Paint Horse
Mar 22, 12, 11:14 am
Cabaret G did not generate any noise much to my surprise. Still I was wide awake at 6 am. I decided I might as well head on over to the USS Texas just in case the traffic was as bad. No matter what day or time of day you venture on to it you cannot trust the traffic on I45. The experience the day before going to and from Galveston was testament to that. The free breakfast at the Comfort Suite did nothing for me. Besides I need to be awake for an hour or so before I can eat. Surely I thought there will be several fast food joints somewhere between the hotel and the park. It was a 20 mile trip. Once again I was incorrect. There was no such place anywhere on I45, 610, or 225 except for one brand new McDonalds in Pasadena. I took it as a bad sign that there were several very professionally made decals on the menu board and drive through windows saying they do not give refunds, any incorrect order will be fixed, but NO refunds. Sure enough the sausage biscuit was a sausage cheese biscuit. I hate cheese on these things. I did not go back for a correction or refund. Now if you have so many problems with incorrect orders that you have decals made to place all around the restaurant, would it not make more sense to spend the money on training the staff instead?
While mussing on this suddenly as I drove past some trees there stood the goal of the whole trip, BB-35. See for yourself.
BB-35
http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp344/chippsphoto/BB-35/1257.jpg
If you have any interest in ships in general, warships, or WWII, this is a tour you should definitely take. It was extremely interesting. Here is the idea behind the tour as explained on the tour group’s website:
Participants will be able to see areas of the ship rarely seen by the public. Featured highlights of the tours include the Ammo Handling Room, Drying Room, Boiler Room, Main Radio Room, Plotting Room, Forward Dynamo Room, Forward Power Distribution Room, Central Station, # 1 Turret, and the Pilot House.
Hard Hats are provided, and water will be available along the tour route during breaks. Flashlight (Some areas are dark) especially if the lights go OUT. Comfortable shoes that lace-up. No Slip-on style shoes. Comfortable pair of gloves if you wish. Camera if you want to take pictures. You may want to bring a Water canteen on a belt or backpack style. During the May and October Tours it can be warm below decks. You should exercise caution when booking your tours. There are NO tours during the summer months. You must be able to climb numerous ladders and steep stairs to access many areas of the ship during your 3 + hour tour.
They are not kidding. Here are some random thoughts on the tour from bottom to top. To get to the spaces you visit you must climb down from the main deck to the very bottom of the ship using ladders that are the steepest, narrowest I have ever been on. Some of the hatches were obviously made for hamsters, not humans. Once there it was way too cool to be standing at the very bottom of the ship on top of the double hull. The boiler room must have been a very uncomfortable place to work in at 120 degrees Fahrenheit. The uptakes from the boiler room up to the funnel are huge. The process of handling the powder bags and shells was very intricate. All of the divisions and isolation was to keep a flash from setting off all of the rooms one after the other. This part of the ship is difficult to show in photographs. You need to walk around the rooms to get the idea.
Powder and Shell Handling Room
http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp344/chippsphoto/BB-35/1293.jpg
Powder Room
http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp344/chippsphoto/BB-35/1296.jpg
Shell in Hoist to Turret
http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp344/chippsphoto/BB-35/1313.jpg
Here is a diagram I stole off the Internet.
http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp344/chippsphoto/BB-35/Turret.gif
This lack of space is even worse inside the turrets. The open area inside the turret was incredibly small. Notice the gun trainers sitting under the gun in the diagram. The space is not anywhere near as tall as the diagram shows. Here is a photograph of the space.
Gun Trainer Pointer Position
http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp344/chippsphoto/BB-35/1373.jpg
Keep in mind the back of the gun tilts down when ready to fire giving them even less space at the back. When fired it recoiled back about four feet right over their heads. These guns could fire every 45 seconds.
This lack of space was also true of the powder transfer room in the turret. The sailors down there picked up the 105 pound powder bags sent up from below and threw them up to the loading tray level.
Powder Bag
http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp344/chippsphoto/BB-35/1302.jpg
Here is the 14 inch gun in the turret.
14 Inch Gun
http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp344/chippsphoto/BB-35/1377.jpg
And from the outside
http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp344/chippsphoto/BB-35/1278.jpg
The bridge was much smaller than I expected.
Bridge
http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp344/chippsphoto/BB-35/1415.jpg
This trip was definitely worth taking. The tour takes 3 1/2 hours. I had just enough time to walk around the public areas of the ship, and then it was off to the airport.
When I arrived to return the car to National NOCAR Rental the Emerald Club experience had not improved. The point to the membership in this club on the return is that you drive up, leave the car, and go. But it is hard to leave the car when everyone with whom you might leave it are standing inside the air conditioned office watching you stand on the lot.
Once at HOU the experience improved considerably. Not having time for lunch and throwing away breakfast meant I was definitely hungry. Following the central rule of Texas cooking that if you can eat it, you can fry it, I stopped at the Pappadeaux’s airside for fried catfish. I am pleased to report the quality is just as good as the regular restaurants. The prices even looked to be exactly the same.
AE does not seem to do the gate shift game at HOU that it plays at DFW. The ride back left from the same gate it came in on the day before. While sitting there waiting for the flight I noticed the gate agent looking at something among the seats. From what I could discern from the actions of the airport personnel this was an unattended bag. Just as the security personnel arrived the bag owner returned. Very nice work on the gate agent’s part for being so observant.
The flight back was just as good as the one down there. The arrival was quite entertaining as we floated a long way down the runway, coasted for a while with the nose in the air, and then gave a whole new meaning to high-speed taxiway on exiting the runway. This was followed by the fastest transit from one side of the airport to the other I have ever experienced. We stopped short of the gate to wait for the ground staff since according to the pilot we were a little early. No doubt.
I recommend a trip to Houston and Galveston to visit these three ships. I am more interested in WWII history than the 50s, but the USS Cavalla at least showed how small these submarines were. The USS Stewart provided a very good look at a typical destroyer escort. The USS Texas is a classic example of a dreadnought style battleship.
While mussing on this suddenly as I drove past some trees there stood the goal of the whole trip, BB-35. See for yourself.
BB-35
http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp344/chippsphoto/BB-35/1257.jpg
If you have any interest in ships in general, warships, or WWII, this is a tour you should definitely take. It was extremely interesting. Here is the idea behind the tour as explained on the tour group’s website:
Participants will be able to see areas of the ship rarely seen by the public. Featured highlights of the tours include the Ammo Handling Room, Drying Room, Boiler Room, Main Radio Room, Plotting Room, Forward Dynamo Room, Forward Power Distribution Room, Central Station, # 1 Turret, and the Pilot House.
Hard Hats are provided, and water will be available along the tour route during breaks. Flashlight (Some areas are dark) especially if the lights go OUT. Comfortable shoes that lace-up. No Slip-on style shoes. Comfortable pair of gloves if you wish. Camera if you want to take pictures. You may want to bring a Water canteen on a belt or backpack style. During the May and October Tours it can be warm below decks. You should exercise caution when booking your tours. There are NO tours during the summer months. You must be able to climb numerous ladders and steep stairs to access many areas of the ship during your 3 + hour tour.
They are not kidding. Here are some random thoughts on the tour from bottom to top. To get to the spaces you visit you must climb down from the main deck to the very bottom of the ship using ladders that are the steepest, narrowest I have ever been on. Some of the hatches were obviously made for hamsters, not humans. Once there it was way too cool to be standing at the very bottom of the ship on top of the double hull. The boiler room must have been a very uncomfortable place to work in at 120 degrees Fahrenheit. The uptakes from the boiler room up to the funnel are huge. The process of handling the powder bags and shells was very intricate. All of the divisions and isolation was to keep a flash from setting off all of the rooms one after the other. This part of the ship is difficult to show in photographs. You need to walk around the rooms to get the idea.
Powder and Shell Handling Room
http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp344/chippsphoto/BB-35/1293.jpg
Powder Room
http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp344/chippsphoto/BB-35/1296.jpg
Shell in Hoist to Turret
http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp344/chippsphoto/BB-35/1313.jpg
Here is a diagram I stole off the Internet.
http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp344/chippsphoto/BB-35/Turret.gif
This lack of space is even worse inside the turrets. The open area inside the turret was incredibly small. Notice the gun trainers sitting under the gun in the diagram. The space is not anywhere near as tall as the diagram shows. Here is a photograph of the space.
Gun Trainer Pointer Position
http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp344/chippsphoto/BB-35/1373.jpg
Keep in mind the back of the gun tilts down when ready to fire giving them even less space at the back. When fired it recoiled back about four feet right over their heads. These guns could fire every 45 seconds.
This lack of space was also true of the powder transfer room in the turret. The sailors down there picked up the 105 pound powder bags sent up from below and threw them up to the loading tray level.
Powder Bag
http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp344/chippsphoto/BB-35/1302.jpg
Here is the 14 inch gun in the turret.
14 Inch Gun
http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp344/chippsphoto/BB-35/1377.jpg
And from the outside
http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp344/chippsphoto/BB-35/1278.jpg
The bridge was much smaller than I expected.
Bridge
http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp344/chippsphoto/BB-35/1415.jpg
This trip was definitely worth taking. The tour takes 3 1/2 hours. I had just enough time to walk around the public areas of the ship, and then it was off to the airport.
When I arrived to return the car to National NOCAR Rental the Emerald Club experience had not improved. The point to the membership in this club on the return is that you drive up, leave the car, and go. But it is hard to leave the car when everyone with whom you might leave it are standing inside the air conditioned office watching you stand on the lot.
Once at HOU the experience improved considerably. Not having time for lunch and throwing away breakfast meant I was definitely hungry. Following the central rule of Texas cooking that if you can eat it, you can fry it, I stopped at the Pappadeaux’s airside for fried catfish. I am pleased to report the quality is just as good as the regular restaurants. The prices even looked to be exactly the same.
AE does not seem to do the gate shift game at HOU that it plays at DFW. The ride back left from the same gate it came in on the day before. While sitting there waiting for the flight I noticed the gate agent looking at something among the seats. From what I could discern from the actions of the airport personnel this was an unattended bag. Just as the security personnel arrived the bag owner returned. Very nice work on the gate agent’s part for being so observant.
The flight back was just as good as the one down there. The arrival was quite entertaining as we floated a long way down the runway, coasted for a while with the nose in the air, and then gave a whole new meaning to high-speed taxiway on exiting the runway. This was followed by the fastest transit from one side of the airport to the other I have ever experienced. We stopped short of the gate to wait for the ground staff since according to the pilot we were a little early. No doubt.
I recommend a trip to Houston and Galveston to visit these three ships. I am more interested in WWII history than the 50s, but the USS Cavalla at least showed how small these submarines were. The USS Stewart provided a very good look at a typical destroyer escort. The USS Texas is a classic example of a dreadnought style battleship.