Of Wildflowers and War Ships

I had mentioned previously that we did not see Texas bluebonnets in the Hill Country.  We did see them, however, as we neared Corpus Christi.  Yay!  We stopped at a roadside rest area, and I took photos of the many different kinds of wildflowers that were blooming.  First, the bluebonnet, of which there were not too many yet:

Can you imagine all these at a single rest stop?  So much color!

Now for the war ship.  In Corpus Christi Lee and I visited the USS Lexington, an aircraft carrier. Every city these days seems to have its own retired Navy ship. 

What do I take a photo of?  The following sign.  Why?  Because it has a picture of a duck!  A sitting duck, to be exact, referring to how many aircraft were destroyed sitting on an airfield.  What can I say?  I like ducks, always have.

Lee took this photo of me on the bridge, looking out over the water with my binoculars.  And what was I watching?  A pelican eating a fish!!

I have always liked living creatures more than steel and metal, that's just who I am.

There were a couple of facts that I found fascinating about this particular aircraft carrier, however.  1) The USS Enterprise served longer than any other aircraft carrier in the world.  It was built in the middle of WWII, and was damaged in one of the later battles.  It had to be towed to port, hundreds of miles away, to be repaired.  It also served in Korea, Vietnam, and Desert Storm.  It was finally retired in 1991.

2)  The USS Enterprise was the final ship to be retired that had a wooden launch deck.  Can you imagine?  An aircraft carrier with a wooden launch deck  in 1991?  Quite amazing.

The USS Enterprise served the US well for many, many years.  Well done.