My step-daughter, Chrissy, just turned sixteen and for her birthday she got a VIP ticket to Bravefest (I know, I had no clue either), a concert and meet and greet of a bunch of YouTube stars. She is gaga about a guy named Nash Grier and the VIP ticket would allow her to meet him. The event was held at the Chargers’ practice field at Qualcom stadium in San Diego, so off we went this past Saturday. We arrived at the Stadium around ten am and dropped the girls (Chrissy took her buddy, Jessica) at the event, parked the truck at the SDMTA (San Diego Mass Transit) station and grabbed the trolly into town where our big event was a visit to the aircraft carrier turned museum, the USS Midway, on the Embarcadero. Jen was thrilled about running around on the trolley and I thought it was pretty cool myself. I have to say here that every San Diegan we encountered with questions or conversation was absolutely awesome. I have never been anywhere, even small towns, where the people were so friendly, polite and helpful. The first instance was asking a gentleman at Qualcom if he knew anything about where the Bravefest was. We figured it would be at the main stadium, but it wasn’t. He did not know. After a time we figured out where it was and as we began driving across the parking lot, I saw him coming toward us. He had found out and was on his way to let us know where it was. He did not have to do that. We didn’t know where the Midway was actually located, but on the MTA map there was a place called “Pacific Fleet” so that was where we were going to go. Once on the trolley we struck up a conversation with a local gal. She was very cool and helpful. She straightened us out about where the Midway was, which stop we would need to use to get there, which stops to do the best shopping, eating and sightseeing, AND she was a big Ryan Mathews fan (of course I dropped his name..you thought I wouldn’t?). Our stop was the Santa Fe Depot right downtown. WOW! What an awesome building. It is still in use as the Amtrak, COASTER and SDMTA station and is beautifully restored. I could have spent another hour there just taking pictures and people watching! I have been to many big cities such as L.A., Houston, Chicago, Denver, Nashville and Salt Lake City, but none (well..maybe Salt Lake) have the beauty and feel of San Diego. It is clean and well kept in spite of its huge population and relatively small area. On to the Midway. Wow..I mean, WOW! I realize the new Super Carriers are larger, faster and more powerful, but still. Wow! Just walking up to it is awe inspiring! The first thing you see inside is the massive hangar bay. Then you begin noticing doors of all sizes from small hatches to the massive elevator openings. Numbered signs guide you through the ship and are coordinated with headphones and a recorded guide that tell the story behind what you are seeing. They are provided free of charge. On a side note. We visited the Battleship Iowa, last year and the Midway smells exactly like it! For such a huge ship, the corridors and spaces are, for the most part, incredibly cramped! Except for specific areas where actual stairs have been installed for ease of climbing, steep, narrow ladders are used to get up or down. If you are in any taller, in worse shape, have worse knees, or are any more claustrophobic than I, you might want to pass on this tour! The tour takes you through the enlisted, officers and Captain’s and Admiral’s bunks. The difference is astounding, but I am certain, necessary. There just isn’t room for everyone to have an entire one hundred square foot room like an Admiral gets! There are five galleys that we saw. Two huge ones for enlisted men, smaller ones for officers, and private ones for the Captain and Admiral. The engineering spaces and engine room were amazing. We didn’t get to see the actual boilers, but did tour the turbine and control rooms. I had no idea a carrier’s throttles were located in the bowels of the ship on an instrument panel in engineering. The tour below decks also included the galleys, messes, chapel, laundry, radio rooms, tailor, barber, brig, combat information center, meeting rooms, ready rooms, and post office all accessed by thousands of feet of corridors and ladders. It was stuffy and warm down there despite air conditioning. I cannot imagine what it would be like with the ship fully staffed and underway, especially in the engineering spaces. One thing very noticeable throughout the ship was its piping and cabling. All pipes are color coded based on their function. The one place I thought was strange were the purple fuel pipes running through the officers showers and head. Every inch of overhead space in every corridor is packed with electrical wiring. I couldn’t imagine troubleshooting a problem in that mess! The flight deck would be impressive were it empty, but with its compliment of every jet and helicopter ever flown off it, it is even more so. I love aviation. All aviation. I also love the military, all branches, but you have to admit that Naval Aviation has a certain fascination to it, and standing on the deck of the Midway only enhances that perception. The last part of the tour was a guided one through the “Island”, which is where the bridge, flight control and navigation are located. This was, by far, the tightest squeeze of the day, but well worth the nearly vertical ladders up five or six decks (I lost count!). Primary Flight Control is just what it says. The movies that show action here are shot in studios because there is NO room for cameras and a crew up there. It can’t be more that fifty or sixty square feet all told, but the view of the flight deck is worth the onset of a panic attack! Next was navigation. Another claustrophobic environment, but very interesting. The primitive GPS (fifty meter resolution) and inertial systems were pretty amazing technology for their time and I have never seen maps so accurate and detailed. The tour guide (an experienced Navy man) said the Navigator was the only person on the ship who could tell the Captain where to go! The bridge was awesome, packed with gadgets of all sorts. Compasses, optic devices, radios, radar screens, electronic boxes of all sorts and the coolest items, the steering wheel and the Captain’s chair, and right behind the bridge, another bunk for the Captain. The tour of the Midway over, we got a call from the girls, who had met their idols and were ready for us to come get them…which begins an saga all its own!
Posted on: Mon, 21 Jul 2014 19:52:10 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015