Stay Classy

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So after a flying visit to LA and boarding the world’s smallest plane, we landed in San Diego at around 9pm. It was surprisingly quiet, even more so when considering where we had just come from. After checking in to the hotel we were equally impressed with the place even if it was on a smaller scale.
The next day began with breakfast at the hotel which was very posh. It was then into our pre planned visit to SeaWorld. As you expect you are treated to lots of sea life and shows from the killer whales, dolphins and sea lions. The shows are definitely the highlight of the park and each one is very different. If you like getting wet there are also designated ‘soak zones’ at each show and you don’t just get a little damp, I can vouch for that. There are also lots of opportunities to feed and interact with the animals, but you need to get to the enclosure well before the timetabled feeding to beat the queues.
Evening came and we headed back to the hotel before taking a walk through the gas lamp quarter. Here it was very relaxed and chilled out, a welcome change from the business of Vegas. It was here that we enjoyed the best meal of the trip at a steakhouse called Greystone and I would highly recommend. Now that our bellies were full we needed to walk it off and set off through the city to the harbour. We saw some very touching memorials to the US Navy along with the permanently stationed USS Midway aircraft carrier which was very impressive. It was so nice to see the respect troops deserve, something lacking back home in the UK. So after a leisurely walk looking at the displays by the sea we walked back through the city to the hotel and again it was very quiet.
Morning was upon us and again it was breakfast in the hotel and by now we had gotten chatty with the waiter who told us when he wasn’t serving eggs Benedict, he was relaxing in his holiday home Buckingham Palace..... Again we had already determined what the day’s activities were well before we left England; today it was San Diego zoo. We decided as it wasn’t far, we would walk so that we could cut through Balboa park on the way, something the waiter protested but we did it anyway. The zoo has a world renowned reputation and it certainly lived up to it, with one of the highlights being the panda enclosure, the first time either of us had seen them in the flesh. We saw so many species of animal it was amazing and all of them were out and about being active in their ample enclosures. When it was time to head back, we had decided we would spend the evening on the Coronado Island which houses many retired military personnel and a large Naval base. It was a beautiful place and the quiet relaxed feeling of the mainland continued here. After some exploring and casual dining we headed back to the harbour to get some pictures of the memorials and then proceeded to get a bike taxi back to the hotel which was highly amusing. It involved a guy pedalling an ordinary bike with a sort of built in cab at the back and we laughed as he struggled up the steep roads to the hotel whilst blasting out tunes from Lady Gaga for the entire city to hear. We reached the hotel and the cyclist was sweating so I gave him a generous tip and we ended our last night to the sound of Miss Gaga bluffin’ with her muffin’.
All that was left to do was to pack up ready to fly back home but not before making a quick dash across the road to find a geocache hidden inside a rock statue. So our whirlwind trip was over and it was so good to experience two completely different cities.

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Photos

The Kiss
At the feet to the left of the sailor is a person so you can see the size of this statue!