Docked in the Houston shipping canal across from the San Jacinto war memorial lies the battleship USS TEXAS. This ship was in service during both WWI and WWII. It was built in 1912 and is of the dreadnaught classification. If you like exploring old battleships, this one is for you. You can climb the narrow stairways to the gun turrets and descend steep stairwells to see the small city of rooms along the maze-like corridors. Below deck you can get a glimpse of what life was like for the sailors. The commissary, sick bay, laundry, eating facilities for both enlisted men and officers, chart room, radio room, library and even the soda shop look as though they had been untouched for decades. Today a large group of school kids are visiting the ship and the stair wells and gun turrets are quite congested. I believe I saw several kids riding on the canon barrels and I know I heard "Get down from there!" followed by "Where's (fill in the blank)?" spoken LOUDLY by the chaperones. Busy times! Lots of fun. All in all, I'm glad I stopped and took the tour. Ongoing restoration efforts are keeping the century old ship afloat and available for all of us to see a part of our nations history. Please come visit.
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