Family Day on the USS Makin Island

Growing up as a Navy Brat, I have experienced many family day cruises, and have pretty much gotten sea sick on all of them, with or without Dramamine.  But, when I was in college, my dad was on the USS Kearsarge, another amphibious assault ship, and I had the opportunity to go on a tiger cruise with him.  A tiger cruise is an overnight cruise, whereas a family cruise is just for the day.  It seemed as though everyone but me was getting sick on the Kearsarge’s tiger cruise, so I felt pretty confident that I would be okay this year on the Makin Island’s family day cruise. (The Makin Island and the Kearsarge are the same type of ship, so I thought I would be fine.)  I took some Dramamine and was excited to embark on a day cruise with James and my Dad to enjoy the beautiful San Diego skyline and Pacific Ocean.  The day began with an amazing sunrise over Cowles Mountain to the East, and an intriguing sail under the Coronado Bridge. It really did seem like we weren’t going to make it under the bridge, but of course it is just an optical illusion.  We were outside enjoying the warm San Diego sun, the salty air, the seals, and the downtown sky line, and I was feeling fabulous.  We had barely passed the cliffs of Point Loma when I started to feel horrible.  Even on those big decks, you really feel the waves and the movement, and I wanted nothing more but to lay down and for the rocking to stop.  Thankfully James has a state room with just one roommate, so I was able to spend a lot of time in his rack asleep.  Even though I was sick, it was still a lot of fun, and I enjoyed not having to go to work for a day.  My dad had been on the ship all week, since he went on the tiger cruise with James, and I think he enjoyed being on a ship without actually having to do any work.  And he was given his own stateroom, so I’m sure he enjoyed the entire cruise!  The activities for the day included fly bys of helicopters, navy security patrols, and LCACs.  There were other demonstrations, but I missed them due to my lack of sea legs.  It was interesting being in James’ workspace though, because it seems like a movie with the blue lights.  It seems so secretive and mysterious, especially when everyone in his division was playing video games on the computers.  In their defense, they couldn’t do any real work when the workspace wasn’t secure, but it was entertaining nonetheless. To see more pictures of my Dad and my epic sea cruise on the Makin Island, check out our flickr site by clicking on the photos to the left.