Corpus Christi, Texas 2001 : Texas State Aquarium & USS Lexington

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Texas State Aquarium & USS Lexington : Corpus Christi, Texas : Trip Report

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Texas State Aquarium

After a two hour drive from San Antonio to Corpus Christi I was a little surprised to find around 10 miles of nothing but oil refineries. Only by the coast was there anything that looked interesting. I visited two of the more interesting sites in Corpus Christi, which are conveniently right next to each other.

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The aquarium as viewed from the USS Lexington.	A nice seal fountain on the walkway.	I think these are baby Crocodiles.
Pelicans and other sea birds.	Some Stingrays also played in the shore exhibit.	Not sure what kind of Shrimp they were.
A couple Sargeant Majors and some Angelfish.	Great picture of a Stingray.	This fish used it's front fins almost like Shrimp legs.
An Eel found only in the Pacific.	A huge Pufferfish and an Angelfish.	Great shot of an Octopus crawling on the glass.
I don't remember what kind of game fish this was.	A big shark with large pointy teeth.	A pair of amazing Seahorses.
More cool looking Seahorses.	These look pregnant.	Related to a Seahorse this is a Pipefish.
This is the most amazing Sea Horse I've ever seen!	These are actually full grown but less than an inch long.	I think this is called a Cownose Stingray.
Another nose to nose shot of the Cownose Stingray.	A Gray Angelfish.	A huge Green Moray Eel.
	The best picture I could get of a colorful Jellyfish.

U.S.S. Lexington

The other site I visited right next to the Aquarium was the USS Lexington, a World War II era aircraft carrier. The ship was also known as the "Blue Ghost" (still not sure why) and is now a private military museum with displays about the history of the Lexington including some of the planes that have been transported by this ship. I thought it was definitely worth the visit.

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The USS Lexington as seen from the Aquarium.	This A4 Skyhawk adorns the entrance to the Lexington.	A torpedo and a big gun are also at the entrance.
As I walked towards the ship I saw many large Jellyfish in the water below.	Are those supposed to be depth charges?	Just inside the ship was the hangar area.
An old N3N Yellow Peril.	On the top deck where more planes on display.	This F9F-8T Cougar, BuNo 142470 did serve with the Blue Angels..
There was a ladder where you could get a closer look at the cockpit.	This is a TA-4J Skyhawk, BuNo 158722 that also served with the Blue Angels.	Next was this TA-4F Skyhawk.
Nice number on this F2H-2 Banshee.	A T-28B Trojan prop plane.	F-4A Phantom II.
A-6E Intruder.	F-14 Tomcat, one of my personal favorites.	This beat up looking plane was an A-4 Skyhawk.
This little plane is a T-34B Mentor.	I don't know what this ugly plane was.	The only helicopter at this museum.
The front view shows how narrow it is.	View of the entire deck from the front.	The control tower.
I think this is a KA-38 (A3D-2) Skywarrior.	Quad 40's guns on the side of the ship.	This was used to spray foam to put out fires on the deck.
I guess this is called the bridge.	This is the device the bridge uses to tell the engine room how fast they want to go.	Other tourists taking a break in the comfy chairs.
The map room was adjacent to the bridge.	Wow! This ship has been very close to Palau in WW II!	The cramped crew quarters.
The controls down in the engine room.	One of the turbines in the engine room.

Comments From People Like You! Texas State Aquarium & USS Lexington : Corpus Christi, Texas 2001	add a comment
Bruce Stump 28-Sep-2007 19:50
`The ugly little plane that you couldn't identify is an LTV A-7 Corsair II Attack plane.`
Tim Poe 17-Oct-2006 07:48
`No, they're not depth charges; they're life rafts.`
DON FINNEY 07-Nov-2005 01:29
`THE ORANGE AND WHITE AIRCRAFT IS A T-2 BUCKEYE, NOT A TA-4F.`
Rich Brandt (Phil's "Little" Brother) 20-Apr-2005 21:18
I saw it about 4 years ago. It is really incredible. Isnt the "ugly" plane an A-7. Our Brother, Randy, flew one out of Davis-Monthan is the 70's. Thanks for sharing! Phil has forwarded some of your other stuff and it's great. Hey I was a blue suiter for 3 yaers 5 months (early out due to US getting out of Vietnam in 1970 - yeah, right!!, and unlike my Bros. I never got near airplanes in the flesh so to speak but as a signals intelligence officer at TUSLOG Det 94, Karamursel, Turkey and later as the AFSSO at HQ ACIC in St.Louis, Mo, II did seem to have some contact with them otherwise, if you get the drift. Unfortunately the National Security Act of 1951 precludes me from telling more without having to hunt you down like a blookhound after an escaped convict in Texas and doing nasty things to your person. I KNOW that Phil at the dutiful Big Brother that he is will continue to forward your stuff to me and I look forward to it. Cheers.

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