So I survived my experience in North Carolina working the commissioning of the USS North Carolina (SSN 777), the Navy's newest attack submarine.

My one major worry - getting up and down the ladder into the sub, was no big deal.  It wasn't exactly easy, but it was do-able.  I have to say, my hat is off to the men on the North Carolina!  I was only aboard for less than two hours, and the claustraphobia was starting to kick in.  How they can manage months at sea in such a cramped environment is beyond me.

By the end of the trip, I was physically exhausted.  While I am OK standing for an hour or so at a time, being on my feet for several consecutive 10 - 12 hour "shoot" days wore me out.  I was so bushed by the end of the trip that I had to pull over in a rest area and take a nap before I could finish the drive home.

Lessons learned - mainly, buy a foldable, portable chair for when I'm on the road.  There is nowhere to sit in the control room of a sub (unless you're in the crew) - and besides, I didn't want to accidentally hit the wrong button and start WWIII, so I need to be able to get off the old dawgs when they (or, actually "it") starts barking.

I'm off to Norfolk Nval Base next week, and I have two weeks in San Diego at the Naval School of Health Science coming up next month...