December 14-15, 2019
In December, we had an amazing opportunity to spend the night on a battleship! The USS Battleship New Jersey, anchored in Philadelphia, was having a Scout Night, where we would get to tour the ship and then sleep in the actual quarters. It is the most decorated battleship in US Naval history, and this was such a unique opportunity that we said YES!!
We went up to Philadelphia earlier in the day on Saturday, so that we could also see the Liberty Bell and tour Independence Hall while we were there.
We then went over to the Battleship and waited for them to admit us. Meanwhile we played games (Battleship, anyone?) and some people walked along the dock to get a better view of the outside of the battleship.
Finally, we got to board, and they showed us our quarters. Everyone selected their bunks, got settled, and then we got to explore the ship a little (and find the “head” and try to find our way back, and get lost a little, and find ourselves, all while appearing to be exploring, and not lost.)
They had some games and activities set up, and we were allowed to have free time until dinner.
We had chicken tenders, macaroni and cheese, and vegetables. Also, it was the same night as the Army vs. Navy football game, so they made sure to give us updates throughout the night (Go Navy!)
Then they took us on a tour of the battleship. We got to see all sorts of cool parts of the ship!
One of the coolest parts of the night, though, was getting to see the guns fire. We have a video below, but in reality the guns were MUCH louder than you hear in the video.
(The only slightly bad part was that it was cold and very windy, and some of us didn’t realize we would be going outside as part of the tour, so we left our jackets in our lockers. Lesson learned – be prepared! Oh well, it was still really really amazing to hear the guns fire!)
Learn more about the USS Battleship New Jersey at their official website.