25 March 2023, Corpus Christi to Houston, USA –

Before driving back to Houston for our final night in Texas, we paid a visit to the USS Lexington, an aircraft carrier turned into a museum.  We thought we could see everything in about 2 hours, but with 5 decks to explore, including the open flight deck, it took much longer.  The lower decks in particular are an absolute rabbit’s warren of corridors and rooms.  You follow a self guided route on each deck, beginning with the hangar deck, where the planes were stored when not being flown.  From there you head up or down stairs, and when I say stairs, I mean steep, narrow ladders, though I believe there is a lift for mobility-challenged visitors.

The decks are crammed with display items, information and signage, photos, memorabilia, models and so on – an awful lot to absorb.  You get to see almost every aspect of life on a carrier, from the captain’s quarters, to the mess, the medical centre, dentist rooms, barber shop – it’s like a city down there, with everything you need for several months at sea.  As we wove our way around following the yellow arrows, we became completely disoriented (in a good way).

We emerged onto the flight deck, which displays numerous navy aircraft, including the original Tomcat used in Top Gun, positioned ready to be catapulted off the deck.  The flight deck was also a great place for views of Corpus Christi, including the enormous new bridge under construction.  Everywhere we go in Texas there are massive road construction projects happening, adding to the already tangled maze of freeways.

Then it was up to the bridge – which was nothing like the bridge on the Hurtigruten or Regal Princess … but it did have a chair for the Commanding Officer.  The engine room controls were also a lot more primitive than they are these days. 

With so much to see, it took an hour longer than we allowed, but we dragged ourselves away and headed for Houston, another long drive which occupied the rest of the day.  Driving in Houston is still terrifying, and I’m very glad we’ve finished with that.  We stayed overnight near The Woodlands, a relatively new residential, retail, business and tourism development north of the city.  Fog and rain this morning kept us indoors at the mall, where we shopped for more books.  Our final leg of the trip – Los Angeles – starts tomorrow.