I haven't been to China in the past week but lots of interesting things keep happening. For example, when was the last time you were invited to a reception aboard an aircraft carrier? I guess that being a Fulbright Scholar has a certain cachet and so when the USS George Washington (plus accompanying members of the 7th fleet) came to Hong Kong, we were invited to welcome it (her?). It was an interesting invite, rather formal (business attire required, only one accompanying person) but with this interesting sticker on the back saying that the visit of the fleet (and therefore the party) was contingent on final approval from the government of the Peoples Republic of China. Fortunately, permission was given by the PRC and then also by the consulate for both Jacob and Duncan to accompany me (Elizabeth was at her choir practice that evening).
We arrived at Fenwick Pier, the little bit of Hong Kong Island reserved for the US Navy, to get the water taxis out to the ship. Since it is nuclear powered, it was not allowed into Victoria Harbor and so we had a 40 minute ride out to it. Aircraft carriers are big, especially when you come upon them in a small boat. (How do those Somali pirates do it?) We boarded via a floating dock moored to the stern of the ship. We went up a couple of decks to find the welcoming party - two rows of sailors, both genders, all saluting that funneled us in to shake hands with the captain. We turned the corner to enter a big hanger area, where there was another more inanimate gauntlet consisting of flags of the 50 states. Plus the odd helicopter and fighter jet. A friendly woman from the US embassy volunteered to take our picture in front of the helicopter.
We entered an adjacent, even larger hanger area with even more F18s, where most of the reception was held. I'd guess about 500 people, including sailors were there. Very meaty food and lots of beer, though not, at least initially for the sailors. No chairs. I liked talking to the sailors to find out a little about their lives. One of them was an armaments technician - it was his job to maintain all the bombs and rockets that go onto an F18. Jacob and Duncan got into all sorts of technical conversations about nuclear reactors and such things. There were a few but not many speeches and then came the highlight of the evening. We got to ride on this enormous platform elevator that is used to bring aircraft to and from the flight deck. I guess they need to move them quickly, because this one elicited fairground-like gasps from the passengers as it took off upwards. I liked being on the flight deck - big open space, with lots of planes, and of course the Hong Kong skyline as a backdrop. More F18s but then other surveillance and communication planes too that had all sorts of weird bits sticking out.
Five thousand people live on the George Washington. It's a small city, powered by two nuclear reactors and home to who knows how many aircraft. Your tax dollars at work, though I, for one, might vote to spend them on something else. I did enjoy the party, though, and fortunately Jacob and Duncan avoided taking the King's shilling.