So, a lot of things happened over Summer. Among them was Summer School and Band Camp. But those aren very exciting. What happened was I went to Bakersfield for 2 weeks to visit my Grandma. During that time, I built an exact copy of the famed USS Arizona (BB-39) in Minecraft, became President of the United States in Simpleplanes Roleplay, and that’s about it for Bakersfield.
On the 3rd of August, my Dad, brothers and I went to Angel’s Stadium for a Spartan Obstacle Course race. My little brother Greyson was there to race for his third medal (And received what is called a “Trifecta Medal”), my bigger brother was there to supervise, while Dad and I were there to volunteer. Whilst we were waiting for our zone leader to arrive, one of the staff members said that she needed four people to become officials. My Dad and I were chosen for the job. He got an actual “Official” Shirt while I got the “Referee” Shirt. His job was to make sure Every volunteer in the area was doing their job; mine was to make sure that the Elite Class Racers did an obstacle correctly.
The weekend after that, on the 11th, we had to take my Aunt Sonny to Carson before her flight to Missouri. We dropped her off at her temporary residence, then Dad asked us if we wanted to make a couple more stops before heading back to Pechanga. We all said yes. He showed us the middle school where he went, and the house he grew up in. I was stunned. Expecting to go home, I heard Dad ask if we wanted to make one last stop. I said sure, my little brother said no, and my Mom was neutral. I was expecting something like a place where Dad worked, but then I heard the word “Battleship” coming from the GPS. I was stunned, then the GPS said “USS Iowa, BB-61 Museum” and my mind went ballistic. The USS Iowa (BB-61) is my absolute favorite ship. The whole time there, I was geeking out. Once we pulled up alongside the ship, my Dad asked if we could go onboard just so I could touch it. It was closing time, but one of the guys there said, “Five Minutes.” We parked, and then went up the gangplank.
As we approached the third turret, the guy who was guiding us asked a few questions about the ship. I answered them all correctly, then added some facts of my own. As I heard afterwards, the tour guide kept trying to ask questions, but apparently I kept cutting him off and stating facts about the ship. The tour guide was a bit frustrated that I kept “stealing his thunder” by giving some history details. Once we were about to walk off, my Dad saw a bin full of what looked like firewood. He asked what they were. The gentleman said that they were replacing the deck. The planks were any amount, just as a donation. My Dad looked in his wallet, and the gentleman saw only a lone $100 bill. He whispered to Dad to just “take one” and Dad got two, one for me, and one for my little brother. The blueprint below is where the planks were taken from. The plank was there during April 19th, 1989, when the 2nd turret detonated.