We (Frank, Terry, Chet, Laurie, Richard, Jerry, Ardra) had a great visit to the Titan Missile Museum which is a National Historic Landmark. It's amazing to remember back to the Cold War and think that 54 ICBMs were all that stood between us and disaster! Thankfully we and the Russians both realized we could each wipe out the other and no one ever had to launch a nuclear missile. It was a successful deterrent. The docent provided a simulated launch which would have taken 59 seconds and, once initiated, there was no stopping the sequence of events.
I've never been in a missile silo before and am really glad we went. It was very interesting to see how those things were built to withstand mega tons of blast off. Before going into the silo we saw the flag pole in front of the building which is 51 feet tall and the Titan missile was twice that. We took the regular tour which takes about one hour, plus another hour for the self-guided tour above ground. Once we got back to the motorhome and looked at the brochure I realized we could have taken several other tours that are by reservation only. There are even overnight tours where you sleep in the crew's quarters. The overnight tours range from $500/person to $1,000/person (!), the latter including a catered dinner, a bottle of Fallout wine, and a launch key replica.
On our return drive to Catalina we stopped at the San Xavier del Baco Mission which you've no doubt seen in pictures. It's interesting because it never was totally finished. The left side with tower and bells is finished but the right side never had the final top put on its tower. The result is an unusual optical illusion with the right side appearing taller and larger than the left side. In reality they're the same size except for the missing top on the unfinished right side. The inside of the church appears quite ornate, similar to many of the old Spanish churches or those in Mexico. On closer inspection the ornate carvings are really just artfully shaped plaster that was painted with bright colors to resemble wood or figures. Even the ornate altar is just made to look ornate with some gold paint and other bright colors. The church has three domes at the altar end and another large one at the other end above the main entrance and choir loft above it.
At happy hour Randy gave out maps to the area of town that is known for its Christmas lights. Tonight is the last night for being able to drive through the display area.
ArdraF