San Diego is a military town – nearly 23% of its population is in the military or works in the defense industry, and the Navy plans on nearly doubling its naval capacity in San Diego between 2008 to 2014. So, when in Rome, check out their aircraft carriers, I say.

The USS Midway Museum is a short walk from Downtown San Diego, off a pier in San Diego Bay. It is one of only five aircraft carriers open to the public. (The others are in New York, Alameda, Corpus Christi, and Charleston. Another is planned for Baltimore.)

The USS Midway saw the most combat during the Vietnam War, but her history stretches from World War II to Operation Desert Storm. She’s earned that beach-front spot in San Diego.

If you’ve never toured an aircraft carrier before, know that they are massive and schedule yourself about 4 hours to see it all. (It’s a self-guided tour, though, so you can go at your own pace.)

With the price of admission, you’ll get a personal audio tour headset. The audio tour is very well done, and you’ll get to hear interviews with the ship’s engineers as you pass the engine room; as you lounge in the CPO mess, you’ll hear a former Chief Petty Officer recall a particular night where the Captain had to ask permission to enter; and as you gawk at the industrial kitchen, a chef will laugh about serving up SOS –“Stuff” on a Shingle –and give you a recipe for it. It helps bring the barren ship alive. Well, in addition to the animatronics mannequins. (I kid you not.)

The first two hours of the tour are spent in the belly of the ship – you’ll careen down narrow stairwells, through a labyrinth of enlisted sailors’ bunks, officers’ quarters, engine rooms, laundry, a chapel, sick bay, mess deck, post office, and bomb elevators. Every now and then, you surface onto the hangar deck, before heading back down.

My visit was chock full of military veterans – from WWII veterans in wheel chairs, to dads trying to corral a group of youngsters, to young men still sporting the high and tight. You got the sense that some of them were teaching their kids about where and when they served for the first time; the kids were rapt, maybe kinda thinking that their dad might be cool.

The veterans would point out new-at-the-time airplane wing designs to their families, explain how the engines worked to their wives, show off their navigation skills, and make sailor jokes. So many sailor jokes. As we passed the showers, a beefy man in shirt and tie called out, “Hey, how many sailors can you get in a shower?” In response, another party shouted out, “I don’t know, but you can only get one Marine in there!” Guffaws, back slaps. The never-ending supply of salty, knowledgeable veterans kind of made the tour.

As if being allowed to trample on an aircraft carrier and listen to guys curse isn’t fun enough, the museum offers a special tour for kids, including a lot of hands-on activities like learning how to tie knots and decipher morse code. The biggest draw by far were the flight simulators in the hangar deck. Each kid I saw was totally thrilled to be there.

The last half of the tour is on the sunny flight deck, with rows of bomber jets to weave through, followed by the captain’s quarters, tactical control room, and the bridge. You’ll have to wait in a new line to see the bridge – they meter out how many people can be in the bridge at any one time. Be prepared to wait, though: the line looked like a solid half hour wait.

I bailed and went to the Oyster Bar next door. I clearly wouldn’t have cut it on this ship.

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The USS Midway Museum

910 Harbor Drive, San Diego, CA (you can’t miss it)

Hours: 10am to 4pm, Daily

Admission: $18/adult, $15/Ages 62+, $10/Retired Military, $10/Ages 6-10. Free for Active Military and children ages 5 and younger.

How to Get There: It’s just a few blocks from Downtown San Diego, and a few blocks from the Sante Fe Depot stop on the Blue Trolley Line. If you’re driving, parking is available all around the Museum, at $5/1hr, $7/4hr, or $10/10hr.