Visiting the USS Iowa

We finally had the chance to go visit the Battleship USS Iowa.  Well, I guess we had a lot of chances but somehow we always ended up doing something else!  But first... lunch!  We found the Arts and Crafts warehouse again where we joined in on some of the Chinese New Year celebrations this year. Thankfully there was one Italian food truck by the brewery:

We could have taken the free trolley but opted to drive the car over.  Well, we now know that parking isn't free! But there she is... WOW!!!

But first, a photo op with the fancy Hummer:

Did you know the entire ship is now powered by electricity??? Impressive!

Time to board the ship!

Check out those guns!!?

Don't mess with the "Big Stick"! This was the nickname given to the ship during the 1980s Cold War (in reference to President Teddy Roosevelt's advise "Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.").

The boys were busy looking for posters of Victory a.k.a Vicky the Dog.  It belonged to Navy Captain John L McCrea, who logged over 205,000 miles on the ship. Vicky was given full military honors when he finally left the ship. It definitely kept the boys busy:

The HUGE container ship going by distracted us for a few minutes:

Watch out for those "knee knockers"!  When we boarded the ship, the volunteer (a veteran) wanted to make sure we didn't trip and fall over when entering/exiting the ship. Ha!

Oh, and because Bobby was in the military - they announced his name when Bobby stepped onto the bow of the ship. How cool is that!  And speaking also of veterans, I thought this was the coolest part of the tour - meeting a ex-member of the ship!!!

I'm not sure how to address Mr. Rouse but at 94 years young, it was amazing how he made himself available to answer questions on the ship. He said he started on the ship when he was 18 years old and went through 12 naval battles on the helm.  AMAZING!!!

In the meantime, thank goodness for the yellow arrows on the floor of the ship.  There were so many entry ways!

Hmm... not exactly sure what this Big Metal Mushroom was all about:

This particular hallway was really deceiving - almost like there was a mirror at the end of it.  But there were at least 7-8 "knee knockers" here!

Who knew it would take 14 people just to operate the twin mount!

Here's a view of it from the outside:

We got up pretty high on some parts of the ship.  Some of the stairs were a bit steep and my legs did get a little bit wobbly. Ha ha!

Charlie is trying to catch a peek of the San Pedro harbor on the opposite side:

Crazy to think the battles were won in this very room!

Best view in the house:

Can you imagine sitting here and watching those turrets fire??!  YIKES!!!

Maybe it was THIS LOUD???! :-D

And here's the helm - where we steer this massive ship!

It is SO protected within this thick, massive wall!

Here are some of the sleeping quarters:

Told you these steps were steep!  Oh, there is a 2-hr tour that you can go on that will show other parts of the ship that we didn't see this time. I may have to come back and do that!  Unfortunately, it is only for kids 10-years and older:

Here is the menu in the dining area. By the way, the menu item for Midrats at 2300-0100 is the leftovers from dinner.  Too funny!!!

This is just one of the kitchens.  There were several others and also a full-on bakery:

Amazing how complicated the inside of this door looked:

There were lots of photos and history in the ship including this photo showing an aviator literally risking life and limb flying fragile cloth and wood aircraft off the battleship decks.  Crazy people!!!

And the 900-lb Iowa bell that was installed on board the ship when it was commissioned in 1943 finally came "home" on Feb 22, 2018.  It had been on display at the Iowa State Capitol for the last 25 years:

One last pic!

Okay, wait... just one more:

And I guess it just wasn't quite enough yet.  The boys all wanted to get on the flight simulator:

What a fun day!!!  It only took us almost a year to come visit.  Another one off the bucket list! :-)

Random photos

Let's see... where should we start.  How about Graham's head bump on a tree stump at school!  This happened last Thursday when I was suppose to have my first official "work" shift in Graham's classroom.  Well, thankfully he was okay!

We were at Ruby's Diner last week for dinner.  Once every month or so, certain restaurants will donate 20% of our bill back to the school.  Pretty neat way to give back to the school!  When at Ruby's, we got to have some milkshake. YUM!!!

There was a lady making balloons as well.  Jet pack!!!

On the way home, the boys were excited to see the Zamboni in the ice rink.  It's just next door to Ruby's:

In the meantime, the boys will also be starting on a Chinese class - once a week.  Last week, during the trial class, both Graham and Charlie practiced a little bit of writing:

I never really enjoyed my Chinese private tutor when I was a kid so hopefully this will be a better experience for the boys!

Charlie was sad when he got hurt at the playground during an event at school last week.  Just look at that face!  It's like he is just making that sad face but in reality, he can't wait to dig into that yummy bundt cake!

More fancy car sightings!  This one was at Redondo Beach:

And then there's also these old VW vans.  Love it! Those windows on the side are classic!!!

Huff-and-Puff hill

I seriously don't know the name of this spot, but we call it Huff-and-Puff because literally, it takes a bit to get back up the hill!  Going downhill is the easy part:

Graham and Charlie actually wanted to see the tide pools but the tide was too high.  So what's the next best thing...?  Throwing rocks of course!

Bobby and Graham actually saw a big starfish toward that pointy rock to the right of the photo above.  I wonder if it's still there??!

After a little while, it's time to start huffing and puffing back up the hill.  Looks like we need to work on our timing better to see the tide pools.  Good thing this place is just a stone's throw away from our apartment!  Stone's throw... get it? :-)

Update on detached retina

I had my follow-up eye appointment a couple of Fridays ago.  It was all the way in Pasadena - about 1 hour away.  This other doctor was the mentor for the retina specialist that I saw in New Jersery last month.

I snuck in a photo while no one was in the room.  Not like it means anything to me though. Ha ha!

All is well, thankfully!  Supposedly there were 2 other tears on my retina that my right eye was trying to fix itself.  The doc asked if I wanted more laser but I opted not to and went with his suggestion of a follow-up in another 3 months.  (Ps... not for another $4-$5k! All I have to say is thank goodness for insurance!!!)

I am not seeing as many floaters - just a couple of floating spots which sort of look like annoying gnats! In the meantime, I am back to wearing my contact lenses although still no jumping on trampolines yet! Don't ask me about this whole trampoline thing but just seems like it would be the perfect "test" for a detached retina.  :-D

But that means I can get to practicing golf again now?! I have been so lazy!  And obviously no more excuses despite these bad bed-hair days!!!

I did at least convince Bobby to join the YMCA so hopefully the new gym routine and classes will get us all back in shape!

Recent happenings in Charlie's class

Charlie's teacher had a request to make homemade antibacterial wipes.  I can get "service hours" for doing this too, so why not!  Supposedly she has bad migraines and the smell of store-bought wipes really gives her a headache!  And we are not allowed to wear any perfume while volunteering in class too - not like I wear any but wow, that sounds like a serious migraine.  And to be teaching for the last 19 years..???! Quite the commitment!

All the ingredients were easy to obtain.  I think the most difficult part was trying to squeeze the other smaller half of the paper towel roll into the smaller tupperware!

Only 4 ingredients - vinegar, water, rubbing alcohol, and liquid dish soap:

Meanwhile in class... Charlie is writing and drawing a lot.  So cute!

Charlie wrote: "My favorite thing about school is recess.  I like playing with my friends" :-)

Charlie was Star Student last week.  He got to bring the class' mascot home.  He named him "Bear-Bear":

We brought Bear-Bear to play at the trees with some friends at our old school.  Unfortunately, a lot of friends had other plans and worse of all, the grass was just freshly cut too.  Aaaaachhhhooooo...!!!
So that also meant Bear-Bear had to take a bath:

I'm not exactly sure how much Charlie can actually read "Captain Underpants" but it was definitely picture-worthy :-)

One more of Charlie's "classic" drawings.  I is for... iPhone 8!  Funny thing is neither Bobby or I own an iPhone!

So glad Charlie is doing well at his new school!  And Graham is making great progress as well.  YAY!!!