Welcome Home!

Saturday, Nov. 18 was a cold but clear day. This was the day that we had been looking forward to for almost 7 months. As the kids and I drove on the base toward Pier 12, we realized that the ship had moored early and was already tied up to the pier. We found a place to park (way out in the back 40) and walked toward the many white party tents that lined the street in front of the pier.

We made our way through the thousands of people that were anxiously awaiting the return of their loved ones. There was an estimated 8-10,000 people there. They had sponsor booths and give-away bags, entertainment, etc. At one of the booths, some bright person gave all of the little kids obnoxious whistles to blow on the pier. That was very annoying. You know, we can never go anywhere without somebody knowing Levi. This was no exception. They were glad to meet "Levi's Mom".

The first group of people off the ship are usually the new fathers. Their wives and new babies are waiting on the pier in a special tent that is kept warm. The fathers are then taken to meet their new little one that was born while they were deployed. There is also a "first kiss" drawing and that person is also one of the first to leave the ship. The next group is Chief's and above. That would be the group we were waiting for. They were all dressed in their "dress blues" and looked pretty sharp. It is really hard to find "your sailor" because they all pretty much look alike. Some of the comments from the kids were, "no, he is too tall; no, he walks too slow; wrong uniform"; etc.
Finally, as we were watching, Kirk had snuck up behind us somehow and surprised us. It was so good to see him.

WELCOME HOME KIRK!!!