HolyCoast Tours The Midway

We had a great trip down to San Diego to tour the Midway, a retired aircraft carrier that now serves as a floating museum in San Diego Bay. We took the 8:24 am train out of Irvine which got us to San Diego by 10:10, and that gave us plenty of time to make the short walk to the boat, tour, eat lunch, and walk back in time to catch the 3:00 pm train home. The trip was a belated Christmas present for HolyCoast Dad, and we all had a great time.

The trip was not without its moments, however. As we walked to the ship from the train station we heard a lady calling for help from a nearby parking lot. She had been trying to back her electric scooter up a ramp into her van and had accidentally driven the scooter off the side of the ram. She was caught under the scooter and couldn't get herself or her scooter back up. Fortunately she wasn't hurt, and after we picked her and the scooter up and got everything back together, she was able to go on her way. She had just returned from a Mexican cruise, and I'm pretty sure she hadn't planned to spend the day pinned under her scooter.

On the way back to the train a very agitated guy came across busy Harbor Drive pulling a large rolling suitcase...against the light. Cars were having to brake to avoid hitting him. As he passed us walked out onto the dock, picked up the large and obviously full suitcase, and threw it into the bay. He then muttered various obscenities, crossed Harbor again against the light (I thought for sure he was going to get hit) and headed back up Broadway. I'm not sure what happened, but somebody won't have their favorite traveling jammies tonight.

Getting back to the ship, the tour was great. The Midway has been open for almost a year, and you can take a self-guided audio tour through a great many areas of the ship. If you have trouble with ladders or lots of stairs, this is not the tour for you. Getting from deck to deck involves lots of walking, climbing and descending, and some of the ladders are nearly vertical with very little overhead clearance.

They have a good (though expensive) cafe on board, as well as a gift shop with lots of Midway goodies. Here are some photos from today's trip:


Our chariot arrives in Irvine.

The HolyCoast family preparing to board the ship.

The HolyCoast crew posing for our $20 picture.

(L-R) The Father, The Son, and The HolyCoast.

HolyCoast son in primary flight control, where the Air Boss ran the ship's air operations.

The view from the captain's chair.

The don't call it The Surfliner for nothing.