We dressed for family pictures in the hopes of taking a few pictures for our Christmas cards. We got all sorts of pictures...unfortunately, not a single one of all of us looking cheerful. Our littlest did not feel too cheerful. And I can understand why. We stepped out of the car at the looking glass pond in front of the monument. Even before we got out of the car, we experienced the 11th plague! Mosquitos! Most about 3" big! Huge! And literally everywhere. Swarming. I really did feel a bit like the children of Egypt. I tried to ignore them until I hit one (easy to not miss with so many around) on M's arm and someone else's blood spurted everywhere--several feet away. That's when I started to get completely grossed out! Fortunately despite the hot weather, I had forced jeans on everyone and mostly long sleeves. Boy, were we happy!
We lasted long enough to take a few really quick pictures and then jumped back in the car with the windows down driving as fast as we could, hoping the dozens of mosquitos in the car would be blown out.
Fortunately, the monument itself did not have quite as many mosquitos. We wandered inside and looked at the free exhibit. The cool air and lack of mosquitos was a refreshing break. We took a few more pictures outside on the steps.
And then got back in the car and drove across the street to the battleship USS Texas. The rain descended! After sitting in the car for a little while, we decided to dash for it. The mosquitos here weren't bothered in the least by the rain. Back again in full force.
We opted to explore the under deck portions of the ship first since it was still raining. This is such a cool glimpse into navy life! And I am so sure it is not for me. My husband, on the other hand, longs for it...
We did make our way back up--to join back up with the mosquitos--and then up a few levels via very steep ladders. As I don't like heights, the footings were wet and slippery, and I had two little girls and a huge umbrella I was in charge of, this was not my favorite part. I did stop before the last climb and call it quits. And somehow we all managed to make it down again alive.
After swabbing the decks, we made a quick bathroom break (the girl's room was a sauna breeding ground for the mosquitos--perhaps the worst spot of the whole day?). We rushed to the car and I was so glad to shed the mosquitos and way-too-tight shoes I had been wearing all day. We really did enjoy the day. Really.
