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Friday, April 4, 2014
Waiting for the ferry at Fort Matanzas
Beautiful day but hot. We are waiting for the ferry to take us across the inlet to Fort Matanzas. The fort gets it's name from the Spanish word for massacre. The fort is the "back door" to St. Augustine. The land was caught over in the late 1500s and despite being outnumbered the Spaniards handiky defeated the French (in part thanks to a hurricane that sunk several French ships).
In front of the visitor center determining who rides which ferry.
The St. John River found at the end of the .5-Mike nature trail.
The CO sunbathing on the bank in front if the fort.
Alligator Farm continued
I had this great plan to create a word cloud summing up our visit. Epic fail. Not enough similarity - but great that our kids all took away different things from their visit to the park. Here it is anyhow!
We saw the alligators who were very vocal, crocodiles, lemurs, squirrels, snakes, Komodo dragons and lizards, birds of many kinds and some very well equipped photographers on a club outing.
Phillip is the pet lizard Cadet Gordner found and rescued and is know bringing home in a glass jar. She did have to ask for permission for him to board the bus :)
Looks real, right?
They are "sunbathing"...
We flooded a McDonalds and now are heading to Fort Matanzas.
St Augustine Alligator Farm
Best line so far today: "if you're dehydrated or feeling faint let us know. We don't want you falling into the Alligator pit"
Day 2 Highlights
Day 2 was a great opportunity to see the Navy at work. Check out the highlight video!
http://youtu.be/umlQj1R2g78
Music again is the US Navy Band from the Library of Congress Performing Art Encyclopedia.
http://youtu.be/umlQj1R2g78
Music again is the US Navy Band from the Library of Congress Performing Art Encyclopedia.
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Jacksonville Suns
Outside the stadium for Opening Night of the Jacksonville Suns season.
48 things we learned aboard the USS Hué City
(Written by the cadets)
1. I learned the navy is awesome
1. I learned the navy is awesome
2. They have big guns
3. I have learned about the odds of encountering actual resistance at sea
4. I learned that there are many components to running a ship
5. When leaving port under fog, hold the whistle for long intervals every 2 minutes
6. The USS New York is made of scrap metal from the Twin Towers
7. I learned that the speed of the ship is classified .
8. I learned that different consuls that fire the missiles.
9. I learned that the CIWS defense system is a last ditch effort and can be run for about a minute before requiring reload.
10. I learned that trying to navigate through a ship would confuse me too much for it to ever be my profession.
11. I learned that cruiser is longer, has more fire power, and protects the carriers.
12. I learned that the USS Hue City is the only navy ship named after a Veitnam battle.
13. I learned how to properly ask somebody to come aboard a ship
14. The Destroyer we toured is 22 years old.
15. You always salute before leaving the ship
16. The number of bullets shot per minute on the CWIS is classified ( it's 4500 - 3500) rounds per seconf
17. Each sailor aboard the crusier has to go on watch for six hours every six days at port
18. I learned that Chief Tate can Skype.
19. You need the president's signature to fire a tomahawk missile!
20. I learned that the speed of of the ship is classified.
21. CWIS fires at 3500-4500 rounds per second
22. I learned that the 5 Inch gun can shoot up to about 20-27 rounds a minute
23. They have to paint the anchor and decks once a month
24. I learned that you need to request permission to get on board the ship.
25. I learned the difference between a frigate cruiser and a destroyer.
26. I learned that you have to salute the flag halfway before requesting permission to board the shop.
26. I learned that you have to salute the flag halfway before requesting permission to board the shop.
27. I learned the the projectiles weigh 80 lb!
28. I learned that the room where they fire missiles looks the same in the movies
29. I learned that they use dummy rounds to test the systems of the weapons
30. I learned that to fire a 5 inch gun, it takes many stations of multiple people in each station doing different jobs and communicating back and forth.
31. Helo in means helicopter
32. The harpoon can go 80 miles
33. The ship only had 2 5 inch guns
34. I learned that the New York was made with the remains of the World Trade Center
35. I learned that they have to wake up every morning and clean the deck for 45 minutes
36. I learned that it takes a long time to learn your way around the tight hallways. Also watch your head.
37. I learned that the 5 inch guns must be cycled (fired) every 3 days when the ship is in port.
38. I learned that at sea the guns are fired once or twice a week.
39. We learned that you need to ask permission to get on the ship.
40. They have up to 450 crew members on board, going out to sea.
41. All but one weapon is used only for defensive purposes
42. The rotars of the helicopters fold back towards the helicopter so it can fit in the hanger
43. I learned that the 5 inch projectiles weigh 70 lbs
44. I learned that some ships are made out of metal from 9/11.
45. I learned that you can steer some ships with a click of a mouse.
46. This is what 4 months worth of toilet paper looks like:
47. They practice man overboard drills and have to get people out within 5 minutes.
48. They practice shooting tomatoes but have to get them out of the water after they shoot them.
And from the chaperones:
Mrs. Waid: The torpedoes are loaded by hand and will circle around until they find something unless coordinates are entered. They are salt-water activated and blow up before the target, breaking the ship in two.
46. This is what 4 months worth of toilet paper looks like:
47. They practice man overboard drills and have to get people out within 5 minutes.
48. They practice shooting tomatoes but have to get them out of the water after they shoot them.
And from the chaperones:
Mrs. Waid: The torpedoes are loaded by hand and will circle around until they find something unless coordinates are entered. They are salt-water activated and blow up before the target, breaking the ship in two.
PS-3 Orion Tour
The plane we toured has been around since the 80s but the model is from 1959.
On board are two observation seats (like what they are using to search for the missing Malaysian plane). It is also equipped with sonar to hear subs below water. The sailor on board told us they can hear all kinds of animals like whales and dolphins.
The cadets also had a chance to try on the survival pack in case of ejection ad learn about the tools needed to survive. Things included are a knife to cut the parachute line, flares, a radio, a signaling mirror, dye for the water and a beacon.
Thoughts from the kids:
It was really neat because there were so many things I didn't know planes could have like the kitchen area and the sub tracking area. - Cadet Lapensee-Rankine
It surprised me how many people work on the plane. It's so big and looks like it could hold a lot of people but when I think of war planes I think like 1-2 people on board and this had a lot more. There's a lot of space in the pilot seat. I got to sit there and it was really spacious but the pedals were really far away. - Cadet Gordner
It's got lots of controls and seems pretty complicated. But they said it was really user friendly to learn how to fly. - Cadets Bae and Bryson
There's a lot of interesting buttons and it's amazing how they have to memorize all that. It's cool how they have a buddy system in there and everyone is always backing each other up to make sure the job gets done. - Cadets Pholsina and Richardson
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