San Diego has been a Navy town since the 20s and still has a strong Navy presence. The San Diego US Navy base is the 2nd largest surface ship base in the world. Visitors to San Diego benefit from its strong military history and presence. The retired aircraft carrier, USS Midway, is a public museum. After 37 years of operation, it is now moored at Navy Pier.
This image shows the USS Midway on the bottom (red arrow) compared to the newer USS Independence. She was built in 17 months, commissioned in 1945 and missed WWII by one week. She was decommissioned in 1992 and donated to 501(c)3 nonprofit San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum organization in 2003. On June 7, 2004, The USS Midway opened to the public and has over 20 million visitors in the past 20 years of serving as a museum. Parking can be a challenge so get there early and wear walking shoes. It is possible to park in structures in Little Italy and walk to the ships. However, this is not ideal for strollers and very young children. There is paid parking is available next to the Midway herself and in the Tuna Harbor Park. Both fill up fast early in the day. There is SOME street parking along Harbor Drive but it also fills fast.
Well with in walking distance of the Midway, is the tall ship, Star of India, H.M.S Surprise, the steam ferry Berkeley, the USS Dolphin, the steam yacht Medea, the San Salvador and the Californian. All of these ships are part of the Maritime Museum of San Diego. And between the two sites, there are places to grab a bite to eat or coffee drinks. I can recommend Portside Coffee and Gelato for a quick “pick me up”.
Click here for Google Maps of the area. I centered it on the coffee house. You cannot start a tour without coffee 🙂
The gallery of images do not really do justice to showing off the size of the USS Midway. But at least you will get a sense of size and what is available to view on the ship. There are flight simulators on the hanger deck where aspiring pilots can try to fly on and off a carrier. There are plenty of displays throughout the ship and plenty of aviation history on the flight deck.
Along with the USS Midway, San Diego offers a genuine Tall Ship which is the Star of India and other historic ships and even a submarine.
While the Star of India is arguably the best known ship of the cluster that makes up the San Diego Maritime Museum, I strongly recommend that you walk around the steam ferry Berkeley. The Berkeley houses the museum store and some amazing exhibits. They have a model makers shop where you can see them restoring and building new ships models for display. You can go below decks to see the reciprocating steam engine. They have historic maps and navigation equipment. They have one of the best displays of the river patrol boats from the Brown Water Navy in Vietnam. You can even get a tour on the only active passenger carrying “swift boat” in the US.
The USS Dolphin is an amazing display for anyone interested in submarines. She was a deep diving research and experimentation submarine. So while not as sexy as a Fast Attack or large as a “Boomer” missile boat, she has participated in a wide range of experiments and research. She was launched in 1968. To this day, she holds the official operational depth record of 3,000 feet (unclassified). Holds the record for the deepest torpedo launch. She did the first submarine to aircraft two-way laser communication. And many more important contributions to operational firsts. The USS Dolphin was decommissioned in 2007 and opened to the public in July 2009.
The image below is looking through the Dolphin’s periscope.
When you are done walking around all the marine history, you can find lunch or dinner in Little Italy just a few blocks away from the piers. There are places to eat across the street from the ships. For example, Ruth Chris ($$$$) is an option. However, I have found better food in Little Italy.
For those like myself who drive an EV, charging is always a question. For Tesla owners, you can find a Supercharger just a few blocks away. This is not a state of the at supercharger. These are older 72Kw charger which are not CCS or adapter compatible. However, there are several destination Tesla chargers nearby such as the Lane Field North Garage at 900 Bayfront Ct. These chargers can be used with CCS EVs with the correct adapter.. The brand “name” for these adapters are called “Tesla Tap” but there are cheaper versions. This link is the unit I bought for my GM Bolt and Hybrid Pacifica.
There are two CCS DC Fast charging locations near the museums for those without adapters. You can also use them if you want real DC fast charging. The newest is the ACE parking structure at 925 Waterfront Pl and is run by Chargepoint. They have 12 stations there with CCS and Chademo. The orange marker above ACE is a single unit at the Office Depot at 823 Pacific Hwy. There are J plugs scattered throughout the city and you can find them using an app like Plugshare.
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