We were glad to stay on for a few days, as San Diego is a
great city, and we had seen hardly any of it for the past week. Aside from our
trip out to El Cajon Rotary Club, we
barely left the hotel apart from an occasional trip to Ralph’s Supermarket or
to Seaport Village to find a Restaurant. I think everybody was feeling jaded
from the early starts, and late nights in the bar, and quite a few were going
down with colds and flu. I myself was not feeling too great as we woke on
Saturday morning.
Our original idea was to take one of the Trolley Bus tours
of the city to get our bearings, and we knew that , not only was there a stop
right outside the Hotel, they had accessible buses. However what we didn’t know
was that we had to give 24 hours notice of a request for a wheelchair
accessible bus. So what we decided to do was to book a bus for tomorrow, and do
something else today. We chose to go on a whale-watching trip.
The boats went from the harbour just past the USS Midway, on
a first come first served basis. As we were queuing to get on the boat we met
Scottish DGE Alistair Marquis and his wife Margaret. They said it was fantastic, not only did they
see whales, but there were dolphins travelling with them in the wake of the
boat for a while. In a way, I wish they hadn’t told us that, because there was
now a level of expectation, and we would be disappointed if we didn’t see
whales or dolphins.
USS Midway
Apparently this is a good time of year to see Grey whales as
they are migrating from Alaska down the Pacific coast of USA to Baja CaliforniaSur in Mexico, where they breed. January is a key time to see whales migrating
past San Diego. As we moved through the harbour, we passed the US Naval base,
and a colony of Californian sea lions until eventually we were out to sea. We
continued on this path for about an hour and a half, before 2 grey whales were
finally sighted. The captain of our
vessel kept to the rules of engagement, by not getting closer than 400 yards to
the whales, however there was a small flotilla of smaller boats, who had no
compunction about getting as close to the whales as possible. We nevertheless
got good views of the classic tail-in-the-air routine which happens when they
dive.
A grey whale dives
We were probably out for about 4 hours in all, on a pleasant
sunny and breezy day. By the time we got back, I was feeling much better. I
think we both felt that a blast of fresh air was just what we needed after a
week cooped up in the hotel. We didn’t get to see any dolphins at all, which
would not have concerned us in the least, if we hadn’t been told that the last
boat out encountered them. So we were a bit disappointed. That evening we found
a Restaurant in Seaport Village, and joined those UK colleagues who were still
left.
The next morning we were down at the Seaport bus stop to
catch our trolley bus. The accessible bus duly arrived and off we went. It was
great fun. The woman bus driver was very entertaining, telling us all sorts of
stories about everywhere we passed. One of the highlights was the Coronado bridge, a mile long bridge across the bay towards Coronado, which is not an
island, but nevertheless has an island feel about it. I was very impressed with
Coronado. It seemed quaint and well kept, with superb tree and flower lined
streets, and I thought I would like to spend more time there. On the far side
of Coronado there is a superb sandy beach facing the Pacific, at the end of
which is the impressive, olde worlde Hotel del Coronado. We learnt that this hotel
featured in the film ‘Some Like it Hot’ with Marilyn Monroe.
Coronado Hotel
Crossing back over the bridge, we went to the enormous
Balboa Park, which is home to the San Diego zoo. This is one of the leading
zoos in the world, but our schedule this year didn’t allow us to see it. We
then headed for Old Town San Diego, going past the airport as we went. Our
Guide told us that British Airways are the first major airline to fly regularly
into San Diego. I felt a little pride to hear that, but couldn’t help wondering
why others didn’t fly into this fine airport. Then she told us that on the
approach to the San Diego runway, there is rather a high building, so planes
have to maintain height to clear the building, then get down very quickly on to
the rather short runway. ‘British Airways pilots are trained to a higher
standard than other airlines’ she said, ‘so they are able to carry out this
difficult manoeuvre as they land.’ She then pointed out the building. It was
rather high. I established that we must
have flown in over that building, so hopefully when we leave on Tuesday we will
fly the other way.
Crossing the Coronado bridge
At one point we passed the baseball stadium, home to SanDiego Padres. Our driver pointed out that San Diego was a city of dog lovers,
and there were more dogs in San Diego than any other US city. The baseball
stadium, which is named the Petco stadium, after the pet food company which
sponsors the team, is the only one in the country which welcomes dogs, although
only for certain fixtures.
Iconic Road Sign
Old Town San Diego was like a theme park for a wild west
frontier town, and had lots of shopping opportunities and Restaurants.
Therefore we got out here for a wander around the town. There was a very heavy
Mexican influence (we are very near the border here) and I think a few trinkets
found their way into the foldaway carrier bag we always carry with us in case
there is a shopping emergency. There was also rather a good 2-man band playing
live Mexican-type music. One of the best things for Vivian’s point of view was
a pet show going on in a little park area, so we had the opportunity to speak
to various dog owners, giving us the chance to display our knowledge of dog
language. In fact one very nice lady turned out to be the owner of an ice cream
parlour nearby. She gave us each a hand-written voucher for a free ice cream of
our choice at her establishment that day. Although she gave us directions, we
never found it.
Old Town San Diego
The next morning, after our (free) sumptuous breakfast
buffet at the hotel, we decided to go on the SEAL amphibious bus / boat trip
around the bay. Once again, this trip departed from right outside the Hotel,
and we booked one that was fully accessible. It was like riding in an open top
single decker bus which was twice as high off the ground as normal. In fact it
put me in mind of the ‘Ducks’ which transported us across to Elizabeth castle in Jersey when the tide was in, only the SEAL looked as if it had been purpose
built, rather than being surplus army equipment.
SEAL amphibious tour vehicle
Happily we went on a different route this time, following
the harbour road out around the peninsula as far as Shelter Island, where we
suddenly turned left down a jetty and into the harbour. Once again the guide was very entertaining,
and there was a lot of laughter in the bus / boat. He did tell us something
which I found very interesting. Pointing to the lush vegetation growing along
the roadside, palm trees and beds of flowers, he said that all this has been
imported, and is not native to San Diego. The city really has a desert climate,
where you would expect to find nothing growing but some scrubby grass and
cacti. Imported or not, I have found San Diego to be a garden city, with
beautiful shrubs and flowers everywhere you look. It has obviously been an
expensive exercise, but it has created one of the most attractive cities I have
ever visited.
Enjoying our SEAL tour
During the water-based part of our tour, we got very close
up to the sea lion colony, which was based around some wooden pontoons in the
harbour, whose purpose I am not clear about, but they are obviously popular
with the sea lions, who use them to bask in the sunshine. We also passed a
number of pens housing dolphins being trained by the US Navy for military
purposes. They are apparently trained to perform tasks such as ship and harbour
protection, mine detection and clearance, and equipment recovery. We were
assured that the dolphins were well cared for, and could leave if they wanted
to. We also got a closer look at the US Naval base, which appeared to
specialise in aircraft, and this may explain why we saw aircraft carriers in
the harbour the whole time we were there.
We saw a nuclear submarine in dock, partially hidden from prying
cameras, and I was fascinated with the apparent openness by which the military conducted its affairs, although
I have no doubt security was very tight. In fact I saw an example of this from
our hotel window one morning. We occasionally would see people racing along the
harbour on jet skis. On this particular day, one of the jet skis seemed to be
passing a little too close to the naval ships, and I saw a gunboat move smartly
out to intercept it. Needless to say the jetskier quickly changed course.
Brown Pelican
Sea Lion
Submarine in dock
We got a good look at the USS Ronald Reagan on our way back,
and were suitably impressed with its sheer size. I was looking forward to
tomorrow, when we were planning a visit to the USS Midway. When we got back to
the Hotel that evening, we arranged with all the remaining RIBI DGEs to meet up
for dinner. I was delighted that we chose the Cheesecake Factory, just across
the road from the Hotel. I have very fond memories of visiting a Cheesecake Factory
in Chicago with Mum, Vivian and brother-in-law Charlie. The menu had about 30
different cheesecakes to choose from. As the dessert was obviously the main
event I decided to go for a small Caesar’s salad (at least that’s what I asked
for) for lunch before my cheesecake. The biggest salad I have ever seen was
brought out, which I struggled through, barely leaving enough room for my
cheesecake. It was a memorable meal.
USS Ronald Reagan
So here we were going into the San Diego Cheesecake Factory,
and once again I was determined to eat a small dinner, in order to enjoy a good
helping of cheesecake. So I asked for salad.
Now, when we are entertaining at home, and I want to prepare a salad for
a group of people, I will chop and prepare all the salad ingredients, then put
them in a big bowl, which people can help themselves to as they wish. Well,
that was what they brought out for me, an enormous wooden bowl full of salad,
enough for at least 4 people. I literally couldn’t finish it. I can honestly
say that I have never been beaten by a salad before, but I was on this
occasion. Cheesecake was wonderful again, another very memorable meal.
The next morning was our last in San Diego, as our plane was
leaving that night, for an overnight flight back to Heathrow. After a bit of retail
therapy in Seaport Village, we wandered off towards the USS Midway. We stopped
en route to see an enormous sculpture on the harbourside of a couple
embracing. Titled ‘UnconditionalSurrender’, it depicted a famous photograph from the Second World War, of a
sailor returning home. It was a very impressive piece, although most people
seemed more interested in looking up the girl’s skirt!
Unconditional Surrender
Next stop was the USS Midway, and what a great time we had
there. We started in the café, which is actually on the stern of the ship,
overlooking the harbour, one of the more unusual cafes we have enjoyed a hot chocolate in. Then we moved on to the exhibition in the huge aircraft hangar in
the middle of the ship. The best thing about the whole experience was that the
guides all seemed to be ex-navy personnel, who knew the ship intimately, and
many of them actually served on her. Their stories and memories added
enormously to the enjoyment of the visit. The Midway was named after one of the
most famous battles of the Second World War. It was built after the end of the
war, and until 1955 was the largest ship in the world, and the first US ship too
big to go through the Panama Canal. It saw action in the Vietnam War and also
featured in Operation Desert Storm in 1991. It was decommissioned in 1992.
Cafe at rear of USS Midway
In the exhibition area were a number of flight simulators,
which gave you the chance to pretend you were a fighter pilot. One of them was
a 2-berth simulator, where one of you navigated, the other fired the
weaponry. Before going aboard, you are
given a few minutes, using a screen to practice shooting enemy aircraft out of the air. Then Vivian
and I went on board the simulator. Any idea we had that we were in control of
our destiny was soon crushed, as our aircraft was hit several times, and we
were thrown in all directions, eventually ‘crashing’, which left us hanging
upside down in the cockpit, only held up by our seat belts. We haven’t laughed
so much for ages. I then had a go on another simulator, whilst, unknown to me,
Vivian could watch my discomfort on a TV
screen.
On the Flight Deck
Then we went up on deck, and what an enormous deck it was.
It seemed about half a mile from one end to the other, although it was probably
only half that distance. On the flight deck were a number of historic aircraft,
which have been used on aircraft carriers over the years. There was a
tremendous presentation from a former crew member giving us an idea of what it
was like to launch an aircraft, how everyone has his own role, how various
checks must be made before launch, and how this will all take place within a
few seconds. By this time we had spent a
few hours on board the ship, which was not enough, because we ran out of time
to see the ‘Island’, which is the tall structure on the flight deck, from which
presumably the ship is controlled.
So it was that we left the USS Midway, returned to the Hotel
to pack, get a taxi for the short trip to the Airport, and fly home, avoiding
the tall building at the other end of the runway. My overall impression of San Diego is that it
is my favourite US city of those I have seen.
It has a superb climate, it is easy on the eye, everybody is friendly,
and they are a city of dog lovers. I have never visited such a laid back place,
where everyone seems relaxed, and I honestly never heard a cross word for the entire
10 days of our visit. I would love to return to San Diego, and stay in the
Coronado Hotel .
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