Aboard the USS Midway

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One of the places we had to see while we were in San Diego was the USS Midway Museum because Donan has been interested in fighter jets since we saw the Blue Angels last year. I wanted to show him different aircraft types (the FA-18s aren't the only aeroplanes in the sky), and a museum was the best place to see such a variety of aircraft. Et voila! 

The USS Midway is an aircraft carrier on active duty from 1945 to 1992 (yes, that's from World War II to Desert Storm). Currently moored at the Navy Pier in San Diego, it is one of the largest museums I have ever visited. Just see how big the ship's island (tower) is from the dock! We had to take a ramp and an elevator to reach the red, white, and blue banner on the lower right of the photo!


However, we only stayed in the hangar for a quick rest for Mommy because Donan wasn't comfortable in the big, dark space. We skipped the exhibit about the Battle of Midway, a major battle in the Pacific Theatre of World War II, and proceeded to the flight deck (where the exciting stuff was). 


This aeroplane was the highlight of Donan's trip to the USS Midway. He instantly recognised it as the FA-18 Hornet from Top Gun. 


He ran around the flight deck excitedly, checking out the aeroplanes and helicopters. He listened to the audio tour guide. He posed for photos with a statue of an aircraft director. He was just so happy!

Meanwhile, Mommy and Daddy listened to a lecture about how jets took off and landed on such a short runway. The lecturer used to be a Navy pilot and had firsthand experience with these challenging feats. I missed the lecture because I was chasing after Donan. 

After our flight deck tour, we decided to skip the guided tour of the island (the tower) because it involved a lot of climbing and the space was too tight (strollers might not be allowed in the tour). We ended our stay in the USS Midway by buying a Blue Angel plane for Donan. While in the queue for paying, a guy spotted our toy jetplane. He said he was a fellow Blue Angels fan and showed us his Blue Angels watch. That was cool, I thought. Maybe one day, when Donan is older and still interested in naval aviation, I'll get him a watch just like that.

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