San Diego

Today, Thursday, dawned almost bright and sunny.  Most mornings here in San Diego, there has been cloud cover, which burns off later in the day to reveal a reasonable day.  Today, there was sunshine a bit earlier than previously (in LA, there were very few clouds at all, mostly blue skies).

We met up with Tante Thea and her friend Miss Ronnie at their hotel for a quick cup of coffee (tea for Tsana), and said farewell to Miss Ronnie.  She headed off to the beach for the day, over at Coronado, whilst the rest of us headed into downtown SN Diego, first stop, the New Children's Museum.  It was all about playing, creating and sharing - and it was interactive, noisy, messy, and fun!  There was a huge area downstairs with books and nooks for reading; there were 5 chickens, known as 5pm (5 pooping machines - we only have 3pm!); there was a community learning garden across the road (where the boys made newspaper pots and planted them with dwarf beans, which have been passed on to Tante Thea and Miss Ronnie to take home when they leave tomorrow); there was an area for bubble blowing, clay making, painting old farm machines, building structures out of bricks made from dried mushrooms; a room to make music in using kitchen tools; etc.  There were explanatory notes for children (or for the adults in most cases) saying what was in the area, what could be done with it and what would be learnt, and info about the artist.  It was all really well done, and we all enjoyed it.

Next stop was the San Diego waterfront, starting at the Seaport Village end and working our way back to the USS Midway, where we had parked for the day.  En route, we saw a pelican, a harbour seal or a sea lion, lots of statues and memorials for service men (SD is a Navy port, after all).  The boys went on a Looff carousel from 1895.  We saw a gigantic statue of a serviceman kissing a lady, at the end of the war - it was modeled after a photo taken in Times Square - the sailor has apparently recently died.

We then did a drive up to the Presidio, which is the old fort location and looks out over Old Town San Diego and San Diego Bay.  We got to see chipmunks while we were there.

Then, dinner with Tante Thea in Little Italy before dropping her off at her hotel and saying our farewells to her.  Next time we see her, she may be back visiting us in NZ.

Showers, blogs, washing, shopping and packing - all tasks set to get us ready to leave tomorrow for our next set of adventures.

Legoland California

Today was a day for Karl and Robin.  They had been so eager to go to Legoland!

I had read a fellow traveller's blog, in which he said that him and his 2 boys (just a bit older than our two) had visited Legoland.  He had been hesitant about it, and his wife went shopping with a pre-arranged pick-up time - he had to arrange a later time as they enjoyed it so much.  However, Eric had heard other stories.

Our verdicts: Karl says it is the same as Disneyland, with the best activity being the scenic dioramas of scenes from Star Wars movies.  Robin says it is the same as Disneyland, with the best activity being a roller coaster in Dino Island, called Coastersaurus (Eric was a bit upset with his knee, so sat that ride out).  Eric and I both feel that Disneyland ranks higher, in terms of cleanliness (Legoland was clean, it just had more little bits of rubbish and looked more dated in terms of chipped paint etc), thrill of the rides (having said that, Legoland is set up for 2-12 yr olds), effort (Legoland had rides with statues made with Lego around the rides, whilst there was more of the theme of the ride at DL).  Even the 4D movie, while fun to watch, seemed to be lacking in "panache" and lacking in effect really.  I agree with Robin in terms of the Coastersaurus being the best ride, and I did enjoy looking at the different buildings in the Miniland area.  Eric enjoyed Dune Raiders, where we sat in a cart and went through a darkened area shooting at targets - he scored more than any of us.

One interesting thing was that there was real focus on revenue at Legoland.  On the rides where they took photos during the ride, we could only buy them and were told we couldn't take a photo of the photo while it was on the screen (that's what we did at DL).  They had roving photographers at other rides, and again, we could purchase them at the exit.  There were also a lot of side-show stalls, where, for a price, you could throw balls to win prizes, or catch fish to win prizes, etc.  Money making everywhere.

After we left Legoland, we made a stop to look at the Carlsbad Flower Fields, rows of different coloured flowers, then drove part of the way back south to San Diego along the Pacific coast.

Once back, some dinner and the boys have spent the last 2 hrs making up the Star Wars Lego sets they bought today - their first big purchase (if they loose pieces, they loose it!).

Cabrillo National Monument and Old Town San Diego

Eric and I took the opportunity, sans children, to go back to Cabrillo National Monument during opening hours.  It is at the end of a point, Point Loma, and is the place where the first European, Juan Cabrillo, landed on the west coast of the United States.

He had sailed north from Mexico with 3 vessels, and was tasked with claiming land for the king of Spain, discovering a route to Asia and the Spice Islands, charting the coast, and searching for gold.  Records indicate that Cabrillo stepped ashore on 28 September 1542, having entered a harbour that was "a closed a very good port" (and the US Navy still think it is!).  Cabrillo died early in 1543, and the expedition returned in April of that year, not having found gold, or the route to Asia and the Spice Islands.  But, they had charted over 800 miles of coastline for Spain and added lots of knowledge about the route.

Also here is the Old Point Loma Lighthouse, which operated from 1855 until 1891, sitting 422 feet above sea level, in what seemed like an ideal location looking out over the bay.  However, it was this height that led to its short operating life - the light, which on a good night could be seen up to 30 miles away, was often obscured by fog and low clouds.  A new lighthouse was built at the bottom of the hill.

Point Loma was also set up for coastal defense, with radio and observation bunkers and a number of gun batteries, and we had a look at one of the radio posts which contained history of the military use of the area.

Our next stop was Old Town San Diego, where we met up with Karl & Robin, Tante Thea and Miss Ronnie.  When the lighthouse keepers at Point Loma needed supplies, it took them a whole day to travel to and from here, along a rough track - it took us about 15-20mins.  There were lots of adobe buildings here, which date from the early 1800s.  They were built by Spanish soldiers and were built around an open plaza.  Some buildings were destroyed by fire in 1872, but since 1908, have been restored and are now a State Historic Park.  There are a number of museums, shops and restaurants - Tante Thea, Ronnie and the boys found 2 different sweet shops, and spent money in them!!

Eric & I did a free walking tour of the area (which the others had done earlier in the day).  That gave us a few more insights into daily life for those living in the town and area back in the 1800s, and included a look at what is believed to be a 150yr old water filter.  Later on, we all wandered down to an old cemetery, and saw a number of old graves, including one of a man who was hung as he had stolen the only rowboat in San Diego harbour.  Right up until he was actually hung, he believed it was not real and that they were trying to teach him a lesson.  Another man was buried by the gate, as the priest had heard that he was "completely drunk" when he died.  There are a number of graves which are now outside the cemetery, and are under the footpath and road - they only exhumed one person, the others remain in situ.

We enjoyed dinner in a local Mexican restaurant - brightly painted and decorated with hanging pinatas.  The meals were too big for the majority of us - portion sizes here in the US are big!  Too big for one person, really.

Back to our hotel - washing, blogs, bed.  Tomorrow, Legoland.

Medical Care, Balboa Park and more

This morning we were up and away reasonable early, as we wanted to take Robin to see a medical practitioner for suspected conjunctivitis (known here as "pink eye").  We had seen a pharmacist a couple of days ago and got some drops to moisturize his eyes, but no change in the redness of them, so we decided more was needed (he's had it before, but never with the red, bloodshot eyes that he has at present).  We went to a MinuteClinic, which consisted of a booking computer terminal at the back of a huge CVS store with 2 windowless clinic rooms (I would hate to work in them for long periods of time).  We had to wait about 30-40mins before we were seen (I read the boys a story about Great Americans on the Kindle).  The Nurse Practitioner we saw was very friendly and polite, and made our visit quite pleasant.  She went through Robin's history, and took his BP, heart rate, temp etc, and wrote out a script for us - for only $79US - then the medicine cost us an extra $12US - hopefully we can get it back with our travel insurance on our return to NZ.  Luckily Robin is very good with having medicines of all types, so it is quite painless giving him his eyedrops.

Finally, about noon, we arrived at Balboa Park, which is the nation's largest urban cultural park, and has 15 major museums, renowned performing arts venues, beautiful gardens, set in about 1,200 acres of land.  The buildings and landscaping were the result of the 1915 Panama-California Exposition (celebrating the opening of the Panama Canal) and the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition, and are amazing to see.  The carvings and decorations on them are fascinating, real works of art.  Not all of the museums are open each day, but we went to the San Diego Air & Space Museum, thinking that it would interest the boys.  We only stayed for about 2.5hrs, but were busy the whole time taking in the exhibits and information.  It was set out from early flight (Montgolfier's hotair balloon, the Wright brothers and Charles Lindbergh) right up to space flight.  They have the only flying replica of Lindbergh's Spirit of St Louis and the actual Apollo 9 Command Module.  Even saw a Curtiss Robin aircraft.  Eric, Robin & I performed amazing stunts on our skateboards, courtesy of a 4D movie experience, and Karl spent the majority of the time in the Kids Aviation Action zone, flying aircraft on a simulator.

Eric was intrigued to see several small cars parked outside the museum, plugged in to power outlets, being charged up!

We met up with Tante Thea and Ronnie (who had arrived at Balboa Park earlier in the day) and spent a few hours with them.  We spent a bit of time at a fountain, where the boys sailed boats, crafted from old plastic bottles, string and plastic bags by a Filipino man (good activity for the Cubs & Scouts - I tried to get some close-ups!).  We wandered round the Desert Garden, and were lucky enough to see a lizard as well as a small hummingbird.  Soon after that, the boys left to go and stay the night with Tante Thea and Ronnie (no longer at the Marriott, but still in a more up-market hotel than our one - luxury for the boys they won't get with us!).

Eric and I used the time to explore a bit more of Balboa Park then more of San Diego and surrounds.  We drove south to the Mexico border, only 25 mins from downtown SD.  There were high fences and what look like banks of spotlights in various locations.  There were also a number of border control vehicles in the area, obviously keeping an eye out for illegal immigrants trying to cross into the US.

From there, we headed north again and crossed over to Coronado on North Island, to see the Coronado Hotel - extremely large and ornate.  Got to see lifeguard stations along the beach - just like in Baywatch!  San Diego, as you know, is a naval town, so we also saw a number of naval ships, aircraft and facilities.

After a stop to pick up some bits so Eric can try to set up wireless internet for us, we picked up some groceries and headed back to our hotel, for a peaceful evening (if you ignore the aircraft and the street noise).  We might remember to meet Tante Thea and Ronnie tomorrow and get re-united with our boys?!

San Diego - USS Midway

We had a late start to our day today - we had a little lie-in.  Not a sleep-in, as both Eric & I had been awake for some time listening to the noise of the aircraft taking off and landing at San Diego International Airport, which seemingly is just beyond our hotel!   We can see planes on approach from our 2nd floor balcony.  We took the time to get washing done - we were about to run out of under garments!!  Not a good thing.

Then, we met Tante Thea at the USS Midway, a US aircraft, which, when it was commissioned in 1945, was the largest ship in the world for a decade, and was the first too large for the Panama Canal.  It was also from here that the 1st V2 rocket was launched from a ship, the 1st and last MiGs were shot down in the Vietnam War, and was involved in humanitarian work (rescuing refugees from the fall of Saigon and also from the Mt Pinatubo eruption).  It was decommissioned in 1992 and was opened as a museum in 2004.  Over a million people visit it each year, and the self-guided audio tour we go on only touches a small fraction of the giant!

It had a crew of 4,500.  There were 13,500 meals served each day, which included 1,000 loaves of bread and 3,000 spuds.  There were 18 decks, and a 4.02 acre flight deck.  Today, this housed an assortment of aircraft which have served on various aircraft carriers over time, including the humble Huey helicopter, the Skyhawk and the SeaSprite (all of which NZ has or has had).  We also got to see an F-14 Tomcat (like the planes in Top Gun!), E2 Hawkeye, and an F-18 Hornet, amongst others.

We were there for 5hrs, and saw most of the exhibits - but missed going up the island superstructure, to the bridge.  But, from what I saw, I would prefer to be the Captain or the Admiral - they got their own double bed, private bathroom, private galley (kitchen) (complete with cook!) and private wardroom.  The enlisted men had their bunk whose base lifted up to reveal a narrow storage shelf for clothes and spare pillowcases etc and they had a locker to hang their uniform jackets and trousers.  Not a lot of privacy at all.  Also, not a lot of space.  Eric bumped his head a couple of times on low cables.

Our last visit of the day was supposed to be the Cabrillo National Monument, which has more visitors than the Statue of Liberty.  It is where Juan Cabrillo landed in 1542, the 1st European to reach California.  Unfortunately, it closes at 5pm, and it was after 6pm when we arrived, so we did not get to see the statue of him, nor the Point Loma lighthouse.  We did, however, drive through the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, where row upon row of pristine white gravestones stand.