My son recently joined the Boys Scouts. He signed up to stay the night on the USS Texas. This battleship is the only surviving one from WWI and WWII. When we were driving down the road toward the San Jacinto Monument and towards the ship Isaac said, "I can smell history." I think what he was really smelling was the surrounding oil refineries but I didn't have the heart to tell him that. When we arrived at the Battlegrounds of San Jacinto we spent the day investigating and discovering the site where Texas won it's independence from Mexico. We sat under an oak tree which was the site where Santa Anna surrendered to Sam Houston. We watched the huge ships come in and out of the Houston Ship Channel.
Isaac and I just took in everything around us. There was a retirement party for a Navy Officer onboard the ship so, military men and women were all around in their navy blues and whites. It was such a proud day. Ifelt like I was in the graduation scene of a 'An Officer and a Gentleman.' Of course, Isaac was just impressed with all of his surroundings.
The most amazing event came with getting to actually spend the night on the USS Texas. That ship is filled with some amazing history. To find out more please visit, www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/battleship_texas/hist.phtml
A little known fact is that it's currently being held up by water pumps because it's so old that it really needs to be dry berthed. It started sinking this past summer. The bunks were 4 beds high. There are two spotlights on the ship that were actually from the USS Arizona from Pearl Harbor. In fact, some of the movie, Pearl Harbor, was filmed on the USS Texas. The only time I felt a little ship ghost leary was when I woke up in the middle of the night and had to go up by myself on deck to the restroom. I cannot even begin to explain how extraordinary the whole event was. It is highly recommended for the history buffs out there. My seven year old's eyes just lit up for the rest of the week and even when we talk about the experience. I could just imagine what his little imaginative wheels were turning throughout the adventure. He graduated the next morning as "An Official Sailor of the USS Texas" We are very proud.
Oh, and in case you were wondering if there were ship rats on board. Yes, there are. Our troop found a lovely dead one which was just a joy for me to see as it was brought past me to dispose of before snack time. I was a little squeemish but, noone else was. It made the experience all that more interesting.
