We first saw the USS Gerald R. Ford from shore as it was stationed at a harbor in Naval Station Norfolk. The Ford stands about 134 feet tall.
It was docked next to the USS George W. Bush, seen below, as well as the USS Truman and USS Lincoln.
US Navy spokesman, Corey Todd Jones, who showed us around the Ford, then led us past a security checkpoint, which we were not allowed to photograph, to the entrance seen below.
This is one of the advanced weapons elevators, which connect to the flight deck, and allows sailors to easily move ordnance from the magazines to the aircrafts.
We were not allowed to photograph down the elevator because it's classified, but you can read more about the elevators here.
A statue of former President Gerald R. Ford — the carrier's namesake — stands in the hangar bay. Ford served as a navigation officer on the USS Monterey during World War II. Many of his shipmates once credited him with saving the ship during a bad storm, Jones said.
Jones said that a large wave almost washed Ford overboard the Monterey, but his foot got caught on a drain, preventing him from going over. The drain has been immortalized in the statue.
There weren't any aircraft on the flight deck except for the "dud" seen below, an F/18 Hornet that has been stripped of its engine and components. It's now used by the signalmen to practice moving aircraft around the deck.
This E-2C Hawkeye flew over us outside of Norfolk Naval Station earlier in the day. Hawkeyes are US spy planes that are often assigned to carriers.
Carriers are always assigned a Carrier Air Wing, which generally consists of about nine squadrons and five different kinds of the following aircraft.
Read more about the Carrier Air Wings here.
This compartment, which can be raised and lowered, is called the Integrated Catapult Control System or "bubble." Officers in here launch the jets after getting the all clear from the signalmen.
There are also a number of Bomb Jettison Ramps, or emergency evacuation "shoots," which sailors can use to offload misfired ordnance.
These shoots were added to carriers after the 1967 fire aboard the USS Forrestal. The Forrestal was in the Gulf of Tonkin when an F-4 Phantom misfired a rocket, causing a huge fire and killing over 100 sailors.
The sides of the flight deck can be rather perilous, as it completely drops off into open waters on most sides.
The Ford is also equipped with multiple Sea Sparrows, which are short-range anti-aircraft and missile systems.
Here's another angle of the RAM.
There are also Close-In Weapons Systems aboard, but they were covered up.
We first entered the flight deck control, where the handling officer manages the arrangement of all the aircraft on the flight deck. This task is done on computers now, which we weren't allowed to photograph, but it used to be done on this "Ouija" board seen below, which is still used as a backup.
When notable people visit the Ford, like President Donald Trump, they often autograph US currency, which are then placed along the borders of the Ouija board.
We then went up to the bridge, where the ship is navigated.
The Ford is powered by two nuclear reactors that can bring the ship to speeds of more than 30 mph.
This is the lead helm, which controls the speed and steering. It's all digital, but there's an actual steering wheel below for back up.
The navigation officer sits next to the chart table. Even though the ship is navigated digitally, they still retain a chart table to "keep those skills fresh," Jones said.
This two-minute video shows Jones explaining more about the Bridge and its devices.
At this point, we had been onboard for a couple hours and our time was up. But on the way out, we saw one of the bathrooms — and it's true, the Ford doesn't have urinals.
You can read more about why the Ford doesn't have urinals here.