Mommy had Book Club on Sunday, so while she was off gabbing with the hens, me and the kiddo's decided to visit one of San Diego's famous wonders... the USS MIDWAY.
The Midway is an aircraft carrier that launched in 1945, and was highly active in Vietnam and Desert Storm. She is almost 1000 feet long, can carry over 4,000 sailors, 130 aircraft, and weighs 74,000 tons. In 2004, the Midway was turned into a museum in San Diego, and for a small fee, you can climb in and around almost every inch of her... and we did.
If you ever get the chance to go inside an aircraft carrier, I highly recommend it. It is a truly incredible creation. Once you get down into the belly of it, everything is very tight. And the rooms just keep going... bunks, engineering, control rooms, flight briefing rooms, and on and on. The kids must has passed (and flipped) about a billion switches, levers, and valves. We got to sit in the cockpits of fighter planes and helicopters -- and even the captain's chair itself.
One of the great treats about the Midway, is that the on-board staff is made-up mostly of retired vets, many of which served aboard her. As you walk through the ship, you see all these historical photos of young navy-men working their various jobs aboard the boat. Then you enter room after room with these old-timers who tell great stories about what life was like on the ship. A very rich experience that I will treasure for quite a while.
1 comment:
Steve, your unclde clairmont a(Jims father) was in the navy uring WW11 and saw some real action - I'm sure Jim ould fill you in on some action.
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