Ship to shore

Forever at rest
New York, NY
November 2013

I wanted to close out this week's dawn & dusk theme - click here if you'd like to squeeze one more in - with this view of the USS Intrepid. This great ship ruled the seas between WWII and the Cold War, and now serves as a floating museum on the Hudson River's Pier 86.

I admit some of it is a little kitschy. To the best of my knowledge, the famed Mach 3 SR-71 spy plane never took off from or landed on an aircraft carrier, but there it sits on the edge of the flight deck. Similarly, the Space Shuttle Enterprise was never equipped for carrier landings. But still, it's quite a sight to see so much aviation history sitting wingtip-to-wingtip.

For a ship whose history is filled with heroic battles against Japanese kamikaze pilots and storied pickups of Mercury and Gemini capsules after they returned from space, it's a little humbling to stand near the bow and take in the peacefulness of this great vessel at rest. As the setting sun reflected off of her steel plated hull, I wondered if those who designed and built her a lifetime ago ever thought they were creating a work of art, as well.

Our new theme, treetops, launches tonight at 7:00 Eastern.