USS Hornet Museum

The kids had a day off school in May and our friends the Seiperts were going to the USS Hornet Museum in Alameda, so we decided to tag along.  It was a cold overcast day, but that didn't stop us! We decided not to do the narrated tour with all of the kids as they would not have paid attention that long. The ship was huge in person.  The ship was commissioned in 1943. The ship served in WWII and Vietnam. We went inside first and this was one of the bunk areas - 3 high.

Calvin and Grant looking out one of the port hole windows.

The USS Hornet also picked up astronauts in the ocean.  From the museum, "Hornet recovered the astronauts from the first moon landing mission, Apollo 11, on 24 July 1969. President Nixon was on board to welcome the returning astronauts back to Earth, where they lived in quarantine aboard Hornet prior to transfer to the Lunar Receiving Laboratory at Houston. The first steps on Earth of returning moon walkers Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, with Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, are marked on her hangar deck, as part of her Apollo program exhibit."

While inside it was easy to forget that you were on a boat rather than in an airplane hangar.  There were a lot of planes and helicopters on display.

Finally, we went outside to the deck.  It was pretty cold and windy though.  You can see San Francisco  and the Bay Bridge behind the kids. From the left: Nolan, Jaylin, Andrew, Claire, Grant and Calvin.

I am not sure what Grant is doing in this picture.

We didn't take the tour up to the top as they didn't recommend it for small kids.

And finally a picture outside so you can see how tall the ship is.  Afterwards we went to In-N-Burger. It was a pretty fun (and educational) day for everyone.