Our Top Gun Tour of San Diego: A Ship, A Bar and A Piano

While staying in the San Diego area to see friends, visiting the USS Midway was also on our to do list since our teenager’s 2026 travel wish list included seeing an aircraft carrier–something he tells us after we left the east coast and could have visited one on that side of the country!

We checked out the USS Midway Museum’s website to get hours and pricing info and found out that Military/Veterans plus a guest could visit for free during the month of November. We had planned to go on Halloween Friday since it fit our schedule, but for that budget-friendly option, we rearranged schedules and accepted we would be weekend visitors.

We arrived at the pier and found parking–a challenge for our big truck since it seems all the spots are for compact vehicles. We headed over the the ship and explored from top to bottom and learned so much.

BJ and I actually met in Naval JROTC in high school and I had several family members serve in the Navy. Naval history and locations are a part of our personal history, so we always enjoy a good vessel tour. We’ve been on several submarines and battleships, even aircraft, but never an aircraft carrier that we could recall, so this was a first for us all!

You know they are a floating city, but it is still incredible to see all the areas of the ship, but also of the flightline and support. Having worked Airfield Management as my Air Force AFSC, I recognized a lot of the equipment and areas, but it was amazing to see it consolidated into the small area. Seeing a lot of the life side of the ship reminded us of many things in RV life, and the mess hall brought back memories of meals…and we shared the gift of midrats with our teenager(if you worked the night shift, you were eligible for a 4th meal at the mess hall called midrats-short for midnight rations, since you often slept through at least one of the other meals).

After grabbing some postcards, we then set off for the next location we had learned about–Kansas City BBQ. Don’t know it? Well, it also goes by the nickname the “Top Gun Bar” since it is where the bar scene from the Top Gun movie was filmed, you know, when Goose played Great Balls of Fire on the piano?

We grabbed dinner and checked out the photos and other memorabilia. It’s changed a lot, but, let’s be honest, it’s been 40 years, so that’s expected, right? Top Gun is a favorite movie for us, so we had fun. I think the teenager just played along since we fed him, though.

Our time in the area was short, but we had fun exploring these two stops! There are so many others we’ll have to visit on future trips, what would you suggest?

Check out our RESOURCES
Our Travel Planner an easy to carry resource for all your RV needs
Free Printables Page helpful tools and resources for travel and organization
Our Savings Page referral links to savings with brands we love (our links get us referral credit)
Our Travel Map links to blogs for places to see and stay
The Essential Guide to RV Life to prepare, live and transition through RV life (digital and print options)
About Us Our Story, our WHY, and where to find us

Thanks for being here, we’ll see you out there!