USS Midway

Jill's Journal: Even with Sea World, the San Diego Zoo, and a host of other places to visit in the San Diego area, the #1 attraction here is the USS Midway. This naval aircraft carrier was commissioned as the largest ship in the world in 1945. She was the first ship to be too large to fit through the Panama Canal. Her flight deck alone is just over four acres. Four acres!

She’s been all over the world, including the sub-Arctic, and has done some amazing things, including during wartime in Vietnam and the Persian Gulf. She’s got 18 decks, held a crew of 4,500, and has a fuel capacity of 3.4 million gallons. The USS Midway is so big she used 260 gallons of fuel to move a mile. A mile!

As the longest-serving carrier of the 20th century, she was decommissioned in 1992 and opened to the public in 2004. Time on board the USS Midway is a fascinating glimpse at our military and the lives of the over 225,000 sailors who served on this city at sea during her 47 years in service. In addition, about 25-30 retired aircraft are on the Midway’s flight deck and on her hanger deck and are also open to visitors.

This is “the island” on the flight deck. In here are the bridge/command center for the ship, the control tower/primary flight control for the flights, and the navigation room. This is the only area of the ship with a guided tour (the rest is self-guided) and it is just fascinating.

Our docent (one of over 700 hundred who volunteer on the Midway) served on the Midway himself in 1958. How cool is that?

Getting around the island (and actually, most of the ship) requires the navigation of lots and lots of very steep ladders. Luckily, Victoria just barely met the height requirement.

The docent had the girls sit in the “boss” and “mini” chairs in the control tower. These were the spots which controlled all incoming and outgoing flights.

The control tower’s view of the departing runway. It defies logic how planes can take off in such a short space (the arriving runway is longer, but also short). Cables help catapult planes into the air; they also help “catch” landing planes and slow them down in time. What a ride that must be.

There’s a nice view of downtown San Diego from the flight deck.

This is a F-14 Tomcat, the aircraft brought into the nation’s consciousness in “Top Gun.”

Here’s a Sea Knight helicopter, only one of the many aircraft available for viewing on the Midway.

This is inside the Sea Knight.

This sounds silly, but I always wondered how planes didn’t just bounce off the deck in rough seas. They’re tied down…duh!

The Midway is treated to a nice view of “The Kiss” statue on land.

Inside the ship, one gets an intriguing glance into sea life.

Look at those bunks and lockers. Sailors are not afforded much space. Each bunk has a small space underneath for the men’s incidentals.

Look how tight these quarters are! No privacy here.

One of the mess halls.

This is the post office for the whole ship.

The girls each answered questions about what they learned on the Midway to earn their “junior pilot” wings.

The USS Midway is the world’s most visited military attraction. We so enjoyed our time on this amazing aircraft carrier and are grateful our country has opened this up to the public to learn from and enjoy. God bless our military!

King George (and Lady Diana)

Jill's Journal: Last night was the latest night of my kids’ young life. And it’s sooooo fitting because I would guess many of the latest nights of my life (particularly as a teenager) were for the same reason: we were with Diana.

Dear, dear Diana. (And now husband Scott and little ones Ryan and Kate too). We first met 30 – yes, 30! – years ago when we were practically infants in California. We went through school together, all the way from early elementary to high school, and then were joined at the hip during the early college and dating years. She’s moved about 8,000 times since (Scott is a Navy man) and I’ve made a number of big moves myself, but we’ve always, always kept in touch. She writes the world’s best letters and I've always believed she missed her calling as a comedy writer. Somehow she has now settled right here in Virginia, about 50 miles north of where we’re staying, in what appears to be a tiny little hamlet called King George.

We couldn’t wait to make the trek to see her and her very fun family. Her directions led us past the spot where John Wilkes Booth was tracked and believed to be killed (how cool is that?) after he assassinated President Lincoln and into what seemed to be the middle of nowhere. But suddenly, her neighborhood loomed boldly out of the deep country and there was her beautiful house right in front of us.

What a fun day! Diana and I got all day to catch up (but of course it wasn’t enough) while the kids played and played and played. And after working hours, both husbands joined us and we caught up some more. We left with plans and hopes to meet up again while we’re on this coast (and Ryan’s plans to marry Victoria, hopefully at least 20 years down the road).

Oh, and if Diana wasn’t already special in my life, I have to admit she is singlehandedly responsible for introducing me and Rob. They were on a blind date (yes, together!) and clearly not hitting it off when she introduced us. The rest is history. I’ll be forever grateful they annoyed the heck out of each other as dating prospects! Happily, they make excellent friends. :)