Saturday began the work portion of the trip. I vowed to do my best to participate in all the things I should, to make up for all the fun I am having and am planning to have on the trip (minus the sun burn stuff). I slept in before heading down for registration and a brunch. I then proceeded to the exhibit hall, which featured vulture salespeople throwing their website design and technology products to anyone who was in the vicinity. I walked quickly, grabbing as much free stuff as I could without being harassed, and quickly vacated the exhibit hall and headed back up to my room.
After some television to kill some time, I then went to my first meeting of the convention. I think it may have been my last meeting of the convention. It was one of those long, drawn out, boring meetings that took about three times longer than it really needed to take or should have taken. I resorted to sending text messages to my sister just to kill time. The meeting lasted about two hours total, after which I decided I really didn’t have the energy to make the next meeting I had planned on attending, so it was back to the room where I vegged out and watched more movies until dinner.
Our conference office was springing for dinner, so a group of about a dozen of us all went to a nearby restaurant. It was on the bay, and was a very nice place, but ridiculously overpriced. I have no problem paying a lot of money for a meal, but I had better leave the place thinking wow, that was great food. I should not have left the restaurant thinking well, for $23, that piece of fish was just okay. A meal costing that much should be something you can’t walk down the street to another restaurant and get for half that price. But hey, I didn’t pay, so why should I complain?
Sunday was a lazy day to start. I was pretty tired from all the activity the first few days and from all the sun, so I decided to leave the alarm clock off when I went to bed Saturday night. I guess I needed the sleep. I didn’t wake up until almost 10:30. After a luncheon for the convention (again, free food – whose to complain?), I had the afternoon to myself since I had decided the day before I had attended my last meeting of the convention. I decided the visit the USS Midway Museum, one of the hot spots I had decided before the trip I absolutely had to visit.
The USS Midway is an out of ser
vice aircraft carrier that was docked and turned into a museum. I wasn’t sure what to expect, other than being a big history and military history fan I was sure I would enjoy it and I wasn’t disappointed. When I first boarded the ship, I was given headphones and an iPod like device that served as a self-guided tour of the ship. There were signs showing which paths to take and directions to go, and each stop or area of the ship had a yellow sign with a number on it. This assured that I was going in the right direction and all I had to do was punch in that number and the iPod device would play a description of the area I was visiting at that time. It was an ingenious way of providing a narrative on a tour around the ship, while still allowing me to walk and visit different areas at my own pace. I became a quick fan.
The tour started on the hanger deck with a few planes on display and the requisite tourist area with snack shop and gift shop. I then started the actual tour by going through the berthing spaces for the crew, showing their bunks and living quarters, which were incredibly cramped and tight. It advanced to the junior officer’s quarters, which were slightly more spacious, but still pretty cramped. Then I took a detour down to the engine rooms and brig. It’s funny how they put the ship’s jail in the bottom, near the hot and noisy engine area, a sure deterrent that culprits would not want to screw up and visit the brig again. Then it was back to the hanger deck for a couple more displays of planes.
Then I went down into the guts of the ship, going down the incredibly small steps, which were no more than six inches in depth, and steep stairs that went almost straight down (mom – this tour is NOT for you). This level featured all the chow lines and wardrooms for the officers to eat and hang out in, as well as some of the living quarters for the executive officer and Chaplin of the ship. It was basically the “city” part of the ship, that contained the post office, sick bay, laundry areas, eating quarters – all the things necessary for day to day activities that were not directly related to the ships operation. It was amazing to see all of the services provided, and the living quarters for the ships crew and basically what they lived in during their deployments. I was constantly amazed at how someone could find their way around the ship without the handy little yellow numbered signs. All the hallways looked alike, and were not made for anyone over six-feet tall.
Then it was up to the flight deck, where there were numerous planes and helicopters on display, showing the different types of aircraft that flew on the ship. Taking note of a tip provided on the museum guide map, I went straight over the line to climb up and see the island superstructure, which contained the bridge and flight control areas. This was a newly opened area and by far the coolest thanks to some good timing and good luck. This part of the tour was guided by volunteers, most of who served in the military and many of them served on that very ship. They only took 20 people per group through this part of the tour, which lasted about 15-20 minutes. As they were admitting people for the next group, I was desperately hoping the line wouldn’t get cut off right in front of me, causing another 10-minute wait before beginning. Luckily, I was number 19, and allowed in this group. Good luck charm number one. As the guide went through a brief introduction and explanation of what we were going to see, a volunteer lady working on the other side allowed a gentleman and his son to join the group, giving us 22, and explained to our guide that this gentleman, by the name of Joe, actually served on the USS Midway. Good luck charm number two. Joe wasn’t that old, and I found out later he served on that very ship as a navigator for five years in the mid 1980s. I quickly made it a point to move close to him and hear his stories.
The tour proceeded to the flight control area. This was the area where the flight control officers directed and managed all aircraft traffic on the ship. There were two seats in an area that overlooked the flight deck, and it had all the information and chart boards used to direct the craziness of moving planes from the hanger to the flight deck, launching planes and recovering planes coming in to land. I can’t begin to imagine how stressful that job must have been. From there, it was off to the navigator area. Good luck charm number three set in as I ended up next to Joe. The guide turned that portion of the tour over to Joe, who told about the area we were in, what it was used for and what their job was. He added stories and little tidbits about that section of the ship from when he served, and it was obvious from his tone of voice and the expressions on his face that he was truly enjoying the moment as he recalled all his past memories. It was really neat to see someone who served on that ship, in this very room we were standing in, talking about all his experiences and the times he remembered from the ship. As the group was leaving to go to the next area, Joe asked if I could take a picture of him and his son standing over the chart table where he once had worked. It was obvious that Joe truly loved being able to get that picture with his son, and I was glad to be able to help.
The group then moved to the captain’s bridge, where the actual sailing and control of the ship took place. Having come in after the rest of the group with Joe and his son, we partially listened to the tour guide, but Joe then started telling his own explanation, complete with stories and anecdotes from his days on the ship. Again, lucky charm number four as I got the inside scoop on some great stories, including the time Joe once got caught sitting in the captain’s chair – an absolute no-no on any ship. He again asked if I could take a picture of him and his son standing at the helm of the ship, and I was glad to help out.
That part of the tour ended, and it was back down to the flight deck. My only bad luck portion of the visit was timing. I didn’t arrive at the Midway until almost 3pm. They say the self-guided tour with the narrative takes about two hours. As I walked out on the flight deck, it was already 4:45 and I hadn’t visited the aircraft or displays on the flight deck, and it closed at 5 pm. I went over to an area in the middle of the ship where a veteran who flew planes on the Midway back in the 1970s was talking about landing on an aircraft carrier. He had some great information on what that experience was like. Because of my bad timing though, I missed the gentleman on the other side of the ship who talked about the experience of the catapult take offs as well as a couple other areas and the aircraft on the flight deck. I tried looking at the aircraft until they basically came around and kicked me off the boat. It was truly a great visit, and one I could easily go back and do again later this week should time allow, which may be tomorrow evening as luck would have it. The convention is actually having a reception on the flight deck of the USS Midway Monday evening, so I’m sure I’ll do what I can to attend that event and be able to walk around and look at the aircraft, although I’m not sure what portions of the boat will actually be open.
Prior to dinner, I met some friends at the ESPN reception that was part of our convention. We met there and decided on when and where to go for dinner. While killing some time before going to change for dinner, I looked around the room and noticed Bill Walton, and decided it was now time for me to head out immediately (I can’t stand Walton). For dinner, a group of us decided to hit a very historical landmark bar/restaurant in the
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