All good things must come to an end but not quite yet. We docked in San Diego CA at noon October 31, 2017 with the privilege of another night on board the floating palace, Regatta. The four of us had visited San Diego several times but never together. It is a favoured city in the United States. I am often reminded of home when visiting except there are Palm trees instead of Oak trees. The approach to the massive harbour with the Coronado Bridge and city skyline as a backdrop is always spectacular. There is so much activity - military ships, jets and helicopters; all manner of pleasure craft such as jet skis, sailboats, yachts and paddle boards; lots of container shipping traffic too. Taking it all in was fascinating, especially being moored within close access to the huge aircraft carrier USS Midway, now a museum.
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| San Diego skyline |
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| The yacht Attessa has visited Victoria's Inner Harbour |
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| The mast of the USS Midway, as seen from our ship |
We opted for a shore excursion of City Tour and Harbour Cruise. It was pleasant to sit back and see the sights with someone else steering. Our tour guide was an 81 year old woman who was passionate about her city. The tour took us as far north as La Jolla and back to the port for harbour portion of the trip. The homes in La Jolla are spectacular but the action on the shore was more interesting with eroding sea caves, stark cormorants, gangly yet sleek pelicans, raucous sea lions, curious beach combers, hardy surfers and the endless activity of watercraft completing the tapestry.
Our last dinner onboard was in the Toscana Restaurant. There will be no more divine, four course meals for a very long time. Roberto and his assistant graciously escorted LS and me to our table and then provided service 'par excellence'. Finally, the pumpkins loaded onto the ship in Panama made an appearance, very fitting since it was Halloween night - carved pumpkins, pumpkin pasta, pumpkin dessert. Colours displayed in our last night's sunset were most fitting for the Hallowed Eve.
Early the next morning we were in the first group to disembark. We kicked off the month of November with a short cab ride to our hotel in the nearby Gas Lamp District.
The staff were welcoming and even had our rooms ready at 8:30 am. Hotel Z was a delightful place to stay; we highly recommend when visiting San Diego. It is close to the transportation hub, the port, the baseball stadium and Horton Shopping Plaza. Many restaurants, pubs and bars of infinite variety are within walking distance. The Gas Lamp Quarter is a unique blend of heritage and modern.
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Guess who is planning a San Diego visit next summer during the ball season.
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Since we had eaten breakfast on the cruise ship was decided to sip a Starbuck's coffee while planning the day. The aircraft carrier had captured the interest of the gents and off they went. Both enjoyed the experience of sitting in the captain's chair on the historic behemoth. Adjacent to the famous aircraft carrier is a massive replica of the romantic, celebratory photo of a US sailor and a nurse taken in Paris at the end of WWII. The statue had fallen into disrepair so the museum raised a million dollars to have it recast in bronze. It towers about the tourists below.
The ladies had spotted some interesting shops at the Horton Plaza. We managed to spend a few dollars in a couple of hours before meeting our hubbies again at Starbucks. They arrived in good time to help us carry our purchases.
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Apologies to our adult children, whose sensibilities were a little fractured by this picture;
it was certainly a photo op to good to pass up
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Lunch was in a casual pub style restaurant. It was a bit of a reality check to have to wait for a bill and calculate a tip. Fifteen days cruising without a worry was definitely over. Dinner that evening was Mexican style in a cantina not far from Hotel Z. I mentioned earlier how much we enjoyed this accommodation. Hotel Z, part of the Stay Pineapple chain, is a new hotel situated in an old, remodelled building. The doors to the rooms are painted with cheerful animal murals; the beds and bedding were the most comfortable we have ever experienced; the hotel staff were not only friendly but also very helpful in providing restaurant suggestions, offering discount coupons and giving transportation advice. We were made to feel most welcome. Each room is equipped with a stuffed puppy, which may be purchased, proceeds going to an animal welfare cause.
Even the housekeeping signs were unique. RP dutifully posed with the only kind of pet he prefers.
The next morning the air was warm and the harbour beckoned. We opted for breakfast at the Broken Yolk situated two blocks away in a heritage building.
We couldn't quite yet ignore the sea so we boarded a passenger ferry for a 5 minute ride to the town of Coronado.
The last time RP and I had visited this area, 23 years ago, there was no town just the famous Coronado Hotel built in 1918. Now there are condos, hotels, residential homes, offices, shops, restaurants lining the 1.2 mile route from the dock to the hotel.
We walked, no meandered the avenue, basking in the sunshine, taking in the sights, observing old cottages juxtaposed with modern homes, browsing the quaint shops and chuckling at many quaint signs.
The folks of Coronado have a good sense of humour.
No visit to this region is complete without a stop at the elegant hotel, the lovely gardens and expansive beach of Del Coronado.
After a good long walk in the heat we decided to slake our thirst at the Starbucks café in the hotel adjacent to the beach access. No prices were posted. It was indeed a shock to receive a bill of $53 USD for two iced coffees, a small Coke, a small sparkling water and two slices of banana bread. As my cousin said, "You only live once." but we did gulp for air a wee bit. We paid up, of course, but were very glad we had eaten a large breakfast a few hours earlier. I can only imagine what a simple lunch would have cost.
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| Coronado Starbucks for those with an elite budget |
The day became hotter and not conducive to another long walk back to the pier. A local bus got us there in time to catch another passenger ferry to a different area of the port; this ride took 15 minutes and we sailed right past the USS Midway capturing a much better view than the one from our ship the night before.
Once on land again we meandered through Seaport Village, which was more ticky-tacky tourist oriented than we recalled from past visits. Never mind, the people watching in such places is well worth the time. Even the Pedi Cabs provided interest. The guys actually rode on this one after the USS Midway tour.
The last day of this amazing vacation was spent enjoying San Diego via the excellent transportation system. For $7 each of us were able to purchase a Compass Pass, allowing all day travel on buses, trolleys and the light rail transit. Since the pass is valid until 2021 the cards were safely packed at the end of the day in anticipation of another trip to beautiful San Diego. We just need to pay another $5 for a day's travel.
It was breakfast again at the Broken Yolk before we started exploring. DS wanted to return to the boardwalk at Mission Beach. With the help of a friendly city resident we got on the Green Line train and were off on another adventure. First stop, of course, was Starbucks. This one was located kitty corner to the Mission Beach roller coaster. We all have used the drive through at Starbucks; this venue was like a walk through for pedestrians. The orders were placed at a sliding window, coffee was presented at another sliding window and then the walk to the promenade was underway. By the way, two Grande caramel macchiato coffees at Mission Beach were the same price as one teeny sparkling water in Coronado.
Eventually, we made it to the Crystal Pier far off in the distance. The pier cottage window boxes were filled with beautiful succulents; the guys actually talked to the friendly seagull perched at the end of the pier; there were more entertaining signs along Mission Beach. It is a party place for sure.
After lunch at the Fat Fish Cantina we found our way back by bus to Old Town San Diego. It too had lost some of the old Spanish ambience and is now very much a tourist trap. There were a few interesting shops but our luggage was packed and overflowing.
The clouds rolled in and the wind came up so we did not linger long before taking the Green Line back to Hotel Z. Perhaps it was an omen of what was to come homeward bound.
We sadly bid farewell but not good-bye to our travel pals; both couples had flight connections the next morning.
RP and I were departed early using UBER for the first time. How slick it is. Off to the airport at 8:30 am and home to Victoria by 4:30pm. From palm trees to snow covered bushes in 8 hours flat. Nasty Mother Nature had a very warped sense of humour November 4, 2017. Our buddies returned home to Kamloops much later in the day via Calgary. I think the temperature range was balanced on either side of zero +16 to -16. Their plane was delayed for deicing.
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| Gracias Amigos, until we meet again. |
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| The difference 8 hours made |
The memories are warm in our hearts and we will cruise again, hopefully with the best of Travel Time Pals.
