Despite this m'otel scoring 3 mehs out of 10, it did have a pretty strong internet connection so I was taking advantage catching up on my blog. I think I was only 4 days behind at that point. What I had been doing is downloading videos and pictures daily into a folder just for that day, and then in the text field I would put in the salient points for interesting things that happened during the course of that day. When I would finally get to writing about that day, I would have a Cole's Notes version to jog my memory.

I got behind right from the start and then the days I spent with Bill put me further behind. Unless I am riding solo I just don't have the discipline to write for 2 hours a day after riding, eating and drinking.

So this morning of a my last non-riding day of this trip I was up around 0800 and blogged until about 1100 releasing 2 days worth. I got ready for my tour of The Lexington and departed on foot. I had read some reviews about the museum and everyone complained about the parking, and I had booked here specifically due to proximity. Google maps said 0.3 mile and 8 minutes walking time, although it really took 30 minutes, it was still pretty convenient.

I shot a ton of video on The Lexington which I will edit and upload at a later date. The history of the ship is quite substantial, the first Lexington Aircraft Carrier was commissioned in 1922, you can read about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Lexin gton_(CV-2) In all there have been 5 ships named Lexington. CV2 was steam powered as evidenced by hersubstantial smoke stack.



Sorry to be a spoiler but the sad ending of her sinking at The Battle of The Coral Sea was not the end of the Lexington name. There was an Essex class carrier that was in the final stages of construction and workers from the shipyard petitioned the Secretary of the Navy to rename the boat The Lexington. That is the boat we are touring today and you can read about her here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Lexin gton_(CV-16) This pictures shows her celebrating her 300 000th trap (landing of an aircraft). Before she was decommissioned she did almost half a million traps, an amazing number!



Also amazing is that the arrestor cables are replaced after every 150ish traps although that number may have been lower before jet powered aircraft were deployed.

During the battle of Leyte Gulf she was hit by a Kamikaze on her island structure but despite the almost complete destruction of the island casualties were low and repairs were effected quickly.



So, after sharing all that history, and shooting a ton of video, and spending 4 hours walking around and climbing all over the ship (where I was allowed to) when it was time to leave I would have to say I was disappointed. The aircraft on board this ship were all trainers, only a few models that saw combat. Areas below the flight deck, crew quarters, mess, ships operations etc were mediocre with most areas roped off to the general public. As were areas in the island, air ops, combat ops etc.

Compared to my first carrier tour aboard the Hornet in San Francisco harbor, this one paled in comparison. All 3 of the carriers I was on were self guided tours although there were also doscent guided tours on Hornet and Midway. The Lexington seemed like a watered down version. Perhaps because it is my third the excitement is gone, or my expectations are too high?

After I had disembarked there was a curved cement causeway that I wanted to walk out onto to capture some video from a different angle. Just as I got off the gang plank there was a whole gaggle of small carbon based life forms (children, that is, under the age of 25) all pulling their little suitcases behind them as the boarded the ship.



I had read some advertising aboard the ship talking about schools spending the night on the ship and taking their meals in the mess. What a great way to preserve that history!

I walked on the narrow 3' wide concrete causeway that curved next to the carrier, it was about 1/4 mile long. Most of the walk was solid concrete with the water lapping gently against it. However when we passed out from behind the carrier and were exposed to the open ocean the causeway was quite damaged and was being, at times, pounded by waves. I am not a good swimmer, nor do I really like water, but I was brave and made it all the way to the end and back.

Heading back to my m'otel I elected to walk on the beach, there was a winding asphalt path called, wait for it, Beach Walk that wound its way in front of all of the m'otels. It was pretty windy, and the ocean looked quite rough however there were still families lounging on the shoreline and playing in the water.



I kept walking past The Days Inn and went to my gas station for some beverages. There was no hope of fresh produce today so, sadly, What-A-Burger was for supper again. I returned to my room for a nap in the aircon, then watched the sun set on the beach again. The balance of the evening was spent watching Top Gear on NetFlix and a little bloggage.

Day 15
Corpus Christi, TX - Lexington Museum
Non Riding Day