Downtown San Diego aka Gaslamp District has its own charm, but what it doesn’t have is PARKING! We checked into Worldmark San Diego on Park Street and were surprised to hear that parking on property was $30 per day. They offered … Continue reading
For our next adventure we decided it would be fun to take the kids for their first visit to Sea World. Luckily I had found a Travelzoo deal that was good for a whole week of Sea World. I was … Continue reading
Question: How long does it take to tour the USS Midway? Well the brochures recommend about 3 hours max. But if your husband is retired Air Force, who has worked on B52 bonmbers most of his career and loves anything mechanical…you might want to give him a head start and show up later! I have to admit it was fascinating and I was never bored. But watching him look into every nook and cranny for 5 1/2 hours was even more fascinating!
The Midway is a 1,001 foot long, 69,000 ton aircraft carrier that was decommissioned in 1992 and turned into a museum. The self-guided audio tour included in the price of admission was very well done and easy to follow. The retired US Navy docents who volunteer their time had great stories to tell and were very helpful.
There are 3 decks that housed the 4,500 men/women who sailed the Midway, and those decks included living quarters, the kitchen, the laundry, medical facility, post office and everything else that is required in a floating city. The hangar deck and the roof or flight deck displayed the many aircraft that flew on and off the carrier. There were many demonstrations, movies and interactive displays to keep your interest, no matter what your age. We even toured the Brig, the engine room, and the Captain’s bridge.
The Midway was truly an engineering marvel! It gives you a whole new respect for the sailers and the living conditions they endured. And it is incredible that so much activity can be carried on all at once on the flight deck. It is no wonder that the USS Midway is the number one tourist attraction in San Diego.
Parking is only $10 for 12 hours. As retired military, our tickets were only $10 and active duty military can tour for free.
Isabel’s Cantina, as featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives
Great beach for walking, biking, or swimming
Today began with breakfast at Isabel’s Cantina, which had been featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. Their specialty is breakfast and they are known for their French Toast. Luckily we had the address and a GPS, because signage is not visible from the road. We lucked out with a free parking spot and obviously we weren’t the only ones who knew about this place. Apparently it is a well known locals hangout…so why would they need signage?? They had so many breakfast items it was hard to choose just one…like coconut, banana strawberry French Toast! George opted for the Raisin Cinnamon Swirl French Toast and I chose a Carnitas/Potato mixture without the eggs, and even got an ample size glass of fresh squeezed orange juice. Yum!
While we were parking the car, we noticed a beach up ahead and decided to walk to it to see if it would be a good place to camp out for the day. We didn’t want to haul chairs, towels, a cooler, and our books, etc. And we certainly didn’t want to lose our free parking space. It was only about 6 blocks away. There it was, the “perfect” beach! It had a boardwalk, lots of sand, bike rentals, shops and restaurants and plenty of area to plant ourselves for the day. We had discovered Pacific Beach!! We love to walk on the beach, so we began walking, and walking, and walking. It was so fun and the crashing waves were so beautiful! We walked all the way to Mission Beach, which was about a mile down the coast and then a mile back.
Even though we had hats and sunscreen, we decided that maybe we had enough sun for one day. But we vowed to come back! So we headed back to the hotel for a dip in the pool and then to the lounge to listen to the band and take advantage of happy hour drinks and appetizers.
Great addition to the San Diego skyline
Anniversary brunch in San Diego
We had many hours to kill before our 6PM Segway Tour, so we explored the Embarcadero area and then settled in at the Elephant & Castle Pub to watch the USA/Portugal World Cup soccer match. The atmosphere was electric with excitement since USA was ahead and we were thankful to get to stay to the end despite the fact that Portugal scored a goal in the last 30 seconds to tie the game. Fortunately, the USA would not be eliminated and we would be watching again on Thursday.
We walked a couple blocks and checked in for our Segway Tour, which I had purchased through Groupon at half price. As the time approached I began to feel the nervousness build. George had done this before in Lake Havasu, but I was a novice. We watched the training video showing all the things that COULD happen and signed the obligatory waivers. By the time our tour guide introduced us to our mode of transportation for the next two hours, I was feeling very wary. However, he was very patient and in 10 or 15 minutes I was circling trees, doing figure 8’s and reversing direction….albeit very, very slowly. It was now tine to learn to do an emergency stop! The instructor set up a row of orange cones, which I promptly mowed down several tines. Finally, I got the hang of it and we were on our way! During the first hour, I was concentrating so hard that I missed most of what the tour guide was telling us. But we covered a lot of territory! We passed the USS Midway, the statue of The Kiss, maneuvered through parks, past the convention center and to Gaslamp Quarter. We were both very grateful for the break after an hour, which allowed us to put on jackets and rest our feet. The second hour was much better and I could now keep up, cross railroad tracks and even pay attention to the tour! Unfortunately the tour guide was more interested in talking about his drunken escapades of sneaking into hotels, climbing monuments, etc. Considering his youth and dreadlocks, I guess this was to be expected. He didn’t seem to know much about the history of the area, but we had a blast! This should definitely be a MUST on everyone’s list.
We were both very hungry when we finished and stopped by Pizza Nova on the way back for pizza and wine. It was a great day and a great way to celebrate our 30 years together!
San Diego is about a 5 hour drive down I-15, but we like to stretch along the way. So a stop at In-n-Out near Barstow was in order. It has to be the busiest location in the world and still we were IN AND OUT in 20 minutes. We also stopped briefly in Escondido to say hello to some friends that live just off the highway. We would be staying at Humphrey’s Half Moon Bay on Shelter Island. Since we were using an RCI travel certificate, we had no expectations other than a week together near the ocean in temps under 100 degrees.
Check-in went well and our room was on the 2nd floor. It was small but clean and our view was overlooking the parking lot and street, but directly across the street was a harbor filled with the masts of hundreds of sail boats.
The bad news was that parking in the hotel lot would cost $25/day. The good news was that bikes could be rented for free and that the Backstage Live restaurant had 1/2 price drinks and appetizers from 5-7 pm and live music every night. We decided to scout out the pool and other facilities and go for happy hour just before it ended. The house was packed with locals who apparently started at 4pm. The band was good and the clientele were middle-aged singles who loved dancing with various partners. We luckily got a great waitress who took our order within 10 minutes of happy hour ending! The food and drinks were great, but when the band stopped the place cleared out quickly. So the lively atmosphere changed abruptly. A new band would start at 9pm but we were anxious to walk the harbor. The temps had dropped significantly and we were glad to have jackets! There were lots of fishermen on the pier and Bon Fires along the Beach…even an AA on the Bay gathering. We were bummed to see signs restricting bicycles on the harbor walkway. That meant we would be riding on the street, but not much traffic, so doable. There were many joggers, lovers, and homeless people enjoying the weather and views along with us!
goin4fun 
