Sunday, November 7, 2010

A day on the Midway

I thought my family would think this retired aircraft carrier, turned into a museum, was pretty interesting. I thought they would walk around for a couple of hours and then start complaining because they were bored. We arrived at 11 and didn’t leave until closing time at 5 that evening. It was amazing to see what an aircraft carrier was like, and to walk around it realizing that at one time it was full of soldiers and used in times of battle.

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Carson trying to pick up a chain from the anchor.

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The chains, tools, and rope were all supersized.

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Down in the Brig, where the naughty soldiers got to hang out.

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Aaron and Carson went for little ride in a flight simulator. When Carson was driving, for some reason they ended upside a lot.

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A we walked onto the boat, we all got some headset. All over the ship their were signs with numbers on them. If you type in the numbers, it will give you an audio tour of that part of the ship. Paige and Carson were all over this. I barely saw them with their headsets off all day. They had special numbers for kids to use, so the tour was geared to them. I was amazed at how much they learned that day.

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View from the bridge of the runway.

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The Radio Room. Lots and lots of little knobs to turn.

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While we were on the Midway, an aircraft carrier came in to port. It was amazing to watch the security that the military uses to make sure these boats are safe as they come into the harbor. That helicopter flew right overhead the entire time, and a bunch of smaller (well armed) boats made sure no one got too close.

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Here is a memory. At the end of the day, we were finishing up the tour, and we walked by the chapel. We walked in and while I was reading a sign on the back wall, some little boy went beyond the roped area. We soon realized that the chapel has an alarm that will sound if you try to go past the ropes. My son RAN as soon as he heard the alarm ring. Morgan, my dad, and I walked briskly after him, hoping we could escape before anyone could come and yell at us. We escaped, no one came very fast but the alarm worked plenty well, getting us out of the area quite quickly!

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Paige thought Coop needed a turn with the headphones. This picture makes me giggle every time I look at it.

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6 comments:

The Michiganders said...

You have got some priceless photos there. Love the last one of Coop. Carson looks like he is in total heaven. Zach was way more jealous of this than he was of Disneyland!

♥Seri said...

I couldn't believe that you spent the whole day on the ship! Maybe when we go I'll let my boys spend the day there and I'll take my own little vaca on the beach! Glad they liked it so well!

Jackie said...

I have loved, loved, loved all your California pics. How lucky to see a submarine take off and to see an aircraft carrier come into port. Seems like San Diego port is a busy place with so many interesting things. Seeing these pics makes me want to go and see them all again. So glad your family got this awesome experience!

becky ward said...

love that picture of the SIX of you! so cute. that ship looks like it was a HIT. very fun.

Anonymous said...

They sure enjoyed it more than I ever thought they would.

Amber said...

That is something my family would love!