Chapter 1: Pre-deployment vacation

Part 1: Arrival

27, January 2017, 8:00AM

Location: San Diego, CA

Robert and Irma had just arrived in San Diego for their vacation to relax before they report to NAS Sheffield to receive their first set of orders. They checked into the Embassy Suites hotel and got a room on the top floor with an excellent view of the ocean. They spent the next hour figuring out how they were going to spend their first day of their vacation. Irma was looking for local attractions on the Internet while Robert was watching "Futureweapons".

"Hey, how about we hit the zoo today?" Irma asked Robert.

"Sounds like fun, let's go!" Robert replied as they got ready to go. They then made their way to the zoo and started their self-guided tour.

"Awww, how cute!" Irma cooed as they saw the meerkats. "Yeah, they sure are." Robert replied.

"Hey, you wanna take a picture with them?" he asked. "Sure, I'd love to!" Irma replied as she sat down next to the meerkats viewing window.

Robert then took the picture with his cell phone camera. They later proceeded to the Reptile House. "Wow, this one is huge!" Irma said, referring to an iguana that was relaxing on a branch.

"Yeah, it is!" Robert said as he got out his camera. He took a picture of the iguana and one of Irma next to the window. Later on, they went to ride on the Skyfari aerial tram.

"Wow, this view is amazing!" Irma said as the tram reached its maximum height.

"Yeah, it is; like you!" Robert replied. Irma blushed and giggled briefly. "Oh, Robert, you know how to make me smile!" she said as she planted a kiss on Robert's cheek. After they got off, they went to see the birds of prey.

"Awesome, I've always wanted to see one of those!" Irma said as they saw a bald eagle perched in a branch of a tree in the exhibit. Robert and Irma took a lot of pictures. They then proceeded to the panda exhibit. Irma and Robert took a lot of pictures there. The happy couple eventually made their way to the Owens Rainforest Aviary. As they walked through, a couple of birds landed on Irma's shoulders.

"Looks like these ones like you." Robert said as he took a picture.

"Yeah, they're cute." Irma replied. Later they went back to their hotel room.

Part 2: Midway

28, January 2017, 10:00AM

Robert and Irma decided to spend the day at the USS Midway aircraft carrier museum. Once on the ship, they each picked up an audio tour device and headset and began their tour. "Wow, this is what they slept on?" Irma asked as they were looking at the bunks in the sleeping area.

"Yep, they're small, but comfy." Robert replied. They then proceeded to the forecastle.

"Holy…, those chains are huge!" Irma exclaimed after seeing the anchor chains. They then finished touring the forward hangar deck and moved on into the second, third and fourth decks. One of the things they saw was one of the bomb elevators. "Wow, so that's how they get the weapons up to the flight deck from storage." Irma said. "

Yep, that's how they do it." Robert replied.

An hour later, they proceeded up to the aft hanger deck. "Wow, are those real?" Irma asked, referring to the line of ejection seats in front of a large screen that showed footage of pilots ejecting out of their planes in various emergencies.

"Yep, they are, but they've had their rocket motors removed." Robert replied.

"Hey, Irma, wanna take a ride or two in those in a while?" Robert asked, referring to the nearby flight simulators.

"Sure, after we have check these out." Irma replied, referring to the aircraft cockpits. "OK, but first, let's see what's up on the flight deck." Robert replied. "Sounds like a plan to me!" Irma replied as they went up to the flight deck.

The view was awesome, to say the least. Parked on the Navy docks at North Island was the USS Nimitz. Robert got a picture of the Nimitz with his digital camera, as well as a cruise ship which was docked at the nearby cruise ship terminal. Robert also took a picture of Irma next to the F-14A Tomcat, and one with the Fresnel lens, as well as one with the E-2A Hawkeye and the A-6 Intruder.

"I like this view; it's so beautiful." Irma said as they explored the flight deck. "What do you want to do now?" Robert asked.

"I wanna take a look inside the island." Irma replied. They then got in line to take the tour of the island superstructure. Robert and Irma stood wide-eyed as they listened to the guide's lecture.

After the tour of the bridge, Robert and Irma went outside. "Hey, Robert, check this out!" Irma said, pointing to a location in the water. Robert looked and saw a Ticonderoga-class missile cruiser. Robert saw the number and recognized it right away.

"No way!" he said. "What is it?" Irma asked.

"That's the ship I was stationed on as a sonar tech four years ago." Robert replied. They then went back to the flight deck to finish their tour of the ship.

After exploring the flight deck, they went back down to the hangar deck. Once there, they sat on the ejection seats and watched the ejection footage. After they were done with that, Irma got a picture of Robert in each of the cockpits, and Robert got pictures of Irma in the cockpits. They then went on the Mach Combat simulator. They went in one that had the two-seat cockpit of an F-4 Phantom fighter and enjoyed some fast-paced action.

Robert sat in the front seat and "flew" the "plane" while Irma rode "shotgun" in the rear seat. After they were done, they went on the Strike Fighter 360 motion simulator. Irma at first had control, with Robert giving her some guidance. "I've had enough for now, you take over." Irma answered as she gave Robert control of the action.

They shot down a total of 18 enemy planes in both simulators. When they got off, Robert and Irma took a ride in the third and final simulator. By the time it was over, Irma and Robert were slightly dizzy from all of the motion they experienced over the past ten minutes. After taking a look in the gift shop, they went back to their hotel room, where they relaxed and reminisced about the day's events while watching "Top Gun".