Monday, May 08, 2006
USS Lexington & Texas Aquarium Day
When we got up today, we decided to do some more sightseeing. Our destination: the USS Lexington and the Texas Aquarium, conveniently located down the bay from our hotel. There was this really great beach that we found near there too, only a day too late for us to visit. Oh well, there's always next trip.
The USS Lexington was a very awesome ship, approximately 100,000 square feet. it took a few hours to take the entire tour. I have a whole new respect for those Navy sailors who had to climb up and down all those ladders. My legs are killing me after all that climbing we had to do. There is a non-working escalator on board, so I even had to walk down it. The only good thing was that gravity was nicer to me with the escalator. The angle of descent wasn't nearly as steep.
This tour took us all over the ship, and was more detailed than other battleships I have toured. You got to see the quarters of all of the enlisted men and officers. What they call home is very modest compared to what most of us call home. This ship was also an aircraft carrier, and they had quite a few plane types on deck for your viewing pleasure. You could even go all the way up to the main control deck and see what the captains who pilot the boat have to work with. There were map rooms and radio control rooms. So much to look at.and be thankful that these guys are looking out for us, the US.
The Texas Aquarium was very well put together. It has one of the best saltwater habitats that I have ever seen. They also had a great Amazon exhibit complete with parrots, spiders, and other creatures that go "bump" in the night in the Amazon rainforest.
We also got to view a dolphin training session. Those dolphins were very smart, possibly smarter than a lot of humans I know.
These attractions were within a block of each other and I recommend them highly. A fun time was had by all.
The USS Lexington was a very awesome ship, approximately 100,000 square feet. it took a few hours to take the entire tour. I have a whole new respect for those Navy sailors who had to climb up and down all those ladders. My legs are killing me after all that climbing we had to do. There is a non-working escalator on board, so I even had to walk down it. The only good thing was that gravity was nicer to me with the escalator. The angle of descent wasn't nearly as steep.
This tour took us all over the ship, and was more detailed than other battleships I have toured. You got to see the quarters of all of the enlisted men and officers. What they call home is very modest compared to what most of us call home. This ship was also an aircraft carrier, and they had quite a few plane types on deck for your viewing pleasure. You could even go all the way up to the main control deck and see what the captains who pilot the boat have to work with. There were map rooms and radio control rooms. So much to look at.and be thankful that these guys are looking out for us, the US.
The Texas Aquarium was very well put together. It has one of the best saltwater habitats that I have ever seen. They also had a great Amazon exhibit complete with parrots, spiders, and other creatures that go "bump" in the night in the Amazon rainforest.
We also got to view a dolphin training session. Those dolphins were very smart, possibly smarter than a lot of humans I know.
These attractions were within a block of each other and I recommend them highly. A fun time was had by all.
