2014 Trip - Day 4 - The Intrepid Aircraft Carrier

It is so cold.  So very, very cold.  I know that this is to be expected in the northern winter…but geeeeeeeeez!  My skin is looking as though it is burned.  On the previous two trips over here my rash has gone berserk but it took a fair while for that two occur.  This time it has happened in a flash.  I guess that’s the risk you take when having to sleep on sheets where you cannot dictate what laundry detergent to use.

 This is just a quick, and one of my more serious reports.  I do not wish to dishonour the memory of servicemen and women by my usual crassness.
Today we went off to the Intrepid. It is the Navy’s aircraft carrier which saw service in World War II and the Vietnam War.  It is infamous as being the ship that the Japanese could not sink after multiple kamikaze jet pilots slammed into it November 25 1944.  This killed 69 souls on board but did not down the ship.

The Bear had wanted to see the Intrepid on our 2012 trip to New York.  Hurricane Sandy hit New York on the same day that we landed in the USA and this closed multiple tourist attractions including the Intrepid.  It is however open today.  It was our plan to visit the Intrepid as well as board the Concorde which is a part of the museum and catch a water taxi around to the World Trade Tower Memorial.  Large amounts of ice in the Hudson River have cancelled the service so unfortunately we won’t be going out onto the water today.  Or fortunately, depending on which way you look at it.  Lady Liberty would be freezing in her knickers out there today and I am not sure whether I was too keen to join her.

On the landing deck there were a variety of rotary and fixed wing aircraft.  It’s amazing to think that some of these aircraft have seen active duty.  It’s even more amazing to know exactly what the Intrepid’s part to play was in the various wars and the struggles it was required to overcome as a result of the enemy. I confess that I was completely oblivious to what the word “kamikaze” actually meant until today.  My heart ached for the men whose lives were lost at sea at the hands of these kamikaze pilots.  As I stood on the deck absolutely freezing my proverbial’s off I acknowledged that it was nothing compared to the pain that this ship had seen in it’s time.

The hangar deck below was welcome warmth.  There are further aircraft down there along with museum pieces and educational experiences.  These not only provided information on the Intrepid, but also on the Concorde and the Space Shuttle Enterprise – both of which are exhibits that you can pay to see.  As the Bear and I had seen the Space Shuttle Endeavour in L.A last year we chose to learn about and go on board the Concorde (which I would like to say was absolutely awesome!).

Below this was where the kitchen and dining areas were.   There is a limited food service there for patrons where we took the weight off our feet and thawed out our hands.  Given that we were unable to now catch the water taxi to the World Trade Centre Memorial, we were in no hurry to be anywhere. Instead we shamelessly watched (ok…well I shamelessly watched) as some people of another ethnicity make absolute pigs of themselves.

There really isn’t much else to report for the day.  It was far too cold to get into any sort of mischief!  Tomorrow we will again attempt to get to the World Trade Centre Memorial.