The US Midway, San Diego.

After a spot of work and a change of hotels last weekend I drove further down the coast to San Diego on Sunday to hang out and have a look around. One of the first things I noticed when I arrived was the aircraft carrier Midway sitting close to the downtown area of the city. The carrier has been turned into a museum and you can get to see nearly all of the carrier that was built in the 40’s and was in active service until the 90’s and the first Iraq war. The ship has been reconfigured throughout its life and it is a awesome sight to see the size of the thing and walk around its vast main hanger and 1000ft long flight deck- For only $5 you get a free audio tour and it takes about 3 hours to do the full circuit which I think is a pretty good price.


If you are in the area I can definitely recommend this as a good day out especially if you have kids as you are pretty much free to mess and touch all the dials, knobs, lights, switches, bombs, guns (all difused I am sure!) and get up close to fighter planes and choppers. Just over the harbour from the Midway the huge and modern carrier Ronald Reagan was in berth, looking at these things makes you realise the awesome power and reach of the US military. A really interesting exhibit I saw was the account of the Midway’s time in Japan. The carrier was placed there against the rising threat of the USSR and to protect America's Asian friends in the 70’s. For me the best thing about this museum is that it gives you a sense of how it must have been to live aboard such a carrier and also the many different political climates that the Midway has been through. The photo alongside shows a Huey attack helicopter from the Vietnam war, in the background you can see the carrier's control tower and the downtown skyline.