Freeways and a flat top

After avoiding big cities during my road trip so far, today I was jolted back to reality. I left my pit stop in the sleepy town of Monte Rio, CA and headed east to Santa Rosa. As I joined other vehicles traveling along U.S. Hwy 101, I immediately got caught in rush hour traffic. I almost immediately exited because I had an important task...car wash! My car had accumulated a layer of dust and sea spray salt. I found a nice express wash and in no time, my Outback was clean! I really only had one destination for the day...the USS Hornet in Alameda.

Now, I last visited this ship museum back in 2008, so I won't get into the particulars. You can read a little about this famous aircraft carrier here in my previous blog post. Since I only posted one photo before, I'll make up for it now. I've included the original quarantine trailer that the Apollo 11 astronauts had to stay in after they got back from the moon. There was also a unmanned space capsule that proved to NASA that water landings were preferable to those on land. In addition, there were some aircraft on display in the hanger deck.

I walked the flight deck, but decided not to tour the island...that's what they call the command center that towers over the deck. I had taken that tour during my previous visit.

I did walk through the second deck again, though. That's where the crew basically lives while on the ship. I thought about ghosts, but didn't see or hear anything. That sailor mannequin in the mail room did startle me, though!

The highlight of my visit to the Hornet was the newer Japanese-American exhibit on board the ship. It was primarily about the 442nd Regiment who fought bravely and gallantly during WWII and the Military Intelligence Service (MIS) volunteers were invaluable as Japanese translators. I chatted with a Japanese-American docent about my age, discussing the exhibit and our family experiences during the war.  Tomorrow, it's back to the coast...the central coast of California. I'll be revisiting a park I haven't been to in about six years and continue down Hwy 1.