January was a fun month on the ship. I worked on the ship over the long New Year's Day weekend. There was a pretty good turnout of guests.

Later in Jan I took some members of my family for a tour of the ship - but it was a rainy day and we got drenched on the flight deck. But we had a good time. My Dad, my Aunt and Uncle, and a few cousins were all part of the group.

My Dad had been in the Navy during WWII - but not on an aircraft carrier. My cousin had been a pilot in the Navy - it was great having him with us too. We got some additional inside pilot info from him. He's a pilot for American Airlines now.


Also during Jan we had a "CE" - that is Continuing Education. It's a specialized class relating to whatever new topic is being presented for that month. It's just for Docents who want to broaden their overall understanding with specifics about unique operations aboard the ship. It's not required - but what better reason to be up and on board at 8am on a Saturday ?

Jan's topic was about the Catapult. We all know generally how it works, but we got a lot of specifics and a behind the scenes tour below the flight deck to actually see how it works and to see the controls and the hardware of the Cat Shot operation too. It was very interesting. We were led that morning by an actual former Catapult Officer. We got the info first hand. We learned more than any guest would ever ask - but it's good to know.