Anchors aweigh …

The ship is here; the ship is here.  Welcome.

Hooray, hooray, today's the first of May, officially known as May Day. It's a very special day in the City of Anchorage as the USS Anchorage arrived. The 684-foot ship is a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship, and is the second U.S. Navy ship to be named for our city.

The ship docked at the Port of Anchorage.

The USS Anchorage arrived here to be commissioned in her namesake town. And special to me, and about 50 others is that the local Harley Owners Group chapter was allowed a private tour. Yahoo.

Some of us were wearing the special edition shirt the Harley shop had made for the USS Anchorage's arrival.

The HOGs all gathered down by the Comfort Inn near Ship Creek, in the heart of downtown Anchorage about 6:30 p.m. Hobbs rode down with me, but had no intention of going on the ship or the tour. Hobbs (AKA Biker Bill) says the ship is nothing more than a taxi cab for the Marine Corp. He said every time he's ever gotten on a military ship it's always taken him someplace he didn't want to be, dropped him off, and never came back to pick him up. So he elected to stay with the bikes and keep an eye on them.

The bus took us to the port where we'd board the ship.  With all our carrying on it's a wonder Randy, the bus driver, didn't toss our butts to the curb.

There were special busses to take us down to the Port. In order to board we had to show identification, then onto the bus we went. The driver, Randy, said there'd been a 45-minute delay onboard the ship, so when we got to the holding area (outside in view of the ship), we ended up standing around for probably that same amount of time.

But HOG folks are very good at entertaining themselves ... taking photos, jumping into someone else's photos, telling bad jokes.  HOGs just wanna have fun.  And they do.

There were other private tours happening so in order for us to board the ship we had to wait for them to siphon other groups through. It appeared we were the last group of the evening, which turned out to be the best since we didn't get off the ship til sometime after 9:30 p.m.

Finally, going up the gangplank to the ship. 

 

Welcome aboard.

This helicopter and a vertical take-off aircraft were setting on deck, on the stern of the ship.

As we boarded, we could see a landing area with a helicopter and an Osprey, which is a vertical take-off and landing, fixed-wing aircraft. It can land and take off like a helicopter but once airborne the propellers are rotated and moved into place so it flies like a regular aircraft. What a fascinating piece of machinery that was.

The Osprey is one exciting piece of machinery.  Sure would like a ride in one of those.

We were allowed to roam through both aircraft, and it was a thrill to be able to see what they're all about. They were sitting on the flight deck, which is about an acre in size, but there's an area inside the ship where they can be transported in the event of bad weather so there's no chance of them being washed or falling overboard.

My favorite photo of Pam looking out of the helicopter.

Okay, this is a HOG ride.  We're ready for take off. 

Then we were taken inside. There's what appears to be a full hospital with operating rooms, x-ray machines and the like, which is necessary when housing hundreds of Navy and Marine personnel at sea.

For surgery at sea. 

No one signed up for x-rays this evening.

Frank sure did want to ring that ship's bell.

Stacey and Dennis stood near the ship's logo, notice the moose horns.

And Lauren makes the moose horns look even better.

We saw berths where the personnel sleep, red curtains for the Marines, blue for the Navy folks.

What can I say?  Red rules.  Semper fi.

We got to wander through the galley and the mess hall, and found that someone had discovered one of the best pizza places in town – the Moose's Tooth. There must have been a dozen pizza cartons setting around.

Part of the mess hall.  Very clean, and comfortable looking.

Julie found the lunch trays, but she didn't get a free lunch on board.

Up on another deck, I could look over the bow of the ship.  What a nice view.

Here and there we'd be given information about various parts of the ship.  Inside this area (where we did not go) was a no-photo zone. 

The tour continued up steep little stairwells, through what are called hatches, into the control room (although we weren't allowed to photograph there), onto the bridge, into the pilot house.

Ed did not take the life preserver.  He may have been thinking about it.  But then we saw the lady with the gun. 

Just in case one might forget, there are guns located in many locations on board.  Yes, Virginia, this is a warship.

Along the way one was reminded that this was a warship as there were various guns located on the outer decks.

This was just the best photo with Becky and a Navy person at her gunnery station.

Of course, I had to pose with as many of them as possible.  (More of that later.)



Navy and Marine personnel on board were more than happy to share their ship with us during the evening. 

The pilot house has a GPS, but mostly the crew relies on maps … because they're more reliable. I well know that, having travelled with folks who use GPSs. They're only as good as the information that goes into them, including that gained from maps. But still, using technology on this ship is quite a change from some of the older ships and what they used to navigate. Think sun, moon and stars, going way back to when the earth was “flat.”

Barry was sitting in a chair on the bridge, ready to weigh anchor and lead us off on a sunset cruise.

One of the many computers in the pilot house.

As we moved through the various areas, you could see rows of cable above your head. Our guide was asked how much of it there was. The response, “About 30,000 miles.” I could remember that number only because that's about what I ride every year. That's a lot of cable.

Now we're to the good stuff, compliments of the Marines.  Humvees, eight-wheeled land assault vehicles, a hover craft.

Two of the Marines struck a pose for me.  This one's for you, Hobbs.

Then we moved into the areas with the “good” stuff, the Humvees, track vehicles, the howitzer. This might be a man's world of goodies, but I was totally enthralled. And … had to the go ahead by the crew to climb on, get in, go on top, pretty much run rampant. And I did.

Heather and I were on top, ready to kick some butt.  Yep, we were feeling pretty tough!

Down the hatch.

My beady little eyes are behind this piece of glass ... watching you.  How on earth does anyone see anything out of these things, much less be able to find a target, or even the road? 

I was at the back of the pack since I was busy getting in and out of all the equipment.  Then one of the Marines said they bet I'd like this ... I turned around, and there was this 23-pound gun, a squad automatic weapon, with a bipod.  Oh yeah.  I was loving it.

Then we saw the M777 howitzer.  Who says bigger isn't better?  We were showed the shell (which would weigh I think they said 95 pounds), and how they load it and shoot it.  It has a usual range of about 8 miles, but up to a bit more than 20 if necessary and probably depending on the size of the charge.  Whatever.  Very impressive.

One of the vehicles had a helmet in it, with a sound suppression system as well.  Even they have to wear helmets and they're quite protected inside these vehicles.

I got inside this vehicle, too, but time was running out, so it was a quick run in and out again.

There's a lot of big equipment on this ship, contained in a huge parking and maintenance area.  A deck section can be flooded so hovercraft, boats or amphibious assault vehicles can enter through giant doors on the stern.

And then, suddenly we looked around, and there were only a few of us left. Everyone else had left the ship and we were being herded off. The tour was incredible, the time spent fun and informative. What an opportunity, and I believe one that was enjoyed by all of us who were able to make the event.

Julie looking down at me as we wound our way back up to disembark.  There were a lot of steps up and down again, a lot of decks.  But it was fun and so worth all the exercise we got.

We were leaving and the military folks were returning.  What a day, a great day!!

 The ship's keel was laid down Sept. 24, 2007 at the Avondale Shipyard in New Orleans. She was launched Feb. 12, 2011, christened May 14 of that year and will be commissioned in Anchorage May 4, 2013, at which time she will officially join the Navy's fleet. When she leaves Anchorage she will return to her home base of San Diego.

4395 sailors returning to the ship

Birds everywhere, for a great cause

I'm not known for going to many fundraisers, although I did attend the SPCA Spay-ghetti feed a few weeks back.

However, since I've been volunteering for the Bird Training & Learning Center, and had donated an item for the upcoming fundraiser they were holding, I thought it might be fun to go.

These two ravens are current residents at the Center.  There's a third raven, a larger one, but he was moved to an area by himself as he was picking on what is assumed to be the male of this pair.  Ravens are characters, the tricksters, fun to watch, fun to be around, but absolute pigs when it comes to throwing food around in the cages.  That's why they have us slaves ... to clean up after them.  Haha!!

Dressed in jeans and something other than a Harley tee shirt (although I was wearing an HD hoodie), I drove on down to the Egan Center and found excellent parking right across the street. I was living right that day.

One-way ticket in ... to the Bird TLC fundraiser.

As I entered the Egan, there was a line of people waiting to hand over their tickets and sign in for the silent and live auctions, surrendering their names and addresses for yellow paddles on a stick with a number on each. Mine was 105.

I didn't go directly inside the ballroom. There were two volunteers with education birds out in the lobby, and so I had to visit with them and see the birds, an owl and a bald eagle. Each had a tarp under it, to take care of any droppings.

Eagles perched and their handlers talked to everyone, answering questions and giving out general information.  This eagle just looked around, alert but not appearing nervous with all the goings on and people circulating through the lobby.  Interestingly, there was a high school prom downstairs at the Egan, so there were lots of kids in their prom best, suits, sports jackets, strapless dresses, short and long dresses, and the mother lode in sequins.

The birds were very well-behaved although there were loads of people around them, looking at them, taking photos, asking questions. It's surprising how well the education birds behave mostly considering they are wild.

The owl's feather looked so soft it almost seemed like they were fur.  What a beautiful bird, but again ... the eyes ... they look through you and beyond.

A Peregrine Falcon was on display.  I was quite excited to see this bird as I'd just seen a piece on TV about them this very day, just before going to the fundraiser.

After a bit I wandered inside, where there were several other education birds and their handlers. One was a Peregrine Falcon. Just before leaving the house to go to the fundraiser there was a program on raptors, one of which was about Peregrine's. They can fly down to grab their prey at 260 mph, and have special openings in or near their beaks to slow the air intake to their lungs. Mostly the impact kills their prey, but if not, they have a special little hook-like “tooth” so that they can rapidly end the prey's life. It was fun to learn about some of the birds on display.

While this isn't the best of photos, it shows the beautiful wings the Peregrine has, with an intricate light/dark design from Mother Nature.

And of course, Kodi the “cash” crow was there, delighting anyone who came close. He will take money from your hand and put it in a jar, earning him a mealy worm, and entertaining those who watch. If one gave him $20, that person came away with a blue Bird TLC water bottle. As I looked around later, there were a lot of those bottles setting on tables. Kodi was earning his keep.

Gimme the cash, mister. 

I met up with another Bird TLC volunteer and sat at a table with her and her family. Then it was off to look at the silent auction items. There were long tables of goods, ranging from jewelry to bird books to paintings to sculptures to cloth bags to bags of bird feed to a beaded turkey feather to a basket of bread.

This eagle was inside the ballroom, ever watchful, but not appearing to be nervous.

There were gift certificates in abundance as well, from restaurants to fun things to do. There was literally something for everyone … you did not need to be a bird lover to find something that would strike your fancy. It was mind-boggling how much had been donated for this fundraiser.

The Golden Eagle also has a piercing stare.  Can you tell I really like the eagles?

Bill is one of the volunteers I usually work with when I'm at the Bird TLC.  He and his wife, Sharon, show some of the education owls.

Sharon is usually the lead person the day I'm at the Center.  She and her husband are two of the 80-plus volunteers, many of which work multiple days each week, showing incredible dedication for the care of the birds. 

A few separate tables had other items that would be live-auctioned, including hand-carved walking sticks … one by the Bird TLC founder, Dr. James Scott, a ride along with one of APD's K9 unit, an overnight Christmas stay in a yurt in the Eagle River Valley, a falconry training session. There were some wonderful items that were quite unique. And when they were auctioned there was lively action, right down to bidding wars. It was fun to watch and see that so many good people were doing so much good for the birds.

This eagle is in an outdoor mew at the Bird TLC.  There's just something about an eagle ...

There was one interesting fundraiser that I'd not seen before. A Powerpoint presentation showed the bird flight center out at JBER. It showed the eagles flying to get in shape for release. The flight center is in need of repairs, especially with the ravens flying in through the overhead netting to get a free meal. That made me laugh. There's a need to do pen repairs, replace the netting, water heaters for water and so much more.

The auctioneer asked who would be able to donate $1,500 toward the repairs. A few folks raised their bid cards. Then he asked who could donate $1,000, $750, $500 and so on down to $100. There were cards raised for each of these amounts. Every single dollar helps to get the job done. What a unique way to raise money, and you know that what you donated for the project would be used to make a better place for the birds being readied for release.

This magpie came in pretty battered from apparently hitting a window a few days before the fundraiser.  They didn't think he'd make it.  But the next day he was all chipper and ready to go.  Guy, the Bird TLC Volunteer Coordinator, is ready to release him outside the center.

Up, up and away.  Even watching a magpie being released is thrilling.  It's a life saved from what otherwise could be a fatality.  And that's why folks volunteer and work to save the birds, from the smallest one to the large raptors.

Throughout the evening a Powerpoint showed the volunteers working and many of the releases that have taken place. The releases show that those working to care for and rehabilitate the birds are doing good deeds … not only to the birds and the environment but for people who like to view the birds, and for some who might never see them without others doing this necessary and selfless task. Thank you to Dr. Scott, Bird TLC's Heather and Guy, and to the many volunteers who have sustained this wonderful organization for 25 years, and for the years into the future.