The USS Kidd

This is the USS Kidd DD-661 located in Baton Rouge Louisiana. The USS Kidd is a Fletcher Class Destroyer that began it's service on February 28, 1943.  Leaving it's dry dock in New Jersey flying the Jolly Roger flag. The Kidd served admirably during World War Two, serving first in the North Atlantic where it protected Allied shipping lanes then in the Pacific Theater. Participating in operations near New Guinea, Tarawa, the Marshall Islands, Leyte Gulf and the liberation of the Philippines, and the Invasion of Okinawa. It was near Okinawa that the Kidd suffered her worst attack during the war. On April 11, 1945 the USS Kidd was struck by a Kamikaze and took dozens of casualties and was horribly damaged as a result. She was sent back to Hunters Point Naval Shipyard for repairs. The USS Kidd was enroute to participate in the invasion of the Japanese hon islands when the war ended with the Japanese surrender.

The USS Kidd was named after Rear Admiral Isaac Kidd, Sr., killed in action while commanding the defense of Pearl Harbor from His Flagship, the USS Arizona during the Japanese surprise attack on December 7th, 1941. RADM Kidd was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions that day. Quoted Directly from the Citation;


"For conspicuous devotion to duty, extraordinary courage, and complete disregard of his own life, during the attack on the Fleet in Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, by Japanese Forces on December 7, 1941. He immediately went to the bridge and as Commander Battleship Division ONE, courageously discharged his duties as Senior Officer Present Afloat until the USS Arizona, his Flagship, blew up from magazine explosions and a direct bomb hit on the bridge, which resulted in the loss of his life."

The body of Rear Admiral Kidd has never been recovered and he is officially listed as Missing In Action.
  

 Twin .50 caliber AA guns.

 Shipboard firefighting equipment.

 The Galley, where the meals are prepared.

 Those are coal burning stoves.

 The Officer's Dining area.

 A view of the 5-inch guns at the bow the the ship.

 A view toward the stern from the bow.

 A torpedo launcher.

 Anybody need a shower?

 Shells for the 5-inch guns.

More torpedoes

 Twin-barreled 40mm Anti-Aircraft gun.

 I'd hate to be on the other end of those sights.

 Narrow, steep staircases. A tall chubby guy like me would have been in trouble his first few weeks on the Kidd.

 Such spacious accommodations for the Officers!

 The Crew Quarters, all total there is room for about 1/3 of the Kidd's total enlisted compliment in the birthing area, bunks for around 90 enlisted men. The practice of hot bunking was common, with 2/3 of the crew on duty and the other 1/3 asleep, being rotated on a regular basis. so the bunks were always warm from the crewman sleeping in them.

 Enlisted dining area. Note the bunks in the background...

 From the bow. More AA and 5-inch guns.

 Depth charges for destroying those pesky submarines.

I hope you have enjoyed my adventure aboard the USS Kidd. If you have any questions please feel free to ask. -Mike, still traveling...

Forts Randolph and Buhlow, Pineville, LA Feb 2013

Good weekend! Visited the Forts Randolph and Buhlow State Historic Site in Pineville, LA this weekend. Met some wonderful people and had a great lunch at the site.

Lots of living history at the site. For a bit of background the twin Forts Randolph and Buhlow were built after the disastrous Union Red River Campaign. After sacking Alexandria and being defeated near Mansfield to the north, the Union Army, under command of Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Banks retreated along the Red Red River toward Simmesport, burning and looting every building they passed along the way. To ensure the LA capitol at Shreveport was protected against another invasion the Forts near Alexandria were constructed to stop Union Naval forces from advancing. Each fort had large artillery pieces emplaced with a commanding view of the Red River. These heavy guns could stop any boats sent up river by Union Naval forces. To protect the forts from a direct infantry assault, two regiments of cavalry were assigned to the forts. Confederate forces between the two garrisons totaled just over 800 soldiers. After the Red River Campaign and construction of the forts, no further invasions of the Red River Valley occurred. The forts were either quite a deterrent or a waste of badly needed cavalry and artillery forces. Either way the ruined Red River Valley did not face occupation until the Department of Louisiana surrendered a few weeks after Lees surrender at Appomattox. The Soldiers at the forts were among the last in the Confederacy to surrender.

 This is the community garden grown by the staff. All the vegetables served at the living history lunches (served the first Saturday of each month) come from here. All excess produce is donated to local shelters and food closets.

 Saw a few snapping turtles around the pond.

 This is were I had a fine lunch of rabbit, venison, fried radishes, and cabbage. The food was tasty.

 Winter quarters for the soldiers stationed here. Winter in Pineville sucks. I've been here three weeks and I've seen snow and freezing rain one week. Temps in the 80s the following week then another week of freezing temps at night and 70 degree days. Very thankful for my accommodations.

 The guns of Forts Randolf and Buhlow commanded an excellent view of the Red River and the City of Alexandria. The heavy guns could have stopped any Union Naval advances up the river and the Cavalry and Militia near the forts protected against a sizable Union ground assault.

 Given the nature of cavalry and artillery units, shorter weapons, such as this Enfield musketoon would have been a common sight at the forts. Although many Confederate cavalrymen were rather fond of sawed off double barreled shotguns. At this stage of the war though southern troops were thrilled to have any kind of weapon that went bang.

This weekend was a great little escape, I met lots of very nice people and got to see many historically important sites. I will be visiting Forts Randolph and Buhlow again for sure.

A short visit to a certain swamp.

This last weekend was pretty good, the weather was fairly nice on Saturday so I took a little walk to the Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center. It is amazing to see a swamp right in the middle of a city such as Baton Rouge. There is over 100 acres of Upland Hardwood Forest and swamp in the park with about 1.5 miles of trails and boardwalks. much of the trails take you out over the swamp itself. Wildlife flourishes here, boasting a population of the American Alligator, Bobcat, Coyote, and Bald Eagle among others. With over 100 bird species that call the Nature Center home this is a bird watchers paradise. The day I visited was very cold for the area, around 35F with a 15mph breeze, not too many creatures were out and about. The Visitor Center does have several live animals on display. Mostly local reptiles, but a few birds and insects as well. Along with a world class collection of locally produce duck decoys and a children's learning area. I would recommend the Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center to any nature lover or family visiting the Baton Rouge area. Fees are very reasonable $3 for adults, $2 for 3-17 and free for 2 and under.

I'm liking it here in the Bayou.

Well folks, I made it to Louisiana. I left Manteca, CA the day after Thanksgiving and I arrived in Baton Rouge that Sunday morning. What a wild ride. I did stop a few times to sleep and made a special stop in Albuquerque to get a hair cut. Here are a few pictures from the trip. I couldn't take as many as last time due to time restrictions but it is what it is.

 Back to the Cadillac Ranch..

My whole world fit into a Hyundai Elantra. But now I have an easy chair, a bed, coffee table, a couple book shelves, cookware, all I need to survive. Well that and a pretty nice two bedroom apartment. The rest of the family will be arriving in the late spring so I'll need a bit more space.

Hopefully my next post can have some local Louisiana stuff in it. I have a lot of places to go visit, the USS Kidd, Bluebonnnet swamp, Cajun Village, Bayou Sorrel and Bayou Pigeon. More of Downtown Baton Rouge and the Magnolia Cemetery (site of the Battle of Baton Rouge during the Civil War).


-Mike, Still traveling, and a bit lonely without my copilot Joey.

Big News Friends!

Well everybody, Mike and Joey are traveling again. We are going back to the bayous and swamps of Louisiana. After a few months of interviews interrupted by hurricanes, physicals and physical agility testing, I was offered a job near Baton Rouge. Of course I accepted, it would have been silly to fly back and go through all the testing to say no. I will be leaving for Baton Rouge the day after Thanksgiving and reporting to work on Monday the 26th. Joey and the rest of the clan will be coming to Louisiana a few weeks later. Expect more pictures to come and more frequent updates now that things are settling down.
 
-Mike and Joey, still traveling just in different cars this time...

It has been an interesting Summer.

We did make it to Virginia City and a few other places. We saw a few fires around the state, visited some historical places, played in the park, and generally had a good time.

We do have a few updates. Looks like we are going to be adding another traveler to the group and I may be changing careers. I'll know more about that in a few weeks. Things are going to get even more interesting. But you all aren't here to listen to me, you want pictures, so here you are.


These are some Pictures of a fire near Silver Springs, NV. I took them as I was coming home from work.

Just realized I need to get ready for work. I'll add a few more photos this afternoon. Mike-Still Traveling.

Sorry for the lack of updates.

This has been a crazy few weeks. Since Joey and I returned from D.C. quite a few changes have occurred in our lives. First and foremost my Wife, Amber, suffered a horrible sprained foot and ankle as well as a few chipped bones in her foot. She is going to be fine and is currently in a walking cast/boot contraption. I turned 30 which was not nearly as dramatic as many made it out to be. Due to some restructuring at work all my overtime hours have been cut. This is why I live within my regular wages and save overtime for fun stuff. Last but certainly not least, Amber took the initiative and took a part time job on Saturdays and Sundays to keep up our income and to get out of the house. These last few weekends with 3 boys have been rewarding. I can really appreciate what Amber went/goes through as a Stay at home mom. Lots of work. I think it is good for the boys to have me watch them too. It's god for momma too. She can leave all the crazy boys at home for a few hours a week.

That last part brings me to a new point in the blog, since obviously the trip to D.C. is over for now, more stuff will be posted around Nevada not only with Joey and I but two new travellers, Jacob and Johnathan. My 3 and 1 year old, respectively. Joey is still going to do his post but it has been a bit hard with all the stuff going on. This weekend Joey, Jacob, Johnny and myself will be braving the Wild West town of Virginia City. Hopefully Joey doesn't read this post as that is still a surprise. There will be lots of pictures.

-Mike and Joey, still traveling