San Diego - USS Midway

We had a late start to our day today - we had a little lie-in.  Not a sleep-in, as both Eric & I had been awake for some time listening to the noise of the aircraft taking off and landing at San Diego International Airport, which seemingly is just beyond our hotel!   We can see planes on approach from our 2nd floor balcony.  We took the time to get washing done - we were about to run out of under garments!!  Not a good thing.

Then, we met Tante Thea at the USS Midway, a US aircraft, which, when it was commissioned in 1945, was the largest ship in the world for a decade, and was the first too large for the Panama Canal.  It was also from here that the 1st V2 rocket was launched from a ship, the 1st and last MiGs were shot down in the Vietnam War, and was involved in humanitarian work (rescuing refugees from the fall of Saigon and also from the Mt Pinatubo eruption).  It was decommissioned in 1992 and was opened as a museum in 2004.  Over a million people visit it each year, and the self-guided audio tour we go on only touches a small fraction of the giant!

It had a crew of 4,500.  There were 13,500 meals served each day, which included 1,000 loaves of bread and 3,000 spuds.  There were 18 decks, and a 4.02 acre flight deck.  Today, this housed an assortment of aircraft which have served on various aircraft carriers over time, including the humble Huey helicopter, the Skyhawk and the SeaSprite (all of which NZ has or has had).  We also got to see an F-14 Tomcat (like the planes in Top Gun!), E2 Hawkeye, and an F-18 Hornet, amongst others.

We were there for 5hrs, and saw most of the exhibits - but missed going up the island superstructure, to the bridge.  But, from what I saw, I would prefer to be the Captain or the Admiral - they got their own double bed, private bathroom, private galley (kitchen) (complete with cook!) and private wardroom.  The enlisted men had their bunk whose base lifted up to reveal a narrow storage shelf for clothes and spare pillowcases etc and they had a locker to hang their uniform jackets and trousers.  Not a lot of privacy at all.  Also, not a lot of space.  Eric bumped his head a couple of times on low cables.

Our last visit of the day was supposed to be the Cabrillo National Monument, which has more visitors than the Statue of Liberty.  It is where Juan Cabrillo landed in 1542, the 1st European to reach California.  Unfortunately, it closes at 5pm, and it was after 6pm when we arrived, so we did not get to see the statue of him, nor the Point Loma lighthouse.  We did, however, drive through the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, where row upon row of pristine white gravestones stand.