San Diego - California

We arrived in San Diego on the afternoon of Sunday 29th November and caught a taxi to our hotel, The Hilton Bayside. We dumped everything and kicked back for a bit and watched the San Diego Chargers smash the Kansas Chiefs in the NFL on TV, while tucking into our first room service order on our trip. Then V and I went for a stroll around the Gaslamp district outside our hotel, which is full of bars, restaurants and shops. It was a little chilly so after our short stroll we headed back to our room to put some warmer clothes on and then made our way to a Mexican restaurant to join up with Leise and Lara, and his brother’s family who recently moved out to California. We met Ian at their wedding in SA so it was nice to meet his lovely wife Sal, plus their beautiful kids 2 of which are twins.

It was great to catch up with everyone and after a quick couple of beers and margaritas Ian and Sal had to get the kids home. Lara, Leise and us then caught a taxi to one of Lara’s friends who lives in San Diego. We got to Anika’s place in Little Italy where we were treated to champagne and snacks which were great. Her boyfriend Ryan joined us and it was a perfect start to our California trip as we all chatted about places we had visited and those we would love to see in the future. We decided we would join Lara and Leise at Seaworld the next day so made our way home to get a decent sleep as it would be an early start.

Monday was a beautiful sunny day and V and I were up and showered and back at Anika’s ready to make our way to SeaWorld. Lara and Leise had arranged bagels already and Anika kindly drove us through. We wolfed down our breakfast and then entered the park, a pricey $70 but it would prove to be worth every penny! We started off at the dolphin pool where they swim right up to the glass to greet you, and from there made our way through seals, turtles, tropical fish, pets, manatees, beluga whales, polar bears, amongst others. During our day we stopped the Polar Express, an animated Christmas film but in 4D. The fourth dimension comes from the physical aspects of the show, eg water squirting in your face, snow falling from the ceilings and the smell of hot chocolate in the air. It’s great fun especially for us big kids ;-) The climax to the day was a show by the Killer Whales in the main arena, spectacular! SeaWorld gets huge thumbs up from us, a brilliant day out.

From there we caught a cab and dropped our friends off at the station as they were making their way to Los Angeles for their trip to Bora Bora – poor souls! V and I took a leisurely stroll through the streets of San Diego and then the Gaslamp district before heading back to our hotel for some rest after an exhausting day (well for us traveller anyway). We then decided on a nice relaxed evening in for a change, so took a short walk back into the Gaslamp to pick up some take away pizzas to enjoy back in the room – they were delicious. It was then time to enjoy some TV while kicking back, most of which involved the Tiger Woods drama ouch!

On Tuesday we decided to take it really easy and catch up with lots of admin stuff we don’t like to bore you with. After that V hit the Paul Mitchell training academy where you get a cheap haircut by budding stylists. The cut took a whopping 3 hours and fortunately no damage was done, it was $12 well spent! We made our way out for dinner, which involved a lot of procrastinating trying to decide what to eat. We settled on an authentic Indian restaurant and the food was amazing! Then we took one of those leisurely strolls we have become so good at and enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the Gaslamp district at night before retiring for an early start the next day.

Wednesday was a bit chilly, it is winter in California after all, although extremely mild. We made our way to the Trolley, San Diegos city tram service and then to the bay to see the USS Midway. This is an aircraft carrier that was active during World War 2 and right up to the First Gulf War. It was fascinating to walk on deck viewing all the planes that served on this ship, as well as how the officers and crew lived. After enjoying a couple of mini tours we made our way to an area on the ship where they do flight simulators of different types, and various rides for kids. I was straight onto the fighter jet flight simulator, and was strapped up and flying over San Diego in no time. After being shot down several times by the enemy and crash landing my plane on the aircraft carrier it was time to call it a day. The officer running the simulators was very diplomatic in my assessment but reading between the lines it’s fair to say I was dreadful.

After the USS Midway we made our way to San Diego Old Town, the original settlement of this beautiful city and where the historical buildings still stand. We enjoyed an excellent Mexican lunch and then took a walk through the town. It was fascinating to see how they lived in the old days, and the town has a massive Hispanic influence. Well worth the visit. Then it was home to enjoy our last night out in San Diego. We hit the book shop for some hot chocolates and to pick up some books before making our way to the cinema to catch a film – time to experience the American cinema. We used our student cards (can’t believe I can still get away with it!) and then with popcorn and cokes made our way to watch The men who stare at Goats. Strange name but great cast including George Clooney, Ewan McGregor and Jeff Bridges. Lousy movie though and I took a lot of heat from V for that one as she wanted to watch Old Dogs. She gets first choice next time!

From there we headed home for a god night sleep as we had an 8am train journey to Los Angeles in the morning. San Diego is a stunning city and we definitely need a few more days to see everything we wanted. But it was time to head to LA, and here are our highlights and lowlights:
- SeaWorld in incredible, a fantastic day out
- The Gaslamp district, lots of bars and restaurants and a great vibe
- The city is clean and beautiful, not too crowded but so much to do – a perfect balance
- No lows here, one of our favourite cities!