On Board the JFK Carrier! - US Navy Fleet Week

Sun, 29 May 2005 02:52:18 GMT

Carrier! Carrier!! I got on board CV 67 today! Hurray!!

Thanks to Kitty's information, this trip was made possible.

After we got off the subway, we went straight to the Port 88 near Hudson River. Then we saw Intrepid, the retired carrier now harbored day and night as Naval museum. This was the first time that I was so close to a real carrier - so goooooooood! However, we went to a real carrier (JFK, near Intrepid) other than this old ship.

Though we witnessed a long queue outside the entrance, we didn't want to spoil this opportunity when US Navy was holding Fleet Week. As a matter of fact, we made to the entrance after only about 40 minutes, quite less than our expectation. During waiting, I shot pictures for SR-71, Arleigh Burke Class and another amphibious ship. By the way, any liquid is forbidden for entrance, but drinks were on sale inside. Security measures?

On board JFK! Inside CV67 lay an array of USMC weapons: F/A-18C, Hummer, M198 155mm Howitzer, M142 HIMARS 270mm MRL, M240G machine gun, AAV7 and miscellaneous. I got inside an armored vehicle - very tight but making me feel good. The M240G is heavy - of course, if it had been an M-14, I would have felt like a USMC in Full Metal Jacket. Many kids were lucky enough to touch their favorate weapons. Back in my comparable age, my only access is magazines. Now it's totally free.

The interesting experience is on an elevator up and down. From one world to another. Among crowds I found a number of Parkistan Navy men - they must come for a visit as I saw their little ship beside CV67 (first time for me to meet those Pakies, China's ally).

If USMC display more reflects bloody Rambo, the view on deck is clearly impressive with a sense of technologies. The first plane I saw was F-35 JSF - I couldn't believe my eyes! They even displayed the weapon in test! While JSF was not touchable, other planes are close enough for you to do any thing (anything reasonable and you're capable of). E-2C is smaller than I thought; CH-47 is cute; CH53 is my favorate, especially the tube in his head. Once again, I saw the Arleigh Burke Class - I just wanted to open those covers of the Mk41 VLS.

Beside the JFK is the Liner Queen Mary 2. No interest in her. I shot the C-13 catapult under my feet - this is the little stuff that constitutes one of the barriers that PLAN have to conquer if they really want to have comparable carriers.

Are US Navy generous in displaying their advanced weapons? Yes and no, I think. They make every effort to build a transparent force while making necessary protections for classified elements. This makes people have the feeling that the army is THEIRS. This is far better than any impotent propaganda.

I love this trip!

Below is a link to my photo gallery of this trip:

http://bfd_orange.photo.163.com

Back from Niagara

Fri, 20 May 2005 22:47:01 GMT

Back from Niagara Falls, one of the 7 world miracles. The comfortable view alongside the road and the thick cut of tour profit is more impressive than the trip itself.

Agency: 纵横旅游, a Chinatown firm
Date: May 18 - May 19, 2005
Destination: Niagara Falls, Niagara Falls City, NY
Fares: $66 for three persons, tickets, meals and tips not included
Crew: many NYU mates, plus other Chinese and black; all minorities
Comments: good but not impressive

May 18, around 8:40a.m. We set off from Chinatown and passed through Holland Tunnel and part of New Jersey. For the next 10 hours we remained on the interstate freeways within New York State. The trip looked like an excursion during school times: food (Maggie the Mother of A Child and Sidney the Chef) and toys (luxury as we were, four of us each bought a 20GB iPod engraved with NYU logo to show off on the road).

If we are accustomed to the service packs of MS Windows, we should not be surprised to see any add-ons during the trip. I paid an extra $12 for Corning Museum of Glass, established by a private family business, while someone got into the museum without paying a cent. The tour guide threatened that there would have been a long queue if we had bought the tickets ourselves. After the money was paid, things changed: no queue, even no guard at all. The existence of a Chinese interpretor indicates a steady visit of Chinatown business. However, the museum is quite worth visiting. Many articles were very attractive.

The view outside the window of the coach was nice. In China we are familiar with farmland, bald hills, semi-dilapidated structures and sometimes trash. We seldom saw this on the way. Even no farmland? Exactly. We guessed Americans had consolidated farming areas.

There is a cheap Chinese buffet one hour from our destination. $11 (dinner) or $8 (others) each for a satisfied stomach. From the happy faces you can tell how NYC sucks.

We settled in Travelodge, a small inn with a 3-star brand. Anyway its location is good enough for us to walk to the Falls. The temperature is low in upper State.

A big fire balloon stood beside the Niagara Falls and asked for $35 for every 15 minutes. The other side of the Falls are Canadian territories, more prosperous than the small town on this side. The Falls are wide and have variant geographical shape from various angles. It is a sudden downward fault or shift on the riverbed. The water was freezingly cold.

That night Eric, Sidney and I went to a casino nearby. Hui couldn't because he didn't bring any legal ID and Kitty and Maggie couldn't because they only brought their EADs (effective after July; but it was May then). I lost $2 on slot machine. Eric kept a zero balance on a lucky machine. After losing $4, Sidney deposited $10 on Eric's machine. He got a "777" and finally came back with a net income of $40. Though I warned him that the money was not his until it is get deposited, Sidney couldn't help singing his favorate 越剧段子. The $40 was maliciously grabbed by Sidney's friends, or us, and was contributed to the table in a Chinatown restaurant.

The next morning I was awaken by Eric and Sidney. My watch said it was 7 but I read 8. I thought I was late but finally became one of the only early risers to see Niagara in the morning. The tour guide later lead all of us to an island to check out the American Falls, Canadian Falls (U shape) and Bride Veil Falls. We ended our trip by a cruise on Maiden of Mist, which approached the Falls.

The tour guide collected $10 each as tips. Good business.

By the way, on the windscreen scattered numerous smashed bodies of bees and flies. We paid to slaughter? :(

Neither boring nor interesting. That's it.

Anyway, it is one of the 7 world miracles.

奔放的桔子之快活林: Travel

On Board the JFK Carrier! - US Navy Fleet Week

Back from Niagara