(Editorial Note: I am an active parent and volunteer with our local Cub Scout Pack.  We recently took a trip to Charleston, SC, to visit Fort Sumter and to spend the night on the Fighting Lady, the USS Yorktown.  This is part of the account that I wrote for our Pack’s website.)

After the Fort Sumter experience, it was time to head to our ship, and home for the next 18-20 hours.  We grabbed our gear from the car and headed up the pier.  The walk up the pier wasn’t terribly long… even with the gear.  Then we walked up the steps to the enter the USS Yorktown on the Hangar Deck.  We rallied in front of the large American Flag, waiting for our berth assignment.

There were 4 Cub Scout Packs, including Pack 549, also from Lilburn.  There were also a couple of Boy Scout Troops.

Our Berths were BSA 1 & 2, which are in the forward portion of the ship, directly below the Flight Deck.  Our first challange was getting our gear up to our Berthing area…  We had to go up the first ladder, which also led to the Women’s Berthing area… Then came the fun part.  We had to walk outside of the ship and climb another ladder on the side of the ship.  On the left, while climbing the ladder, we were treated to a view of the water, about 75′ below.  After that, it was just a short walk to the door back into the ship and our Berthing area.

After stowing our gear, we grouped up again at the Flag (our Rally Point) to get lunch…

Following lunch, we were free to do whatever we wanted until Dinner.  Garrett and I first chose to visit the USS Clamagore, the submarine housed at Patriot Point.  It was cool to walk through and see where the crew lived and worked.  She was a line sub from 1945 until the 1960s… in fact, she was the last diesel boat in the US Submarine Fleet.

The Flight Deck was beckoning, so we re-entered the USS Yorktown and made our way to the Flight Deck… top.  Once up top, we were able to look at the collection of aircraft dating from about the 1960s to present… right up to a F-18 Hornet.

We eventually took all 6 tours on the ship, seeing everything from the Engine Room to the Officer’s Mess.  We were able to go at our own pace, and still have to time to get the our Rally Point for Dinner, which was served in the Chief Petty Officers’ Mess… Chicken and Gravy on Rice or Pasta with a Tomato Sauce.  After Dinner, we checked out a few films in the ship’s Theater.  First was a film about the Blue Angels.  Garrett loved watching them and kept talking about when he saw them in Atlanta.  Next was a film about life aboard the Nuclear Carrier Carl Vinson.  The interviews with crewmembers were very interesting.  It was shot while they were being deployed to patrol the No-Fly Zone in Iraq, shortly after the First Gulf War.

All campers are required to participate in a Fire Drill.  Ours was scheduled for 8:30-8:45.  We returned to our Berthing area in order to once again make our way to the Rally Point.

After the Fire Drill, we hung out in the Theater to see The Fighting Lady, a 1944, Oscar Award winning documentary following the lives of the crew from July, 1943 to June, 1944.  Garrett was very interested in the film, despite the clock ticking past 10:00pm.

We made our way back up the our Berth a bit after 10:00pm, and were in bed by Taps at 11:00pm.  Reveille was at 6:10am, followed by Breakfast in the CPO Mess.  Eggs, sausage, grits and a cinnamon roll.  After breakfast, we were free to follow our own plans…  For Garrett and I, it was back to the FLight Deck and getting our gear from the Berthing area.

It was a great experience.  We both had a great time.