Our California Adventure, Part 2

Here’s the San Diego leg of our trip through our arrival in San Francisco between Sunday, May 29, and Wednesday, June 1.

SAN DIEGO
We landed in San Diego around 6:40 PDT Sunday evening. I am not a night owl so by the time we had gotten our rental car and checked into our hotel I was feeling the two hour time difference. We needed to find some supper at this point so we headed over to Cafe Coyote in Old Town where we enjoyed some authentic Mexican cuisine. After supper we strolled around a bit before heading back to get some sleep.

The next morning we got up and made our way to the harbor where we toured the USS Midway. This aircraft carrier, named for the World War II naval battle, went into service in 1945 and was decommissioned in 1991. It was fascinating and a fitting way to celebrate Memorial Day. Midway through the tour (pun intended) we ate lunch aboard at the Fantail Cafe. When the tour was over we crossed the bridge over to Coronado and drove south down the coast just to enjoy the sights.

That evening we grabbed a bite to eat at In-N-Out Burger and went to the movies to see Jungle Book, the live action film adaptation of the animated Disney classic. You may be wondering why in the world would they fly to Southern California to do something they could do at home? Well, it was late (especially to us), we’d walked all over a huge aircraft carrier, and we wanted to see this flick while it was still on the big screen.

Tuesday was zoo day for us. We arrived at the world renowned San Diego Zoo when they opened and stayed almost all day. The zoo, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, certainly lives up to its reputation. We saw more animals than I can possibly name here. The giant pandas, penguins, monkeys, orangutans, gorillas, giraffes, and large cats were all favorites.

We went to Filippi’s Pizza grotto in the Little Italy neighborhood in Downtown San Diego for supper. Meals like this became one of the easily overlooked highlights of the trip because we simply enjoyed each other’s company around the table.

CALIFORNIA DRIVERS
Before leaving San Diego I will note here that they have the tightest parking spaces I’ve ever seen. It felt like the entire city is expected to drive a sub-compact car.

In general driving in California didn’t hold that many surprises. Sure, traffic was bad in the cities, but then traffic is bad in Nashville during rush hour and Atlanta most any time. What amazed me was that for California to be the third largest state in the Union the roads feel tighter. For example, I was surprised at how short the acceleration lanes are when entering the freeway or how little warning you get before a lane ends. Overall we thought Californians were less rude when behind the wheel than Tennesseans. Motorcycles would be the exception to this observation.

Motorcyclists regularly keep you on your toes. Whenever there was heavy traffic on the freeway we had to be extra vigilant. It was normal to have a motorcycle whiz past riding on the dashed line between lanes of traffic. Here that would probably generate a lot of 9-1-1 calls and a stiff fine for reckless driving. I see the occasional motorcycle weave dangerously in and out of traffic here, but they never create their own lane between lanes.

Smart phone navigation is a godsend, yet even with Siri giving us directions we made plenty of mistakes. One challenge for us is that we are used to all our interstates and major state highways having mile markers with the exits numbered according to the corresponding mile marker. This is why, for example, the Cross Plains exit on I-65 is exit 112 and the Orlinda exit, the next one to the north, is exit 121. Some quick mental math will tell you these exits are 9 miles apart. With this system we have learned to depend on exit numbers more than names. In California, without mile markers, the exits are numbered sequentially, and the numbers may not be marked on the signage until the last possible sign. So when Siri says something like, “In 2 miles take exit 17B to so-and-so,” we are listening for the exit number and it is very easy for us to miss the exit because its number is not on most signage for that exit. (To be fair, this was more prevalent around San Diego.)

TO SAN FRANCISCO
The next day we flew up to San Francisco. I gave everyone a heart attack before we boarded our flight. We were in line to board when I couldn’t find my boarding pass. Thinking quickly I retraced my steps to the restroom where I found it on the floor under the sink where I had washed my hands. You see, when I first went to the restroom I stuck my boarding pass under my arm rather than store it in my pocket. (Yep, stupid move on my part.) And when I washed my hands the pass fell from under my arm to under the sink. I was very fortunate it was still there.

It was on this flight that I decided to work on a crossword puzzle. I had gotten a pretty good start when I noticed my fingers felt wet. My pen didn’t handle the change in pressure too well. The flight attendant said it happened frequently with the type of pen I had. My hands looked like I had tangled with a squid.

LUNCH/SUPPER WITH DOUG
Upon arriving in the City by the Bay we enjoyed a late lunch with Doug, a friend I had met two years ago at the final 73rd Bomb Wing reunion. Doug and I had sat together at the table for several meals and on two bus tours: to Pratt, Kansas, and to see Doc, the B-29 that is being restored in Wichita.

Incidentally, someone shared a newspaper article with me that on Friday, May 17, Doc received it’s airworthiness certificate from the FAA. I’m sure there will be plenty of engine run-ups and taxi tests before she actually takes flight again. The article went on to report that it was 16 years to the day that the plane was shipped to Kansas in a series of large crates for the restoration to begin. Of the 3970 B-29s originally built, plus 370 B-50s which were simply redesignated B-29Ds, Doc will join Fifi as the only two flying Superforts today.

At any rate, Doug is a patient and long suffering friend. Our flight arrived on time but our experience with the rental car company was quite different. Due to a special promotion the company had run the office at the San Francisco Airport was slammed. We stood in line over 90 minutes to turn in our reservation and then waited an additional 80 minutes for our van to be delivered. This was the only bad hiccup on our trip.

Our late lunch became an early supper at the Elephant Bar Restaurant. The food and conversation were well worth the wait and after a fun two hour visit with Doug we were on our way to Monterey. This is a good stopping point so I’ll pick up the road trip leg of the trip next time.

Joe