Star Of India Sleepover

Celeste's class was fortunate to be able to participate in a sleepover on the San Diego Maritime Museum's Star Of India a few weeks back. This ship, launched in 1863 as the Euterpe, is the second oldest still-sailing ship in the world and is the centerpiece of the Maritime Museum of San Diego's collection.
We've been to the museum and ship twice before (previously covered here and here), but never had the "living history" experience that Celeste's class did. It was definitely tough on the kids. The staff, costumed and acting as if they were 1870s sailors, taught them history of the ship and era and had them working together to handle some difficult tasks such as moving barrels using tackle and blocks, cooking for each other, hoisting one another up in the botswain's chair, going on overnight "watches" on deck (Celeste's was from 1-2:30 AM) and, of course, swabbing the deck.
No comforts were afforded them when sleeping either. Just a sleeping bag on a hard wood floor. Pillows and pajamas were forbidden. As a "safety officer", I was able to roll out a small sleeping pad. Still I slept no more than a couple of hours.
Definitely a tough yet rewarding experience for both the grrrl and myself.

Celeste is in the blue bag


bon voyage

Field Trips - San Diego Tour Guide Weekend

We had a super-busy weekend, showing old friends (not literally old - well, ®ob is over 40 though...) around the San Diego area. We had previously visited the three places we took them to on Saturday and Sunday - Maritime Museum, Cabrillo National Monument tidepools and lighthouse and hiking at Torrey Pines State Park. Since I've already written about most of these, and also because my normal clunky copy isn't spilling out of me, this will be even more of a pictorial than the normal post.

Maritime Museum of San Diego:

Ferry Berkely and submarine Dolphin

one of many very cool miniature models, this of the USS Oregon (1893)

Meals on Wheels:
We took another tour of San Diego Bay on the harbor pilot boat (1914), the additonal $3 fee is so very worth it for the ≈45 minute tour of the bay.
From the Pilot, we viewed the USS Nimitz (CVN-68), USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70), along with the Ronald Reagan (CVN-76 - not pictured):
All three supercarriers are stationed at NAS North Island.

A few sea lions napping on a navigation buoy:
The Stars & Stripes (ex-America's Cup contender) coming back into port
And the museum's own Star of India, which we'd briefly explore later in the day:

ahoy from the Pilot

Back on shore I discovered a very cool small sailboat that I never knew existed:
A 1930s-era Mini Star. I've always loved the clean, classic lines of a Star-class sailboat. This 100 year-old class has been raced in the Olympics since the 1930s. The mini star sitting on the dock is about 2/3 the size (16' vs 22.5') and was a popular boat for junior sailing programs in the 1930s-60s. This particular boat, Rascal, is the last surviving Starlet.

Lots of photos of cool gauges, Cyrillic typography and the like were snapped aboard the Soviet B-30 sub.
And, very quickly, through the Star of India:
Off to Point Loma and the Cabrillo National Monument.

push harder, Celeste!

grandmas will NOT approve of this pic

historic Point Loma lighthouse (1855)

When we were done exploring on Saturday, a quick trip to Wahoo's was made in order to fill up on some great burritos.
Sunday was overcast with a stiff breeze out of the south. But no matter, the trails and vistas at Torrey Pines State Park are beautiful any time. Plus, after a day in the sun, the clouds were good for our fair-skinned friends.
Celeste took many photos of one of her Webkinzzz:
She's doing a great job with photography and understands that sometimes you just have to get dirty in order to get the shot. And dirty she certainly gets:
We're so fortunate to have a girl that enjoys exploring nature.
®ob and Peg left Monday morning, impressed with what the area had to offer and promising to return soon. They're headed north up Hwy 1 along the coast to SF and then the redwoods. I hope ®ob's new 16GB memory card will hold the thousands of pix he's going to take...

Field Trip - Maritime Museum of San Diego

Since our last Field Trip had us going north, it was time to head south again to the San Diego area.

We considered hitting another one of the museums at Balboa Park, but wanting to see something new, we changed our minds at the last minute. A little Googling was done and the Maritime Museum of San Diego was picked.

The Maritime Musem is on San Diego Bay and offers a world-class collection of historic ships and offers tours of the bay.

We started out briefly exploring the main attraction - the Star of India. The Star of India is the oldest ship in the world that still maintains a regular sailing schedule. Launched on the Isle of Man in 1863, the ship has served as both a cargo and passenger transporter and has made 21 trips around the globe.


It's been in San Diego since 1923. Steam had made sailing ships obsolete and a San Diego reporter led the charge to purchase the ship for $9000.

For the next three decades, the ship languished as the depression and WWII delayed her restoration. It wasn't until 1976 until the ship sailed again - for the first time in fifty years. The ship is still taken out at least once a year by the museum.

A ghost in the galley

Skylights above the dining table

Captain's quarters

Captain's quarters, pt II

Celeste trying out the reproduction of a passenger bunk

Looking up at a mast & volunteers hanging xmas lights

After our brief visit to the Star of India, we had to head over to the museum to board the Pilot for a tour of San Diego Bay. The 45 minute boat tour only adds $3 to the ticket price and is well worth the cost.

The Pilot was launched in 1914 as the official pilot boat for San Diego Bay. Harbor pilots are responsible for steering large vessels safely into and out of the bay. Pilots board the ship, take command and return the veessel to the captain after it has docked or left the bay.

Pilot served for 82 years, and after a restoration it entered the museum's fleet.

We took in the sights of the bay, including Naval Air Station North Island...

USS Ronald Regan (CVN-76) & USS Nimitz (CVN-58)

...the San Diego skyline...
...Coronado Bridge...
and the USS Midway Museum.
In fact, we were able to get right up under the Midway Museum (definitely a future Field Trip).

Dad - can you spot the H-34 here? Click on the photo to enlarge.

Tail of one of the meanest-looking fighter jets, F-4 Phantom II

Back at the museum, we explored what would be Allie's favorite ship, the steam ferry Berkeley. Built in 1898, the ferryboat operated for 60 years on San Francisco Bay. Aboard the vessel are the museum's offices, a research library, exhibition space, workshop, store, etc.

upper deck

photos, part of The Art of the Boat exhibit

A quick lunch in Klaus (the living/dining/bedroom on wheels)...
...and we went back to the India to take in more of this extraordinary ship.

Finally we toured the museum's H.M.S. Suprise and Russian Foxtrot-class sub B-39.

H.M.S. Surprise is a replica of an 18th Century Royal Navy Frigate. Built in 1970, the ship was used in the 2004 film Master and Commander. Purchased from 20th Century Fox in 2004, the ship is not currently seaworthy, but the museum plans to restore it.

And the Soviet sub. Ironically, the sub spent a good deal of it's life keeping an eye on US ships. Now it's in the backyard of one of the US's largest Naval areas. It's periscope is set to spy on the USS Midway, docked a mile or so to the south.

she's gotta try out all of the bunks

onboard vodka dispenser