22 September 13 Midway

22 September Midway

An easy start this morning.  We met a guy from Meadow Springs Mandurah at breakfast this morning.  Small world ain’t it.

We slowly strolled off towards the water front, tracking our way through the historic Gaslight District.  This has some very nice buildings from the 1920/30’s and is very trendy with restaurants and nightlife.  Found a very relaxed shopping strip in really nice buildings on the water front.  Wandered around the bay to the Midway Museum and were surprised to see the Celebrity Solstice there.  Then walked a little further and discovered that the Celebrity Millenium was also there. 

 Solstice

 

We backtracked and went aboard the huge WW2 aircraft carrier USS Midway. ($19 adult &16 senior. Price includes audio guide).  We spent 2 hours here going through crew quarters & areas, the hangar deck and the top deck both of which displayed aircraft.  There were also ex-military men explaining launch and landing processes.  It was very interesting. Despite the cavernous areas for housing aircraft, equipment and supplies, the crew quarters were very cramped and confined. The carrier would have sailed with up to 4500 men.

 Midway

 Bunks 3 high.  12 men in this small area.

 A likely suspect

 

Interestingly, the ship carried 133 planes during WW2 but by the 1960s it had only about 30 planes with much greater complexity and payload. Thereafter, helicopters became increasingly important.

 Take off area.  The top deck       covers 4  acres.

 A Scottish piper right at the front of the ship.  There had been a veteran's ceremony.

 

We sat on the grass by the water and watched the world go by, snacked on a shrimp (prawn) taco while we watched a couple of police deal with one of a group of homeless “veterans?”. Had a stroll through a huge supermarket/delicatessen, admiring the selection of produce and the cheap prices. We pay far too much for food in Aus!!

Back at the hotel, we found that the hot dog party had been set back an hour but we had a good time chatting with some young Asian travellers. So many enterprising and resourceful young people going around the world.

J: My overall impression of San Diego is that it is clean and friendly and well worth spending a few days here.