A visit is a glimpse into history and military life as one of the enforcement arms of our national defense and security. Life on one of these ships is not easy or romantic, although the tour guides, mostly former aviators I noticed, made it sound exciting and something every child would want to do. They had lots of antidotes of life at sea and naval aviation, which was good, but only part of the story of carrier operations and missions. The tour is limited to the most obvious areas, probably for safety sake, so below deck touring was limited; eg, deck operations, aircraft maintenance "hanger," bridge or tower ops, and senior officer quarters. The "living" part of the ship was ignored and very little seemed to stand out about life at sea for the the ship's company or sustainment operations of this floating city. For a more thorough "tour," talk to some of the volunteers standing around watching the tourists; many of them served on the Midway and were willing to share their experiences.