Battleship Massachusetts at Battleship Cove in Fall River, MA

I took my daughters and their cousin on a day trip to Battleship Cove in Fall River MA last week. When I was a kid in the 1970's I loved going there, but after 30 or so years, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. More... In addition to the battleship and it's long time neighbors the WWII submarine Lionfish and the Vietnam era destroyer Kennedy, they had two complete WWII PT boats displayed in a covered shed and an Eastern Block missile corvette from the 1980's, very cool. The place was also hopping and all the boats were mobbed with people. The Massachusetts was a bit worse for wear topside than it was 30 years ago, but there was a lot of restoration work ongoing, so hopefully they have a handle on it. The ship made a trip to the huge drydock #3 in Boston for a thorough reconditioning below the waterline (photo above). The most impressive thing as an adult visiting the ship, is the sheer complexity of it. The engineering spaces and fire control rooms boogle the mind. In the digital age we are used to sensors and embedded processors doing all work for us. One may as well be on an alien space ship, and ultimately as an adult, that is the best part, trying to piece together the whole of the ships pieces, how did it work? That and trying to imagine what life was like for those aboard in the 40's.