Vessels and Vehicles

ODE TO JOY: When coming home from an errand this afternoon it took us for-ev-er to get back across the Ballard Bridge. I figured there must have been a l-o-o-o-ng bridge lift, and I was right. Turns out the historic USS Turner Joy had passed under the bridge!

Named for Admiral Charles Turner Joy USN, the 

USS Turner Joy was commissioned in 1959. One of 18 Forrest Sherman-class destroyers of the United States Navy, the ship spent her entire active service career in the Pacific, and participated extensively in the Vietnam War. Turner Joy was one of the principal ships involved in the Gulf of Tonkin Incident in 1964.

We were introduced to the ship on a trip through Bremerton a couple of years ago (see photo above). Decommissioned in 1982, the ship is a floating museum there now, and is in Seattle for a couple months of repairs and maintenance in a Lake Union dock. (I told the kids we need to go rent some kayaks and paddle the lake looking for it!)

Local station KOMO had live coverage of the ship making its way through the Ballard Locks. You can see video here (if you have a Facebook account): https://www.facebook.com/KOMONews/videos/1323004264434569/

We also found this promo video for the floating museum on YouTube
https://youtu.be/RsnHDOtwMMI

THEY WALK THE LINE: The kids keep picking away on their guitars. This week they've been working on a Johnny Cash classic, "I Walk the Line." We listened to it before they practiced today. When we saw the clip the first thing I wondered was, "Why does Johnny Cash have a piece of paper hanging off the neck of his guitar?" I honestly thought it might be the set list or some lyrics. 

You'll have to watch the video to unravel the mystery. ;)
https://youtu.be/k7K4jH7NqUw

VINTAGE RIDES: A couple of nights ago we happened across a program on PBS that served as the day's history lesson. It was a documentary called "Building Pharaoh's Chariot."

The program started by showing 3,600-year-old reliefs in Egyptian tombs and temples that depict pharaohs and warriors riding horse-drawn chariots. 

The chariots were a game-changer, according to some historians, who assert that the chariot launched a technological and strategic revolution, and they served as a vehicle (literally!) for Egypt's greatest era of conquest. 

"Building Pharaoh's Chariot" features a team of archaeologists, engineers, woodworkers, and horse trainers who work together to build and test two highly accurate replicas of the ancient Egyptian royal chariots. Believe it or not, the chariots included everything from spoked wheels to springs, shock absorbers to anti-roll bars. And some even had rear view mirrors! 

A YouTube channel called ScienceTube has the whole show if you are interested in checking it out.
https://youtu.be/4-kKQe7YKjk