#Life - The Midway (San Diego)

Recent Anne and I were able to make a trip down to San Diego; well, she went for a work conference, I went as the "plus one". Before I left, I had heard that if I had time I should make my way over to the USS Midway, which now as a floating museum makes its home in San Diego.

When I arrived at the Midway, I initially balked at the $15 charge to just "walk around a boat". For a moment, I stood there and considered moving onto other options in San Diego, but seeing that I had a the whole day to myself, and I couldn't really come up with something better to do, I decided to pay. It might have been the best decision I made the whole trip.

I think one of the things that pushed me over the edge to check out the Midway was this emblem on the side of the ship:



Commissioned, September 20th 1945 and decommissioned April 11th, 1992; I was very intrigued by a ship that entered service just days after the end of WWII (September 2, 1945 for those that don't remember) and left service after Desert Storm.

Once I was on the ship it became very clear this was not going to be an hour trek around a boat. I put on the audio guided headphones and was informed as I marched off to "station #1" that there were 80+ different stops that I'd be making throughout my day on the USS Midway. One of my favorite aspects of the tour was that they start you in the lowest ranking parts of the boat and slowly move you "up the ranks". Amazing how different your life could be on the ship:

The lowest of the ranks:


A "touch" higher ranking:


As you moved through the ship, it was easy to take a moment and get caught up in the emotion of the situation. I found myself many of times just standing in a place and wondering how many very tough men came through here and what they were thinking and doing. One of the most juxtapositional rooms was the Chapel. In a place that is filled with so much metal and harshness, created for the pure purpose of killing, it seemed oddly out of place, but all together necessary.



Of course, there were plenty of pieces and places for humor - this one in particular jumped out at me. This plaque was in the Command Master Chief's quarters, someone that when the position was described on the audio tour sounded very much like the HR office of the boat (tried to keep an ear on the pulse of the crew, attempting to figure out what they needed to work at their top level).



I still find myself a bit perplexed how they managed to keep this boat, and its technology, relevant from 1945 until 1992. Many places you'd find buttons, levers, and switches that just seemed large and clunky. No more was this question of relevancy more apparent than in the communications room.



Finally, one of the rooms where, when you stopped and listened, you just couldn't help to be engrossed. The command room was in full "action" mode - lights a bit dimmed, the screens all illuminated. And in the background, there was the familiar reporting of the Desert Storm war. It was extremely powerful.





Anyways - the Midway was a great ship and a wonderful museum. I can say I enjoyed every second I spent on the boat. My only recommendation would be bringing a snack and a bottle of water, because you're going to get tired and you're not going to want to leave.