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As I reflect upon my visit to the USS Midway Museum in early March 2020 and write this post, 2020 is certainly in the rearview mirror. In fact, 2021 is wrapping up as well. Did I intend to write this post sooner? OF COURSE! The Covid-19 pandemic is still in full swing. My life has been quite the “series of unfortunate events” as of late in addition to the whole GLOBAL PANDEMIC of it all. Many people would love to erase the last couple years from the history books as it’s been a time of great strife and struggle. There are definitely some parts I would like to forget. While it’s been a roller coaster of a time, I could never just metaphorically throw it in the trash.
That’s because I was fortunate enough to get to fulfill a lifelong dream of going to California, and even better attending Social Media Marketing World 2020. I allotted myself some extra time in San Diego after the conference was over to see the sights and I am so glad I did. It turned out to be one the best weeks of my life. I feel very grateful for the timing of it all. The trip was the first week of March and a week later the entire country pretty much shut down due to the pandemic. Please note that if you go visit, you need to research Covid protocols ahead of time! Once again, when I went it was pre-pandemic. Barely. Here is a link to their website to check out after you read the rest of this post: https://www.midway.org/?fbclid=IwAR3cbjluF-EY0ab-zI-4y01UeY-1bRrSN7Zgucc48DQJzMWjBsfA59rSrZY
While researching San Diego ahead of time I knew the USS Midway Museum was at the top of my list. Everything I’d read said to pretty much allow an entire day for a visit to the ship so I did. I actually watched the movie Midway because I thought the ship was involved in the WWII battle. Turns out it was named after the battle. Good thing I did that deep dive ahead of time so I didn’t ask any super embarrassing questions while I was there! I got super lucky because I ended up getting free tickets through the SMMW20 event Facebook group! The conference was over March 3rd and I knew I needed a day to chill after. I planned to spend all day at the USS Midway and March 5th was it!
I had mentioned to an Uber driver the day before (because I went out and about instead of relaxing of course) that I was planning to go the next day. He gave me a great tip! He said to go to the Flight Deck first because it gets crowded later in the day. That was an excellent move because I did not bring sunscreen on my trip with me. I decided to walk from my hotel because it was only about a mile. I was so excited I had lots of energy to burn. Obviously I had to TikTok and Instagram along the way. The closer I got the more excited I got. I could see the Kissing Statue in the distance as I neared the ocean. I decided to check that out after the Midway. I have no sense of direction so naturally I walked right past the entrance at first.
My teacher self was thrilled that as soon as I got there I saw a group of kiddos on a field trip. I saw a lot of families there during my visit. That made my teacher/history nerd heart happy. Of course I picked up a device to listen to audio soundbites throughout the museum. I also did the green screen photos. You can skip that part. I declined to do the flight simulator machine thing. Just tell your kids no. It’s right at the entrance. See it in the video mash up after the I visited the Flight Deck and ate lunch later in the post.
There were so many planes to see on the flight deck. I just wandered around aimlessly for quite awhile. There were several different presentations form docents who were veterans who had served aboard the USS Midway. I LOVED hearing their stories! I didn’t mind waiting for them. I even did the tour of the tower part. The view of the Kissing Statue was unparalleled. What was not great was my attempt to take a selfie with the statue in the background! I tried to live stream from the Flight Deck but it the signal was too poor and it was super windy. Check out the video below for a compilation of my photos from the Flight Deck including those selfie fails. This one is one of my favorites. It’s me holding a “doughnut” which could make or break take off. I loved seeing the black marks from take off and landing on the deck.
I spent quite a bit of time on the Flight Deck and worked up an appetite. I believe a fancy pants cafe has been added since I went. I just grabbed a sandwich from a snack bar type thing. OK and a tasty cookie. Yay for me getting fruit as well. I had lots of feathered friends for company.
After eating, I was refueled enough to check out the main deck. I took a closer look at the flight simulator thing while walking right on by. That was a no from me. I did check out alllll the other things. I don’t know about you but the dummies they have set up in museums like this creep me out. They were all over. I actually got scared in one part and abandoned ship. Not literally. Just that part of the tour of the living quarters. There were plenty of things to listen to for the audio tour along the main deck.
I enjoyed checking out the little book shop on one end of the deck and chatting with the man working there. He even gave me a free DVD after I bought some books. That was gift shop number one. Check out more of it in the next mash-up video. Here’s a picture of the books I bought. Don’t my new sweaters from Christmas make an amazing backdrop?
The next thing I did was check out the Battle of Midway movie. It was so good I bought a copy of the DVD! While I was waiting I toured the part of the museum with the creepy dummies that scared me. I decided to continue to wait back by the theater. After the movie, the last thing to do was check out the gift shop. I was born for museum gift shops. I do not have a photo of everything I bought there. It included not 1, but 2 t-shirts and more. It was quite a bit of coinage. And naturally I forgot all about a coupon I had! Here is a mash-up of the book shop, movie, creepy part I where I got scared, and the gift shop.
The last thing to do while at the USS Midway Museum was to check out The Kissing Statue. I will spare you the video of me ranting about someone ruining the moment by playing the trumpet and all of the cheesy selfie-taking couples getting in my way. True story I literally got dumped via text by my then boyfriend via text while on the Flight Deck. That’a another story for another time. I will never forget my time aboard the USS Midway Museum. I highly recommend visiting and allotting a whole day like I did. I learned a lot while onboard and I have learned even more from their social media posts since visiting. Since then, I have listened to a book on Audible about “The Kiss” photo. It was fascinating. Another highly recommended thing from me. Here is a link to the book on the National WW2 Website: https://store.nationalww2museum.org/the-kissing-sailor-hb/
