Park, a 1998 graduate of Willamette High School, worked in electronic warfare on the Lincoln during its 10-month deployment.

He said he was glad to get off the ship, but was a bit overwhelmed by the euphoria and the sheer numbers of people who showed up for perhaps the biggest party this seaport has ever thrown.

"Everywhere you look, out in the hills and everywhere there's an open spot, you would see people standing there as we were coming in, waving and everything," he said.

Under sunny skies, the Lincoln approached with fireboats blasting jets of water into the air and antique warplanes buzzing low overhead. A ferry blew its horn in salute, bands played peppy tunes and Native American drumming and singing floated over the water from downtown where the public gathered to watch about a half a mile away.

As tugs nudged the warship in closer to the Navy pier, family members craned their necks and squinted against the sun in hopes of making out familiar faces lining the 4.5-acre flight deck.

The pier turned into a carnival-like spectacle of images both surreal - Santa and Mrs. Claus were there, as was a tap-dancing clam - and poignant. A shrieking woman barreled through the crowd and nearly tackled her husband. A father held his baby's hands as the boy gingerly took some of his first steps. A young sailor and his girlfriend sat still in a bus shelter, their heads bowed and touching, eyes shut, hands clasped together tightly.

The salt air was heavy with emotion as parents, spouses and children reunited after the

Navy's longest deployment for a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.

Mindy Engebretson, 20, a 2001 Elmira High School graduate, enjoyed a tearful reunion with her family. She was met by her husband, Adam Banta of Springfield. The two were married Nov. 1, a day after she returned from boot camp and 12 days before she left to join the Lincoln.

"It's been so long," Engebretson said. "I'm kind of at a loss for words right now."

Her mother, Tina Eoff of Veneta, drove up Monday with her husband, David, and granddaughter, Sierra, 9. Engebretson's father and stepmother, Sidney and Joan Engebretson of Hood River, also made the trip.

The pier had largely cleared and the stream of sailors slowed to a trickle before their daughter appeared. She had been working on deck as the Lincoln arrived and had to clean up and pack before she could begin her 20-day leave.

"I hugged her so tight I about squeezed the life out of her," her mother said.

Engebretson returned with a prized souvenir, a photo of herself with President Bush, snapped on board last week. The commander-in-chief paid the crew a visit before the Lincoln docked in San Diego to drop off part of its air wing. Engebretson, who was controlling the ship's speed during Bush's tour of the bridge, was too nervous to say much other than to tell the president she was from Oregon.

"He didn't really talk much to me because there was not much coming out of my mouth," she said.

She and her husband, who has been working odd jobs while his wife was at war, plan to move to Bremerton soon. But their immediate plans were to "go get some real food," like pizza, Engebretson said.

She also was looking forward to watching TV, taking a bath and "being able to walk around without running into bulkheads."

Park held his sleepy nephew, 2-year-old Dezmond, and talked about hunting down a good steak. He missed that, as well as "all the small things that you'd normally take for granted, like good coffee, the ability to get away from everyone, do whatever you want."

Life aboard a carrier means being around the same group of people every day, Park said. He also would go for weeks at a time without seeing daylight, working and living in the bowels of the giant ship.

The Lincoln left Everett last July, deployed to the Persian Gulf to help fight the war against terrorism in Afghanistan. On the way home, the Defense Department ordered the carrier to turn around after it left Australia and stay at sea to help oust Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

Getting turned around was the worst day of the voyage, Park said. "There was a lot of grumbling and complaining. Nobody was really happy."

	Genesis Diaz gets a bird's-eye view of the homecoming courtesy of her father, Angel. The Diaz family traveled from Toppenish, Wash., to greet Angel's cousin, Rosendo Gudino.

In recent days, though, they knew their long mission was nearly over, and the excitement took over. First Class Petty Officer Kathy Lundeen, formerly of Veneta, has spent more than 15 years in the Navy and served in both Gulf wars. But coming home still makes her anxious.

"There is something we call channel fever," Lundeen said. "It is when you are so excited to be going home and you are so close you can't sleep."

The Lincoln's crew has had channel fever since it passed from the Indian Ocean into the Pacific, she said. "The air smells different, the winds are cooler and the humidity lessens as you sail farther north from the equator," she said.

Lundeen is a purchasing agent for the ship and bought oversized U.S. flags for the Lincoln to fly for the wild homecoming.

"I bought them with the government credit card for the ship," she said. "I make a joke that the United States Navy gave me a Kevlar-coated Department of Defense credit card. This sailor was born to shop and be the best steward of your tax dollars I can be."

Chief Petty Officer Andrea Bell-Hagberg, formerly of Eugene, flew home 10 days ago, after the Lincoln made a stop in Hawaii. But she made sure she was on the pier Tuesday to welcome her shipmates home.

"I wanted to experience this. I've been feeling something is missing," said Bell-Hagberg, now a Marysville resident. "It makes it complete for me."

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