Vacation – Day 2 started out fantastic. We stopped by the Sigma Chi vendor tables to see what was new. Everyone who saw Andy and John got a kick out of John’s t-shirt. John *is* in training to be a Sigma Chi, you know…
Originally, we were going to take the kids to the beach, but it turns out that it is not a direct path there, so we adjusted our plans. We mentioned the USS Midway Museum (the aircraft carrier) and both kids got very excited. A shuttle from the hotel takes you right there, so off we went!
You really have no idea just how big an aircraft carrier is until you are standing on the flight deck and see just how long the deck really is. It is amazing! We spent the entire afternoon wandering through the ship. We took the self-guided tour and learned all about the different parts of the ship. This is a picture from the end of the flight deck. It is quite a view.
I was most impressed by the wall with all the different squadrons that served on the ship during the 46 years she was in service. Just amazing.
As we were wandering through the ship, we found the brig. We thought about leaving the kids there…
…but then thought better of it. Besides, they were behaving really well at the time and we really had no reason to leave them there. We ended the tour on the flight deck where we got to see the Admiral and Captain’s quarters and many different airplanes and helicopters. We also got to listen to a former Navy pilot talk about what it is like taking off and landing on an aircraft carrier. As we were wandering around, we found a statue of the shooter. Of course, Laura took a moment to pretend to be the shooter.
I asked John to take a turn, but he was already off looking at the next airplane. He really was in heaven and loved every minute of being on the aircraft carrier.
Unfortunately, the five hours that we spent on the USS Midway went by very quickly! It was such a fun day until Andy got a text message that our house had been hit by lightning. Yes. Lightning. While we attended the opening reception of the 80th Sigma Chi Grand Chapter, we were furiously texting and calling people we knew to find out the extent of the damage. There was no fire, so we are thankful for that. We will be home early Monday morning and will know more then.