Three Days in San Diego

Cruising Coronado Island

It's getting late on Tuesday evening here in San Diego.  Technically our three days in this incredible city isn't up until tomorrow morning.  However, tomorrow morning is going to be breakfast here at the hotel and a shuttle to the airport for a 9:00 AM flight back to Tampa.
It had been quite a number of years since we were last in San Diego.  We liked it then and we like it even more now.  There is so much to see and do in this clean, diverse and easy to navigate city of over 1.3 million people.  In addition to the aforementioned qualities, you throw in great food and weather that is just about as close to perfect as you can get all year long, what's not to like?  Probably just that seventy two hours isn't seventy two days, weeks or months!
Again, thanks to some expert advice from three former San Diego residents (Ed and Judy Laue and Karla DeChavez) we had a pretty good game plan of what we wanted to see and do.  We checked a bunch of it off the list but left a few things, so I guess that means we'll have to come back soon...……...and hopefully stay a little longer.
Once we disembarked the ship on Sunday morning and checked into our hotel, which was just a few blocks from the Broadway Pier Cruise Terminal we were off.  The hotel (Westin Downtown through Hotwire) provided complimentary bikes which we took advantage of to explore the Embarcadero along the San Diego Bay waterfront.  This waterfront multiuse path took us by the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier (now a museum), Seaport Village and the Convention Center in one direction, and to Harbor Island in the other direction.  It's a great walking, running or biking path that connects with numerous other trails along the way.
After working up an appetite on the bikes we struck out on foot in search of food.  Ed and Judy Laue know us well and know what we like (cheap, local dives) so when they recommend a place to eat we trust them completely.  They sent us to a small place in Paris a couple of years back that was a challenge to find but well worth the effort once we finally located it. Their San Diego recommendation of Pizzeria Luigi was easier to find and perfect for us.  The pizza was New York style but with an exceptionally crispy crust. It was outstanding.  It was easy to see why the Laue's sent us here and why Guy Fieri (Diners, Drive In's and Dives) named it his favorite west coast pizza.  It was conveniently located close to Balboa Park, San Diego's version of New York's Central Park.  Balboa Park is actually about twice the size of Central Park.  The 1200+ acre park is also the home of the world famous San Diego Zoo.  We only touched on a small portion of the park before making our way back toward the hotel where the hot tub was waiting to relieve our legs that had biked for three hours and walked for at least that many.
Pizzeria Luigi

Multiuse path along the Embarcadero

Seaport Village with San Diego Bay in the background

San Diego Bay across to Coronado Island

All that biking and walking can make you hungry!

Monday (Day 2) we started out by exploring a few of the beaches just north of San Diego.  We took an Uber (around $14 from downtown) to Mission Beach, which has an oceanfront multiuse path that extends more than three miles to Pacific Beach.  Although it was a Monday the path and the beaches were busy with people of all ages enjoying a sunny, warm morning in Southern California. At the end of the boardwalk in Pacific Beach we took another Uber a short (around $10), but not walkable distance to La Jolla Cove.  There were a few swimmers in the chilly waters of the cove but they were outnumbered significantly by seals and sea lions swimming playfully and sunning themselves on the rocks and beach.  Again there was more exploring along the rocky coast line and through the trendy neighborhoods, shops and cafe's.  As we were walking in downtown La Jolla we looked up and realized we were standing next to another restaurant recommendation from the Laue's.  This one was Richard Walkers and the recommended dish was the Baked Apple Pancake.  We were there, the restaurant was there and pancakes aren't just for breakfast.  We were thankful that we followed the advice to split it.  One pancake is enough to feed a family.  Try as we might, there was a little left on the plate when it was taken away.
If you're going to be in the San Diego area I'd highly recommend a visit to the beaches and La Jolla.  It's an inexpensive and quick Uber ride or for slightly longer and only $2.25 each way you can take the #30 bus.  We took advantage of the bus on the way back and it worked great.
It was a full day but we weren't done yet.  Baseball season is upon us and the Padres were in town for a series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.  Petco Park is one of my favorite "downtown" ballparks that I've visited.  It was just over a mile away from the hotel and an easy walk through the Gaslamp Quarter (4th, 5th and 6th Ave. between Broadway and L Street).  The Gaslamp Quarter is somewhat an eclectic mix of restaurants, bars and shops where the streets are lined with Victorian style lamp posts.
The last few years have been pretty rough on the Padres but they seem to have put together a pretty solid lineup for this year.  Unfortunately their pitching still stinks or at least it did on this particular night.  I'm not sure what the score was when we left but I do know that they were a bunch of runs behind.  We opted to walk back to the hotel after the game, again passing back through the Gaslamp Quarter.  It was a safe and easy walk both to and from the stadium.  One word of caution if you go to a night game here.  Don't be fooled by the warm, sunny daytime temperature you might experience.  Once the sun goes down it can get a little chilly pretty quick.  We learned this on our last visit to a Padres game about a dozen years ago.  This time we were prepared!

Mission Beach Boardwalk

These are over the water cabins/bungalows on the fishing pier that you can rent.

It's never a bad view to be sitting under palm trees looking up at blue sky

La Jolla Cove

La Jolla Coastline

She kept telling me to move back

Lo and Behold...…..there's Richard Walker's!

Baked Apple Pancake

With all due respect to the current owners...….1.5 million doesn't get you much in La Jolla

La Jolla

Petco Park...….Home of the Padres

For our last day we revisited two of our San Diego favorites, the USS Midway Museum and Coronado Island.  The USS Midway Museum can't be missed...……..literally.  It's an aircraft carrier that was commissioned as the world's largest ship in 1945 and decommissioned in San Diego in 1992.  During it's years of service it was involved in combat tours in Vietnam as well as the first gulf war in 1991.  When fully operational it was the home to over 4,500 crew members and more than 100 aircraft.  One of the things that make a visit to the USS Midway special is the volunteers who are stationed throughout the ship to provide information and insight.  Many of these volunteers served on the USS Midway and are proud to play a part in keeping it's legacy alive.  One volunteer that we enjoyed speaking with today served in World War II.  He had pictures of himself as a seventeen year old newly enlisted sailor.  When I commented that he hadn't aged a bit since that picture was taken he proudly pulled off his hat and showed me a full head of hair.  I thanked him for his service in spite of the fact that I think he was rubbing it in that he had more hair than me!
Our final outing for the day was taking the ferry across San Diego Bay to Coronado Island.  This 20-25 minute ferry ride cost $5 per person each way.  You can catch it at the Broadway Pier or near the convention center.  It offers great views of the city, Coronado Island, the USS Midway as well as a constant parade of boats passing by in the bay.  Bikes can be carried on the ferry or rented on the island.  The bikes give you more chance to explore more of the island, beaches, shops, restaurants and the Coronado Hotel which was built in 1887 and is one of America's largest wooden buildings.

I'm feeling rather small standing next to the Midway

Aircraft are on display both in the hanger below deck and on the flight deck

Enlisted men's sleeping quarters.  This section was right below the anchor chain (every link in the chain weighs 156 pounds).  I would imagine your teeth rattled when the anchor was dropped.

I'm not sure what they kept in there, but you'd better have proper credentials if you approached the door.

The bed's in the jail were actually more spacious than those for the enlisted men.  I guess being a little naughty had it's benefits.

On the Coronado Island Ferry

Part of the San Diego skyline from Coronado Island.  The convention center is in the foreground.  The lights to Petco Park can be seen on the right side

The historical Hotel Del Coronado taken from the beach

A nice parting shot!

There are so many good things I could say about San Diego but this blog is getting a little long.  I'll close by simply saying, if you have the chance come check it out for yourself.  I'm sure you'll find yourself in the same position that we're currently in, already looking forward to coming back.