USS Lexington

Starting out on this campout was very different: we left on a bus at 10:00 P.M., driving through the night. In Corpus Christi the next morning, the bus stopped for breakfast, and then got to the Lexington at about 9:00 A.M., in time for some football on the beach. At 10:00 A.M. Troop 81 checked in on the Lexington.

After the orientation and welcome aboard ceremony, we took sack lunches to the Texas State Aquarium, ate there, and then toured it. At 2:30 all of us cleaned up the beach for a service project. After that everybody toured the ship seeing the bridge, flight deck, engine room, sick bay, fo'c'sle, fantail, admiral's quarters, and the control tower. Around 6:00 P.M. we had to sing for our supper. Then we had more tours, and we had a contest where 2 anti-aircraft guns were facing up and away from each other. Two scouts were manning each gun. The first team to rotate and lower the guns to face the other team won. After that, they showed movies, told ghost stories, and offered more tours. After an exhausting day, the 12 troops on board finally got to bed.

In the morning, we were awakened by a bugler's rendition of Reveille. Then we had a mustering out ceremony and left for San Antonio. In San Antonio, Troop 81 had lunch on the Riverwalk, and walked across the street to the Alamo. We had an hour to spend at the Alamo before our bus came to take us back to Richardson. We safely arrived back in Richardson at 9:30.

Scott Steger