USS Midway in San Diego Harbor

Today was the day we went into San Diego for the first time.  We totally relied on our GPS to get us to the harbor where the USS Midway is docked.  This meant taking I-15 to I-8 to different streets until we were on Harbor Drive.  GPS is an amazing technology and I don't think we would have made it so easily had we not had the use of our GPS.  It not only guided us to the harbor but over the Coronado Bridge to Coronado Island and then back home.  I have always been the navigator.  I can remember at an early age having a map on my lap while dad took us on vacations.  It is hard for me to give up my paper map and trust a GPS screen but so far it hasn't steered us wrong.

Skyline of San Diego.

One of the many sailboats anchored in the harbor.

A Disney cruise ship anchored in the harbor.  

There were three Navy ships anchored across from the USS Midway.

The Midway is in the background/

In the hangar level of the ship, there were helicopters and airplanes that you could get inside.  This is Carol acting like a co-pilot of a helicopter.

This capsule contains a 25-man life raft and end supplies like drinking water, food, and blankets for each man.  These hang under the edge of the the top deck.

A view of the Coronado Bridge taken from the flight deck of the Midway.

While we were on the flight deck, these and other helicopters came over us.  Many special ceremonies such as graduation from different Navy training school take place on the flight deck.  While we were here we saw both a Naval graduation and Marine ceremony of some kind

This picture shows the Navy men lined up getting ready for their graduation service.

We took a guided tour of the ships "island" which is where the control of the ship occurs.   We were told that modern ships use GPS and that a few years ago, the academy stopped training men to use the stars for navigation.  However, when it was discovered that satellites could be shot out of the sky, the ship would have no way to navigate.  About ten years ago, navigation by stars training returned to the academy.

During launch and capture operations, men/women with different colored jackets are on the flight deck.  This shows the array of colors and what the job is for the person wearing that color.

On our own we were able to walk about the ship and explore the different areas below deck.

This is the pneumatic message system.  We were told that airplanes have been flying off and returning to ships since the 1920's.  Because communication systems had not been invented yet, the carrier pigeon was used.  The pilot carried a pigeon in the airplane and if he needed to let the ship know something, he would write a note, attach it on the pigeon and let it loose and vice versa.

Recreation of the famous picture of the Navy man returning home following WWII.

The hook that captures the airplane.  You sure don't want to miss your capture.

Ship chapel.

Mixer for making bread and other items.  In one night the bakers would make 650 pies for the next day dessert.  Approximately 4,500 personnel called the Midway home on a normal at-sea voyage.  Touring the ship opened my eyes to all the different jobs that were done on the ship.  It was like a small city.

The USS Midway is number 41 of the aircraft carrier series.  The latest is the Gerald Ford and it is number 78.  Originally, the Midway was to be named the Minnesota but after the Battle of Midway occurred, the name was changed to memorialize the battle.  The Midway was not commissioned until 1945 and did not see action during WWII but it was involved in Desert Storm.

The lifeboat capsules hanging from the flight deck.

We spent four hours on the Midway.  Since we were so close to the Coronado Bridge and island, we decided to drive across bridge and eat lunch on Coronado Island.  A view of the streets in downtown San Diego.

If there are palm trees, it must be California.

A view of the harbor as we crossed on the Coronado Bridge.

On the island, we saw this house decorated for Halloween.  When you are traveling, you lose track of what is going on in the rest of the world.  Halloween will soon be here and this house reminded  me of that fact.  We saw lots of other quaint houses like this one.  Coronado Island is a neat place but it was so crowded with people and cars that we only drove onto the island, past the famous Coronado Hotel and returned back to San Diego.

The Coronado Hotel.

 A street on Coronado Island.

I think this might be called Navy Row because each of these berths contain a Naval ship and there are about 10 plus in this row.

 We left the harbor area at 3:00 p.m.  It took us two hours and a half to drive 50 miles back to our camp.  A lot of the time we were either completely stopped or driving 10-15 MPH.  In recognition of the stress of driving the last three days and tomorrow, I rewarded Carol by eating at the casino buffet tonight.  It was quite a reward because it cost us $34 per person to eat there.  It was very good and Carol had lots of crab legs so I know he got his money's worth.

Tomorrow is our final day in this area.  We plan to go back into San Diego but not the downtown area.  Hopefully, the traffic will be less because it is a Saturday.  It was a good day despite the traffic.  The 70 degree temperature and sunny, cloudless sky was wonderful.  The forecast calls for the same tomorrow.  It does cool down at night to the mid-50's which makes for great sleeping.