The USS Eisenhower Friends & Family Day was held August 30, 2008. Our nephew Colin arranged for us to accompany his family aboard the "cruise of a lifetime." We boarded at 4:30am and we disembarked about 8:30pm. We must have been about 20 miles out to sea off the coast of Norfolk, IKE's port.

An introduction to the IKE from their website: "Construction of the third nuclear-powered and second Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), was authorized by Congress in fiscal year 1970.

The carrier, named after the nation's 34th president, was christened at 11:11 a.m., October 11, 1975, by Mrs. Mamie Doud-Eisenhower, the ship's sponsor and widow of the late president. IKE was commissioned on October 18, 1977, . . . and assigned to the U.S. Atlantic Fleet."

"One of the largest warships in the world, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) displaces 95,000 tons fully loaded and has a 4.5 acre flight deck to support as many as 100 embarked aircraft. IKE's two nuclear reactors can provide energy for more than 18 years of operation without refueling and can furnish power to propel the ship in excess of 30 knots. Because IKE does not require conventional fuel for propulsion, additional space is available for added aircraft fuel and ordnance storage."

There must have been about 3,000 friends and family plus 2-3,000 crew members aboard. The ship is enormous, and was able to handle such a large crowd very well. The day was overcast through much of the cruise, at least until the Air Power Demonstration.