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Left Richland, WA today and flew to San Diego via Seattle. Flight got in around 9pm. We met up with Jesse, Mike's childhood friend, who was hosting us for the weekend. Jesse lives in Carlsbad, about a 40 minute drive north of San Diego. We met him at a beachside bar/restuarant in Pacific Beach ~ had a couple of Margahritas (sp), and got back home around midnight!!
Set off really the next morning as I had loads planned. Mike & Lisa had to work on Lisa's house that she has down here as she has new tennants moving in, and she needed to do a little refurbing on it, so their weekend was spent mostly at the house, while I had an incredible time scouting around town!!
I soon figured out the bus system, and set off on my first adventure to take the "Old Town Trolly Tour". This was an excellent place to start, as it gave me a great overview of the city, and was very informative. It was a hop-on-hop-off bus. The tour started at Old Town historic Village. This is a quaint village of historic wood buildings recreating life in the early 1800's - there is an old post office, museum, and a market type flea market with a sweet shop selling "taffy" and the weigh it with old scales and are dressed in old fashioned clothes from the 1800's.
Next we went to the Harbour where you could take a look at the Maritime Museum, do a harbour cruise, sailing excursion etc. I carried on and we then went passed the Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum - again I moved on... Next we stopped at Seaport Village ~ This is a little village based at the Marina with walkways, little shops, restuarants, harbour cruises etc. The sun came out for a little while here while I was at the marina, and I was struck by how clean everything is, even the water in the Marina.
Downtown to Horton Plaza, an upscale mall with all the major department stores and restuarants ~ wasn't in the mood for shopping, so stayed onboard the bus.
The Gaslamp Quarter ~ San Diego's nightlife zone - very trendy neighborhood with lively dining, entertainment and shopping, art galleries, boutiques, sidewalk cafes and pubs, clubs & theatres
Hotel Del Coronado: A Grand Victorian hotel built in 1888 and is now a luxary resort. Also made famous by the Marilyn Munro movie ~ Some like it Hot. I stopped off here and enjoyed a coffee at the hotel "Bakery" and took a walk on the famous Coronado Beach, an expansive white beach, rated #2 beach in America and #1 family beach.
On board again, and heading to the world famous 100 acre San Diego Zoo. Here I saw Lions, Bears, Panda bears,Camels, Flamingos, Parrots, Koalas, Meercats, Elephants, Long haired bush pigs, Lamas, to name but a few. Really well organised Zoo, with loads to see and do.
The tour continued on to Balboa Park. A massive park which houses the best of San Diego's art and culture. Museums and theatres housed in magnificent Spanish Colonial buildings with incredible architechture.
This was the last stop on the tour, and it was late in the day by this stage, so I made a note to return the next day.
Met up with Mike, Lisa & Jesse at Cass Street Bar & Grill in Pacific Beach for some jugs of beer and some really excellent Mexican food.
Got to bed around 11pm, looking forward to an early start the next day for my next adventure
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