Battleship USS New Jersey

From my travels, May 1, 2021.

Ever since we visited the Independence Seaport Museum, the boys have looked forward to visiting the USS New Jersey (BB-62) just across the river from Philadelphia. I had heard through Facebook that they were hosting a promotion that gave discounted tickets in exchange for old electronics to recycle. Since we had an old computer to get rid of, this seemed like the perfect chance for a win-win. Emily was even willing to go along with us for her first visit to a museum ship.

We had no trouble exchanging our old computer for some discounted tickets and made our way aboard. We did the entire standard tour route, and went as high as we were allowed to go in the ship. I had visited the ship a few times in years past, and I was impressed with how much restoration work had been done since my last tour. Emily was most surprised by the lack of privacy in the crew berthing area – it’s tight quarters on a warship – even one as massive as a battleship. The boys had a good time “firing” the .50 machine gun and the anti-aircraft guns on the deck. The restored Combat Engagement Center (CEC) with the radar and computers to control the modern “smart weapons” that New Jersey was fitted with in the Gulf War era, was also a favorite stop.

As we were leaving, the boys expressed how cool it was to be on a battleship. They are both looking forward to visiting more ships – most notably a destroyer and an aircraft carrier – so that they can complete their “collection”. Stay tuned for those.