The U.S.S Hornet

Recently, I went to Alameda and visited the U.S.S Hornet. The U.S.S Hornet CV-12 is a United States Navy aircraft carrier of the Essex class. It started in 1941. It served in the two most important mission of 1900’s which are the landing of Apollo 11 and WW2. It served in the WW2, Korean War, and Vietnam War, Operation Magic Carpet.

When we went there, The First thing I saw was a gigantic helicopter.”Cool!” I exclaimed. We saw this video about safety and then we went on a tour of the engine room of the Hornet. I saw Shirley, or the giant engine in the room. We learned many stories on the tour. The tour lasted 1 hour, so after the tour, it was 1:30.

It was lunch time  right now and we were all famished, so we were forced to go to the

U.S.S Hornet. Most of the items on the menu were containing meat, so we had to eat the Veggie Burger. We gave the counter our order and sat on the table. All the table had pigeons on them + their poop. When we received our order, it was just two buns and a veg burger. We also bought a nacho box for $4.30. When we got it, it was HUGE!! When we opened the box, the nachos looked terrible. I slowly picked up a chip. It glared at me with it’s huge cheesy eyes. I was starting to have second thoughts. . . I put the chip in my mouth. BLECHHHHH!!!!! It tasted HORRIBLE. I wish it was a tasty type that you get in Regal Cinemas when your watching a movie. I totally regret eating that nacho. When everybody else ate another nacho, we decided to just throw it out.

Around this time it was 3 o'clock. Just in time for our flight simulator tickets we bought at the front desk. We went in to the flight simulator with a great expectation that we would control a plane and try to shoot down Iraqi planes simulating Operation Desert Storm. It was so disappointing, that it felt you are in a plane and the computer is shooting down other planes without and controls. The visual effects were terrible. We regret buying the two simulator tickets.

The next thing we did was going on a flight deck tour. It showed the island picture of island or tower of the aircraft carrier. I had to climb up 5 flights of stairs + a not working escalator  to  get up there. I also got to sit in the captain’s chair, but it wasn’t very comfortable. I can’t imagine how the captain sat for hours in this chair directing the ship. I also went to the admiral’s room- the admiral is a navy officer who directs a group of ships. I learned about the navigation system of during WW2.

Overall, I liked the part when I was on the flight deck, where the aircraft take off and land. I saw many aircraft, and I want to be a pilot when I grow up, so I have a natural interest to it. My least favorite part was the cafeteria food. That food was the worst food I’ve ever tasted. Well, the veggie burgers were pretty good, but the nachos- too much. I would recommend this journey through the 40,000 tons of history in the Hornet. In spite of the bad food it is a great experience.