The USS Nimintz and Me

I arrived at about 7:35 am.
There sat the USS aircraft carrier across the bay.
Sitting quietly.
I don't have any idea when a navel ship pulls out.
Ninintz start your engines.

I arrived at Harbor View Park and watched Hat Island across the way concealed in fog slowly reveal itself as the fog drifted south.
8:00 am the Coast Guard arrived buzzing around the ship, the ship just sitting there.
Little bitty coast guard boat -- BIG mother ship.
Rain.
Trains every 20 minutes or so.
Hundreds of birds.
Dozens of small boats.
Morning walkers, fellow gawkers with cameras and binoculars.
Four young women taking photos.
A few families gazing.
One young man in a wheel chair -- waiting.

Harbor View Park the only park in Washington without a bathroom.
9:30 left for a potty run and lost my good parking spot.
Nimintz doesn't move.
Another train rolls by.
Cars continue to come and leave.
Several dogs, lots of old duffers with binoculars strung around their necks, but eventually a lot of them leave also.
No one is here, but me, that started at 7:30.
Book readers, newspaper readers, breakfast eaters all come and gone.
The Coast Guard hasn't left though it does move around a little.

Sun higher in the sky, clouds about gone, no more sprinkling rain.
All ropes and wires are still firmly attached to land.
The wires don't seem as steep -- is the tide going out? When does it come back? Will a ship sail at low tide? Some sort of floating barricades surround the ship but I'm not wise enough to know what they are.
More old duffers arriving.
I keep thinking of Easter dinner and all I should be home doing, but I'm afraid if I leave now the ship will go, but nothing is happening.
The ship sits like a giant grey goose.

I read in the Everett Herald that the USS Nimintz was going to leave the Port of Everett for a 6 to 10 month deployment on Friday March 29. Anyone that knows me knows I've wanted to see an aircraft carrier sail out of Possession Sound. It was supposed to be the USS Abraham Lincoln, but hey, an aircraft carrier is an aircraft carrier.
I cleaned my car windows, ate my McDonalds, drank my coffee and still it sits there.
I promised myself I would stay.
I promised myself.

How long does it take to get 3000 souls on board?
I keep listening for band music, a bull horn, a siren blare.
I keep watching for a blast of smoke. On a nuclear powered ship?
Anything.
It's not patriotism or politics that keeps me planted here, believe it or not its the artistry. The beauty of the giant ship against the narrow natural channel. And who can understand the yearnings of the heart. All I can tell you is it is something I have wanted to see and when the USS Abraham Lincoln moved from this port to the east coast I thought I had lost my chance forever.

Viva la second chances.
Pleasure craft, fishing boats, barges all moving around the sound.
The tide is definitely going out.
Another old duffer leaves another one arrives.
This one sans the bincos and cameras, he has a wee dog instead.
Big boats, little boast, ginormous boats.
1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours, 4 hours, another potty break, a nap.
I got my good parking space back.
There is a gaggle of little navy boast appearing 1 - 2 - 3 - 4.
What's up doc?
Here comes a 5th.
The vehicle next to me has sat there over an hour with it's engine running.

When I was waffling about coming, Ian reminded me that I wouldn't regret it.
He was right.
All the little boasts disappeared.
A barge and a tug wafted by.
Another car that had been sitting here a long, long time finally gave up and left -- maybe it's a potty run for them also.
Something big coming in -- that's a surprise I wasn't expecting.
I read later it was a military sealift command supply ship.
Big Big BIG tug heading out.
Big Big BIG tug heading in.
12:30 the parking lot is loaded, the anticipation builds, the Nimintz is supposed to leave at 4 is the word on the street.

One binoc lady has hardly moved for over an hour. I think she is bird watching not ship watching. Her binocs are trained on trees not the sea.
1:00 there is something different. A man arrived to take his parrot for a walk. I've never seen that before. A green parrot, or parrot family anyway. All tucked sweetly in the crook of his arm peering out at the world. They have done this before. I don't really know if it's a parrot or macaw or something else, but it is lime parrot green from tip to tail, about 12 inches tall. You tell me.

Sometimes it is a slow slow world.
A fisherman and a little girl went down the hill to the water.
A woman brought out her chair, book and sketch pad and looks completely settled into the middle of the open field.
The big ship that came in is finally parked.
That took a long time.
A few more speedy little Coast Guard zodiacs are buzzing about.
Two young guys with their yoyo's busy practicing stuff.
The trains have slowed down, there is more train traffic in the morning than there is in the afternoon. Whoops here comes another one.

Way down below are the beach people and dogs.
They have ebbed and flowed also.
A little boy about two picking flowers out of the grass and taking a sniff and then tossing them away before going for another.
Foreign language family, if I was guessing I would say Russian.
Most cars last about an hour or so whether kids, dogs, cameras, yoyos, books or birds.

Beautiful mild day contentment is in the air.
2:00 ate some pistachios and orange slice candy.
Fisherman and little girl traipsing back up the hill.
No whales or seals spotted.
A goth showed up with a couple of friends and does Tia Chi.
I guess he is goth -- he is pierced, tattooed, chains hanging, dressed in black with a skull on his t-shirt. Is that goth or punk?
A kite just walked into the park. I'm assuming powered by a person, but I couldn't see from my vantage point.
Frisbee players, a male and a female, haven't seen that for a while.
Man walking dog with leash around his shoulder and neck holding the hands of two toddlers, haven't seen that before.
Maybe I don't get out and gawk enough.

Morning walkers afternoon joggers.
3:00 little pleasure craft boats are congregating.
So I dozed off for a bit: parrot man still here, another Frisbee couple, many more adults and kids.
Pleasure craft thinning out.
All the barricades, halyards and Coast Guard still in place.
Will it weight anchor at 4?
Only an hour to tell.
A third Frisbee couple, I just thought Frisbee was a has been. Oh, this is a Frisbee lesson. Love is in the air. All glowing and instructive.
Tide is rolling back in.
A little golf swing practice.
I have to tell you there were some ugly beloved dogs in the park today.

A lot of old men came to see, not many old ladies.
They came, looked and left all day.
I saw one old man come, look, leave and come back.
I think there were a lot of old Navy guys here today.
4:00 I knew I was patient, but I had no idea how patient until today. If you stay 4 hours you might as well stay 6, if you stay 6 you might as well stay 9, if you stay 9 you might as well stay until the end.

But I didn't.
5:09 I gave up and left.
When I got home I read in the paper that the Nimintz had delayed departure.
They will leave in the morning while I am at work.
I was surprised at how little I was disappointed.
I was surprised at how long I lasted.
I gave it my best shot.
I am content.