San Diego

THE CITY

San Diego epitomizes the song lyric “It never rains in Southern California?”  The ocean moderates the temperature so it is pleasant in summer while a few miles to the east it is scorching in summer.  One thing I noticed is the climate favored the flora.  Palms, cacti roses, etc. flourish.

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Wyatt Earp’s Saloon

Still standing in downtown, Wyatt Earp’s saloon can stir your imagination and take you back to the frontier days.

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THE OLD CITY

Not like our modern jails.

San Diego Maritime Museum and USS Midway

The museum has several ships, tours and cruises.  Among them are

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HMS Surprise

The ship now known as HMS Surprise began life in 1970 as a replica of the 18th century Royal Navy frigate Rose. During the next 30 years Rose sailed thousands of miles as an attraction vessel and sail training ship prior to her conversion to HMS Surprise. For the academy award winning film, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, the filmmakers made a painstaking effort to recreate a 24 gun frigate specific to Great Britain’s Nelson era Royal Navy. The result is a replica vessel unmatched in its authenticity and attention to detail.

STAR of INDIA

Star of India (renamed in 1923), was Euterpe (Muse of Music), built 1863, used for trade as an iron windjammer ship. This boat sailed from Liverpool to Calcutta and happens to be the oldest iron-hulled ship still afloat and world’s 2nd-oldest active sailing ship.

Star of India

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USS Midway

Top Things to Know About USS Midway Museum  (From http://www.sandiego.com/uss-midway-museum)

USS Midway: The USS Midway is one of America’s longest serving aircraft carriers. The museum offers an up close look at life on the floating city with tours of various areas such as the post office, sleeping quarters, engine room and even the ship’s jail.

Audio Tours: Previous USS Midway sailors narrate the audio tours during your self-guided tour. Narrating the 60 locations at the San Diego USS Midway Museum, these sailors give a personal touch to the experience aboard the historic ship.

Flight Simulators: The flight simulators provide you the opportunity to experience launching off of the flight deck and combating with the enemy. Visitors have the choice of flying the two-person Strike Fighter 360 or the 12-person occupancy F-18 Hornet that flies on an Operation Desert Storm naval combat mission.

Aircrafts: The San Diego USS Midway Museum is home to 25 restored aircrafts ranging from the World War II TBM Avenger to the Operation Desert Storm A-6 Intruder. Various other aircrafts that were flown during the Korean War and Vietnam War are on display as well.

Admission: Regular adult admission to the San Diego USS Midway Museum is $18, however children and senior citizens receive discounted admission prices. Retired military members receive $10 off of the regular admission price while active military and reservist personnel are granted access free of charge.

At the USS Midway Museum in San Diego guests can visit 60 exhibits and view 25 restored aircraft carriers aboard the well-renowned USS Midway. Of the exhibits accessible to visitors, guests can tour numerous spots such as the galley, sick bay, officer’s country and even the flight control area. The audio tours offered are unique in that actual USS Midway sailors narrate them giving historic information and facts about the various exhibits. The USS Midway sailors also tell personal stories of their lives as bomber pilots aboard the USS Midway or even tales of their experiences in the Midway on-board jail. Inspired by these sailors, guests can also take over the pilot’s seat in the Strike Fighter 360 flight simulator and lead enemy attacks while doing spins, flips and somersaults or fly along during a naval combat mission aboard an F-18 Hornet in Operation Desert Storm.

USS Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum houses restored aircraft that famously represent different war eras in our nation’s recent history. It chronicles the aircraft carriers used during the historic periods between World War II and Operation Desert Storm. The San Diego USS Midway Museum features the F-8 Crusader, which was the Navy’s first supersonic fighter used in Vietnam, and the H-34 Seabat that targeted and attacked submarines. Guests at the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum are also welcome to climb aboard the aircrafts on deck and take in the view from the cock pit.

USS Midway

SAN DIEGO ZOO

San Diego zoo is exceptional.  We took the twilight tour (low light for photographing) and loved it.

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BIRCH AQUARIUM at SCRIPPS

I love aquariums!!!!

Hotel DEL CORANADO

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 Hotel del Coronado (also known as The Del and Hotel Del) is a historic beachfront hotel in the city of Coronado, just across the San Diego Bay from San Diego, California. It is one of the few surviving examples of an American architectural genre: the wooden Victorian beach resort. It is the second largest wooden structure in the United States (after the Tillamook Air Museum in Tillamook, Oregon) and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1977[3][5] and a California Historical Landmark in 1970.[4]

When it opened in 1888, it was the largest resort hotel in the world. It has hosted presidents, royalty, and celebrities through the years.[6] The hotel has been featured in numerous movies and books.

The hotel received a Four Diamond rating from the American Automobile Association[7] and was once listed by USA Today as one of the top ten resorts in the world, though it has since been removed from that list.[8]

 

LA JOLLA COVE

Tired of waling through museums, aquariums, etc., take a break and relax at La Jolla Cove and watch the seals snd pelicans or just watch the people on the beach as you enjoy the beautiful weather.

 

FLORA

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