Let The Memories Live Again! -Day 2
Today would be an exciting day for me, as I would be able to visit the USS Midway Museum and the San Diego Air and Space Museum, which were both places that I was excited about prior to going on the trip. However, we needed to stock up on some drinks and more importantly, breakfast! We headed to Snooze AM Eatery, a diner specialising in breakfast. This was one of the two breakfast places that we wanted to visit during the trip. We filled ourselves up with Eggs, Toast, Mash and a tasty Egg Benedict that my Mom enjoyed. The whole experience was highly enjoyable, and the food equally so. We still couldn’t figure out who would eat such a heavy breakfast everyday however.
Next, we headed to Target to get some drinks and some toys for Ashley, before heading off to the first of the two museums we would be visiting today.
First up was the USS Midway Museum. The USS Midway was an Aircraft Carrier launched one week after World War Two ended, and it included many of the changes that the US Navy wanted implemented after fighting in the Pacific against the Japanese Navy. Changes included an armored and reinforced flight deck, and decrease top load, to decrease top-heaviness of such vessels. The USS Midway served until 1992, where it was decommissioned.
On board, there were many displays. On entrance, there was a display of a F4F Wildcat, the backbone of the early 1940s Navy. Although outclassed by the A6M Zero in almost every aspect except suvivability and dive speed, pilots were able to use the strengths of the wildcat to fight against the Japanese Navy. It was not until the F6F Hellcat arrived when the Wildcat was able to take a step back from front-line action. It was also alongside a SBD Dauntless Dive Bomber, with it’s speed brakes deployed. The Dauntless was a classic implementation of the dive bomber, put into great use.
Next to the display was the F4U Corsair, one of the most iconic World War Two planes, which were sitting next to some cockpit cutouts, including one out of a E-2 Hawkeye, which we were able to go into, it was great fun. Before heading up to the flight deck, we entered one of the air combat simulators and had some fun shooting down enemy aircraft. I shot down a collective 6 aircraft (Does that make me an ace now?).
Up on the flight deck, there were even more aircraft on display, mostly from the early and mid Jet eras. Some of the more iconic planes included the F-14 Tomcat (The planes from Top Gun), the F/A 18 Hornet, the F4 Phantom and several other Jets. A surprise to see was the A-1 Skyraider, which is a plane I absolutely adore. The first proper ground attack aircraft, which was the grandfather to the current A-10 Warthog, one of the most feared planes currently in service.
We also had the opportunity to look into the internals of the carrier, seeing the Captain’s quarters and some of the radar rooms. We also took a tour of the bridge where we were able to see how the ship was operated. Soon, we took our leave and headed towards the San Diego Air and Space Museum.
This was a museum that I was also looking forward to, albeit more boring to others. There was a display of many aircraft, but I had the most fun looking around the World War 2 display section, where the only replica of the Horten 229 Bomber was on display. Other aircraft included the Supermarine Spitfire, Vought F4U Corsair and Mitsubishi A6M7 Zero. The only complaint we had was that the museum was pretty small, although they had many displays. I left satisfied and we headed for lunch.
We headed to Point Loma Seafood, where we picked up Lunch. We had some Sour Dough Sandwiches, Fish Tacos and Fish n’ Chips. The only thing that we didn’t enjoy was the tacos, which felt a little rubbery.
After all this, we headed to Carlsbad Premium Outlets for a little shopping. We had fun walking around the place as it also reminded us about shopping in the East Coast. The buildings were similarly built with the same colour scheme. However, we only ended up buying only one wallet after all this time.
For dinner, we wanted something fast and easy, so we headed to In-N-Out burgers for a quick dinner. We had heard good things about In-N-Out, but we felt that it did not live up to expectations, even though Ashley and I enjoyed the meal quite a bit. This was the conclusion to the long day, and we headed back for some rest before another busy day would begin.
