bt3.com/Baz's 1992 USA Holiday
California and the Golden West.

Where and how?

Day 2: Thursday September 24

The USA. As I mentioned at the time you clicked the link to this page?

To be precise, a fully escorted coach tour, starting in San Diego CA and thence stopping in Phoenix Arizona, Williams AZ, Las Vegas Nevada, Visalia, Merced, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo before finishing the tour in Anaheim near Los Angeles (all California).

Marvellous.

No, better than that, the Holiday of a Lifetime.

Do yourself a favour, and navigate through this holiday using the hyperlinks scattered throughout the text. If you want to go back to the start, or feel a need to go to my site homepage, well, by now you should know what to do? :o)

The morning started early for me, rising at 2:15 Pacific time, or 10:15 British Summer Time. No matter what I tried, I couldn't resume my slumber, so, eventually giving up, I decided to prepare for the day. After washing, re-structuring the contents of my suitcase, putting a film and a battery my camera, and tasks too numerous (and boring) to mention, I went, at 4:30, out onto the walkway outside the rooms and watched the sun rise and the world starting to awake. In the courtyard below seven Travelsphere coaches had arrived, however, my fears were soon alleviated, after being informed that they were undertaking their tour in the opposite direction. I woke mum. :o)

At 6:00 we went for breakfast. Hilary had recommended the two local eating places, one practically on the same lot as the Travelodge, and the other just 5 minutes leisurely walk down the street to the left. Coco's restaurant, the one down the road, which we decided upon, proved very good, with clean surroundings and friendly waitresses. (Er ... please do me a favour: if you're ever anywhere near there, do me a favour and tip double, let me know and I'll reimburse you, I didn't have any loose change!) After breakfast, I spent some more time re-arranging the contents of the suitcase.

After Balboa Park, Marvin took us over to San Diego downtown area for a brief look at the buildings, Spreckels Theater and the Horton Plaza included, and a chance for Bob to show us the Christmas displays in one of the stores. "Whatever spreads your toes" was one of his favourite remarks along with the statement that southern Californians are called mad by northern Californians.

The Hotel Del Coronado, over the 2.2 mile long spectacular and graceful San Diego - Coronado Bay Bridge, next, where Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon filmed 'Some Like It Hot' provided a look at the opulence of both a bygone age and the comforts that money can bring. The displays of famous guests past and present, including Edward, Duke of Windsor and Mrs Wallace Simpson, the shops and the sumptuous Crown Room Restaurant combined to give an impression of luxury and comfort that most modern hotels cannot bring.

On leaving the hotel, we drove back over the bridge, through the city centre, past the National Cemetery where over 45,000 American service personnel are interred, to the Cabrillo National Monument. Near the lighthouse and museum at the tip of the peninsula, Point Loma, a view over to the city centre, six miles away, provided the opportunity to determine the city plan and look over the naval base with its helicopters flitting to-and-fro. On leaving Point Loma, we headed for a brief tour of La Jolla (pronounced La Hoya), before getting back onto Interstate 5 on the way to San Diego Old Town.

After reaching the Old Town, we said our goodbyes to Bob, and gave him his well earned gratuity, then went to look at the old buildings, the most impressive of which was the old San Diego Union Newspaper Office, which had been shipped, in 1851 from Maine, on the opposite coast, via Cape Horn at the southern tip of the south American continent. We then decided to locate somewhere to eat lunch. Eventually, after much walking about, we settled on O'Hungry's, a self-service cafe, where we had soup and rolls, washed down with glasses of lemonade and orange, to try and minimise the effects of the heat.

Here, the members of the party split up into two groups, those who wished to go to Tijuana across the border in Mexico, and those, like ourselves who wanted to visit Sea World. Hmmm ... low point of the entire holiday here: mum had a nosebleed. Most certainly due to the lack of humidity in the air and the elevated temperatures ... so we went to the first aid centre and asked for assistance.  Great, could not have been better!  The personnel there soothed mum's nerves, removed the small bloodstains from her dress and gave her time to recuperate. Turned out one of the people there had just returned from vacation in Manchester!  :o)  Anyway, on leaving the first aid centre, we went and got ourselves cold drinks and spent the rest of the time slowly enjoying ourselves!

The Shamu show was really the highlight of our all-too brief stay here. In this spectacular show, the handlers exhibited tremendous control over the killer whales, as well as providing an opportunity for the audience to get wet when Shamu speeds around the pool side, drenching the first few rows. After this show the dolphin show provided an opportunity to watch the tricks these creatures can perform. At 6:00, we left Sea World, to return to the hotel, and passed San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, the home of the San Diego Chargers American Football team.

On reaching the Travelodge, we couldn't decide where, or what to eat, so I decided to risk life and limb by crossing the main road - quite an experience, looking the 'wrong' way at the side of the road - to reach a McDonalds restaurant for a couple of Big Macs and strawberry milkshakes 'to go'. By 9:45 I was in bed, tired, but thinking about the first day's events and looking forward to the remainder of our holiday.

To Day 3

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