As soon as hubby caught a glimpse the retired aircraft carrier U.S.S. Midway, he was amazed & insistent we make time for a quick tour.
The ship was ENORMOUS!!! Like a floating city with thousands of people and billions of dollars of aircraft on board.
As we approached the entrance, the size was even more impressive with the decks that would raise & lower the planes to the deck. We caught a quick glimpse of a stingray just swimming in the harbor & then bought tickets for a tour of the museum.
The interior hanger was massive! Like several football fields with a roof. Lots of older planes sitting around & up on deck to check out.
You could go up to & even inside of many of the aircraft. The views of San Diego & the harbor were pretty awesome from up top too.
Many of the volunteers were formerly serving aboard the ship & had some amazing stories they told about life at sea. I was fascinated by all the folding wings & being so close to such big airplanes and fancy mechanical things.
Quite the collection of helicopters too & even a giant statue of the famous seaman kissing a nurse in the park below the ship.
We decided we had enough time for the 25 minute tour of the island & after climbing up 4 flights of very narrow stairs, we arrived at the control tower that directed all the planes taking off and landing on the deck.
We wandered through the navigation room with ancient tools used to sail over the last 50 years & the ended in the room with all the boat controls and where the captain directs the ship.
Finally, we walked out to the end of the flight deck. I can’t imagine the chaos and energy of being in an operational aircraft carrier with thousands of people working in rhythm to launch such power machines off a moving air field. Such a cool experience- I highly recommend stopping by even if you only have an hour to tour. We didn’t do any of the free audio stuff or check out any of the living quarters below deck.
GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Headed back to Nashville this afternoon for a quick over-night trip.
