There is a World War II Aircraft Carrier located in beautiful Charleston, South Carolina.
It is the USS Yorktown.
If you ever visit the Charleston area or even the southeastern United States, you would enjoy a day trip to see the USS Yorktown.
I made a visit several years ago.
I wanted to take my son and daughter.
They enjoyed the trip as much as I did.
When visiting the Yorktown be sure to allow a day.
There is also a submarine, destroyer and a Vietnam fire base at the Yorktown site.
When we visit, we try and see all three naval vessels and the Vietnam fire base in the same day.
We can make it around to everything but we are kind of rushed.
There is so much to see and so much history to read.
If you took your time to take in all the history and read all the displays, you would have a difficult time getting through the Yorktown in one full day.
The entrance way to the USS Yorktown is a long winding road.
As you make your way around the last curve, from behind the Palmetto trees emerge this huge gray World War II aircraft carrier.
It is a most wondrous sight.
It is amazing how a ship so big can be made to float! I understand that today's flattops are even bigger! The next truly amazing sight is the new Cooper River Bridge you will see to the right of the Yorktown.
We spend most of our day exploring the decks of the huge flattop.
On the flight deck, there are the anti-aircraft deck guns, jets and helicopters and a spectacular view of the Charleston Harbor.
On the hangar deck there are several World War II vintage aircraft on display with many historical displays to read.
As you progress down through the lower decks you will see the sleeping quarters, mess hall, machinist shop, sick bay, the bath rooms, and the brig along with many, many historical displays.
After exploring below deck, we go back to the flight deck and start working our way up the tower.
Here you will find the communications rooms, flight control rooms, the flight ready rooms, and the bridge where the captain, I believe, spent all of his time.
A lot of steep stair climbing is done here! After spending most of the day on the USS Yorktown, we make our way to the submarine, go through it, run over to the destroyer and spend a little time there and then finish up walking through the Vietnam fire support base.
After a day of walking and climbing stairs through a World War II aircraft carrier, you can be sure a good night's rest will be coming soon!