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| Sea Lions in San Diego harbour |
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| Military airfield filled with fighter jets |
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| San Diego Skyline |
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| Soaring bridge between Coronado and San Diego |
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| Floating arsenals of the US Navy |
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| Darth Vader's war ship - the latest fighter of the US Navy |
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| Navy Seals kicking up a wake - machine guns at the ready |
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| San Diego Convention Centre |
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| Retired Aircraft Carrier MIDWAY, now a museum |
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| Bob Hope Memorial |
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| Bronze Bob Hope |
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| San Diego homeless man resting in Midway Park |
Back down to earth again, San Diego, first USA port of call. Minute and exacting immigration controls, especially for all non-US passport holders: every 'alien' MUST present himself aboard ship to be personally inspected, before any passenger of any nationality - disembarking or in transit - is allowed to put one foot on the hallowed ground of the USA. Of course, the usual suspects took some chasing down before they were flushed out from their hiding places aboard ship, and within a couple of hours 700 aliens were processed through the system, whereas US Citizens were now free to be inspected AFTER physically stepping into the Land of the Free.
Officials were very friendly, and once ashore there were no further control points.
The first difference from almost any other non US city is, that everything, but everything is not measured in walking distance, but in driving distance. Even being docked in 'downtown' beautiful San Diego, 'downtown' Gas town is a healthy ten or more blocks away. Shod for the first time on this trip in 'hiking' shoes, I struck off to the city centre. Clean, stark, modern, glass enclosed. Wide avenues lined with high rise office towers, one reaches sprawling Horton Plaza, a convoluted shopping complex with several interior courtyards, scores of escalators leading to a number of interlocking levels filled with hundreds of stores. A couple of blocks further into the city centre - the Gaslight district. Well restored and maintained examples of Art Deco and Art Nouveau architecture line the avenues here. There are quite a number of open air restaurants, quaint boutiques and old fashioned street lights.
Fifth Avenue runs right through this charming area, and ends at San Diego Convention centre, where - in a former life - I attended and held forth on various conventions.
The Mariott Hotel, luxury at its best, adjoins the Convention Centre. The most expensive marina in town at the hotel's swimming pool adorned water front is filled with mega yachts and charter companies. One reaches the shore side bike and walking trails which lead to Seaport Village, a low rise shopping complex, and then to the Maritime Museum - retired aircraft carrier 'Midway'.
If one takes a harbour tour with Captain Hornblower, one skirts military airfields sprouting helicopters and fighter jets, military shipyards with all manner of floating war machines, the Navy Seals training grounds, the International Airport, and a few floating docks where barking sea lions take the sun.
After a few hours and a good number of miles of walking about and 'cruising on Captain Hornblower' I headed for a sea food restaurant located under the towering metal sides of carrier's Midway hull, and ordered oysters. Deliciously plump, fresh and tasty. When I asked where these scrumptious pearls of the sea had been harvested, I was told that they are Fanny Bay oysters.
Well, that's just a relatively short drive from my house in Vancouver Island....all this way south to the USA to enjoy a taste of home.
