We drove through rainy Houston late in the afternoon on Saturday. We knew that the battleship was there, but had decided to keep moving towards the coast. All the battleship signs were too much, and we ended up turning around and backtracking about 20 miles to the WalMart in Baytown, TX. We spent Saturday night there, then got up to go see the battleship.
The admission fee was $10/person for everyone over 12, so we planned on it costing us $60 to get in to see the ship. Vaughn got out his Texas State Parks pass to get us in to the park that the ship is located in, and the lady at the admission booth said, "now, y'all know that this will also get y'all into the battleship for free right?"
How great is that??? We got to see the USS Texas for free! :)
The USS Texas was commissioned in 1914, and is the only big-gun battleship to have served in both World Wars that still exists.
The battleship still sports all of her armament, and the boys had a great time working the anti-aircraft guns. They spent hours above deck, in the wind, running the guns.
They did take a little time out to tour the lower deck and then it was back on the guns. We had to pull them off when it was time to leave.
The person on one side would turn their crank to move the guns horizontally, the person on the other side would run them vertically.
We opted to self-tour the ship, but you can also take the hourly tour that the park offers. The stairs in here were super steep - I'm sure that the sailors got used to them pretty quickly, but they creeped me out.
The USS Texas spent 6 days firing on the coast of Okinawa, and after the war brought 3 loads of soldiers home to the mainland from Hawaii. In 1948, the ship was slated to be used as a bombing target, but the state of Texas raised the money to rescue her. Eventually, in 1981, she became part of the Texas state park system.The ship's main and second decks are open for the public, and many of the rooms have been restored and furnished. They even showcased the ship's silver service, which was presented to the ship by the people of Texas...
Touring the ship, especially with so many of the areas looking much like they did while the ship was in service, gave us a little glimpse into what daily life may have been like for a WWII sailor.
They had everything from the barber shop to the soda fountain restored on the second deck. My favorite was the kitchen - now that is my kind of kitchen!
The ship had an onboard store (canteen) where the sailors could buy goods that were not provided to them by the Navy. There was everything from baked beans to gum to dominoes. 
The bunks were so cool (though I doubt I would think that if I had to sleep on them). They on chains from the ceiling, and could have one side pulled up so that they took up less space, or they could easily be removed all together. Too bad we didn't see this before we bought a toy hauler with bunks already in it - we may have bought one without bunks and installed something similar to this... ;)
The guys especially enjoyed our time at the battleship, but even us girls thought it was pretty cool!
After the battleship, we went across the road and (for free) went to the San Jacinto Monument. This was the location of the last battle of the Texas War for Independence; the location where Santa Ana was surprised by an attack from Sam Houston. Santa Ana surrendered, and then signed a peace treaty - not because his army couldn't win the war, but because he had been captured and was worried about personal bodily harm!
At 570 feet, the monument stands taller than the Washington Memorial, and is topped by a 220 TON star. The four sides of the base of the monument have the story of the battle, along with an overview of events leading up to it, etched in it.
While we were at the monument, we watched the movie 'Texas Forever', which told about the Texas War for Independence. Being from Montana, we knew very little Texas history, so it was very interesting (except to Peanut and Emma who both fell asleep).
Touring the ship, especially with so many of the areas looking much like they did while the ship was in service, gave us a little glimpse into what daily life may have been like for a WWII sailor.
They had everything from the barber shop to the soda fountain restored on the second deck. My favorite was the kitchen - now that is my kind of kitchen!LOL! That coming from a woman living in an r.v.!!!
The ship had an onboard store (canteen) where the sailors could buy goods that were not provided to them by the Navy. There was everything from baked beans to gum to dominoes. 
The bunks were so cool (though I doubt I would think that if I had to sleep on them). They on chains from the ceiling, and could have one side pulled up so that they took up less space, or they could easily be removed all together. Too bad we didn't see this before we bought a toy hauler with bunks already in it - we may have bought one without bunks and installed something similar to this... ;)
The guys especially enjoyed our time at the battleship, but even us girls thought it was pretty cool!
After the battleship, we went across the road and (for free) went to the San Jacinto Monument. This was the location of the last battle of the Texas War for Independence; the location where Santa Ana was surprised by an attack from Sam Houston. Santa Ana surrendered, and then signed a peace treaty - not because his army couldn't win the war, but because he had been captured and was worried about personal bodily harm!
At 570 feet, the monument stands taller than the Washington Memorial, and is topped by a 220 TON star. The four sides of the base of the monument have the story of the battle, along with an overview of events leading up to it, etched in it.
While we were at the monument, we watched the movie 'Texas Forever', which told about the Texas War for Independence. Being from Montana, we knew very little Texas history, so it was very interesting (except to Peanut and Emma who both fell asleep).We were glad that we detoured to the battleship. Both stops were interesting, and we enjoyed our time in Texas. We would really like to stay here longer (I think that I say that about nearly everywhere!), but we would really like to check out some new states too, so on Monday, we hit the road again.
I live just north of Houston. I am so glad that you decided to visit. If you know the story of the Alamo you must see the rest of the story and visit San Jacinto. My nine children were surprised at how much they enjoyed visiting the battle ship. We had a priest friend visit us from our old hometown of St. Louis and he wanted to visit the battleship. I learned so much more than I thought I would. I also loved the bunks. I went home that day and told the kids that if they didn't take care of their rooms I would remove all toys and beds and everything else. They would all love to be in one big room with those bunks. We are looking into getting an RV and putting in bunks kind of like that. Keep up the fun posts, you give me hope that we will get there some day.
ReplyDeleteIn Him,
Shannon from Texas