story stops for now, but rest-assured that this is just the beginning. I should state, for those of you who are wondering, this trip was not a paid vacation orchestrated to encourage us to blog only the positives regarding the US Navy and the Nimitiz. All of us had to pay our own way (most everyone flew in from out of town), and though we were encouraged to share our experiences, there was none of the you can only say this nonsense. More goodness to come, but I just had to get that piece of non-disclosure out there.

Here’s a few teasers of what’s to come next:

Flight Deck awesomeness courtesy of Guy Kawasaki

Me, a gun, and a look of determination (thanks Scoble)

Initial reactions