Baltimore Blog – part 6

“Dive, dive, dive!”

Next on the “things to tour” was a submarine called the Torsk. I believe this was built in the 1930’s or 1940’s. It sunk some Japanese subs in WWII.

The sub was a luxury cruiser compared to the Constellation ship. The guys got to sleep in beds, instead of hammocks. They had cushioned chairs in the cafeteria.

It made me laugh to read that they sometimes showered with condensation off some of the pipes. Each day on the trip, we always had condensation on our water bottles, and we giggled about taking a shower with it.

The only annoying part about being in a sub (besides not seeing the sun for months at a time) was the walk ways between each compartment. They were 1’ off the ground (so you had to step way up) and they were only 4 feet tall. Even I had to duck down, and worry about smashing my shins against the metal.

Next up was a lighthouse. It was a weirdly shaped lighthouse. It wasn’t very tall, and it was very round. We learned that the keepers of the lighthouse had to live on it (this lighthouse was far off shore), all by themselves. That a crappy job!

Last was a US Coast Guard Ship called the Taney. This boat saw action at Pearl Harbor. This ship was pretty sweet! There was a huge cafeteria, plenty of room to move, etc. It convinced me to join the coast guard!

On all the ships, they have an option to eat dinner and sleep on the ship! I think the Taney only cost $35 to sleep on it. We should’ve stayed on the Taney for 2 nights, instead of a hotel. It was right downtown and only 1/3 of the price! Not much privacy, since the Coast Guard-ians slept on bunk beds in a common room – but still! I am pretty frugal.

Up next - “Take me out to the ball game!”