A Tour of San Diego

Happy New Year!

Since arriving in San Diego on December 16, we have done a lot.  First thing was to get the trailer back into shape after 38 bouncin' round the Baja!  Both the trailer and truck needed some clean up and maintenance.  I took the truck in for an oil and filter change.  The morning I left to do so, the low coolant light came on.  I left it at the Dodge dealer and asked them to check it out.  If you read the previous installments, you will recall that the transmission overheated a bit while climbing El Infierno, the 12% grade.

Well, it seems that the coolant got so hot that it overheated the coolant recovery tank and smoked the coolant sensor and thermostat.  A mere $1,050 later for the cooling system and all was good again!  Yeesh!  Ah well, if you can't afford the repairs, don't do the trip!

After getting things in reasonable shape, we started on our tour of San Diego. On Boxing Day, we set off to the Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve.  This beautiful area is 2,000 acres in the north part of San Diego.

The area overlooks the Pacific Ocean behind me.

This is a great place to get 10 or 15,000 steps in!

It is impressive that the City Elders saw fit to save this area and decided to keep it in its natural form.

We originally planned to take in a number of tourist attractions between Christmas and New Year's Day, but were quickly disabused of that notion.  As we headed to a scenic outlook called Cabrillo point, we passed the entrance to Seaworld.  The line up was more than a mile long, with the last quarter mile being two lanes lined up to the park entrance.  OKAY, we wait until the kids are back in School!

Between Christmas and New Year's we took in the San Diego Car show. Included in the show were a lot of specialty vehicle and luxury cars.

A Beautiful Rolls Royce

Sonya fell in love with this Rolls Royce that she thought would be perfect for travelling.  It has a wine cooler in the trunk and the front is set up for dining in elegance.

I had other vehicles in mind.

My next vehicle - A Gold Lamborghini 

All Sonya said was dream on - let's go!

We had the opportunity to tour the harbour.  San Diego is very much a working harbour, with the Military taking up the lion's share of the harbour real estate.  San Diego is home to the nation's largest concentration of military personnel in the USA.  It is also the port of entry for cars, technology and produce.

Dole Pineapples Anyone??

One of the many working sites in San Diego Bay

We went across to Coronado, often mistakenly called Coronado Island, as  it is attached to the mainland at the bottom of the bay.  The beautiful bridge to Coronado was started in 1967 and opened in 1969.  It won the 1978 World Bridge Beauty Contest. It is 2.1 miles long and was a toll bridge until 2002.  After the tolls paid for the bridge, the tolls were removed, although the toll booths still remain - just in case, no doubt!

After getting across the bridge, we went to the beautiful  Hotel Del Coronado.  We had a lovely buffet breakfast that morning before we set off to our next site!

The Grand Dame

Built in 1888, it is a beautiful landmark and major tourist attraction for the city.  This was the first hotel to receive electricity.  Because it was so new, the electric wires were installed inside the gas lines, so if the "new-fangled" electricity didn't work, they could always pipe gas in to illuminate the rooms.

Concerned about the flammability of this grand wooden hotel, they built two giant cisterns in the basement, but never used them for rain water.  However legend says that they were handy for storing alcohol during Prohibition!

The Duke of Windsor (George VIII) may have first met the "divorced" Wallis Simpson here.  History buffs will remember that he would renounce his throne for this love of his life!

We bought the San Diego Go-Pass to see up to 41 attractions and Sonya was determined to see as many of these as possible!

We started with the San Diego Safari Park and followed up with the San Diego Zoo after that.  Both are amazing. Although we prefer to see animals in their natural habitat, both these places have made a tremendous effort to make the animals at home as much as possible within the confines of the space that they have.  They are also a breeding sanctuary for the many of the world's endangered species, including 6 baby pandas that have been returned to the Panda Rescue Centre in China.

Here are a few of Sonya's (many) great shots of the animals!

Just hangin' out after a nice breakfast!

Why Do Flamingos Stand on One Leg??  (If they lift both, they will fall on their butts!)

This Big Boy Is Vegan!

These Two Ignored Each Other Until the Little Red Guy Missed the Bar and Got in Trouble!

Thanks for the Hand Up!

Now THAT is a BAD HAIR DAY!!

Two Warthogs Sharing A Moment

Up Close and Personal With a Rhino!

These African cattle were bred to have large horns in order to show off the owner's wealth. Now the horns are so large that the cattle have difficulty maintaining their balance and often stumble and fall!

The American Bald Eagle - Deep in Contemplation. Perhaps he is worried about Trump too!

Finally we were off to Seaworld - an attraction for kids at heart of all ages!  We got their bright and early without a line up!!!  

Naturally, Sonya had to see the dolphins first!

They Called Him Flipper - But Which One??

Tbat would be ME!!!

After that it was off to the Wild Arctic exhibit, with the Beluga Whale.

The Arctic Expedition also included a model of what it would be like to fly to the Arctic and live there during the early exploration days.  However,  they may be a little confused as to where the Arctic is, as evidence by this sign included as part of the exhibit.

Having said that, it seems that it has been cold enough of late in Moose Jaw, that it may well qualify as Arctic!

Balboa Park was set aside as parkland in 1868 even though San Diego was just a dusty rough settlement.  It was not developed until 1902.  During the early days it was used by the City as an animal pound where stray horses and cattle were impounded until their owners could retrieve them.

San Diego decided to host the 1915 Panama California Exposition, recognizing the opening of the Panama Canal and the fact that San Diego would be the first US port of call north of the Canal.  With donations of $1 Million and an $850,000 bond, they created this beautiful park reminiscent of Spain and Italy.  This really put San Diego on the map!

However, during World War I and II, it saw use a place to train servicemen and a place for those returning to recover.  Today, it hosts the San Diego Zoo, gardens, street performers and 17 museums.  After all was said and done, it felt like we only missed three of the museums!  I vetoed any museum pictures in the blog.  Instead, you can see one of the street performers / mimes.

In the (likely) event that you do not recognize this fine fellow, he is none other than William Shakespeare!  He was pretty good at quoting the Bard too!

This is an example of the incredible grounds of the park.  The little green spot you see in the picture standing beside the roots of this humongous tree is me!

Next we were off to the USS Midway, a Naval Aircraft Carrier commissioned in 1945, as the largest warship in the world for a decade!

Here are a few facts that I found fascinating about this great ship!

4 Acre FlightDeck
18 Decks
212,000 HP
69,000 Tons total weight
2,000 electric motors
4,500 crew, of which 200 were pilots
65 Aircraft on board
Launch capability of one plane every 90 seconds

Sonya's interesting facts:
10 Tons of food daily
13,500 meals served daily
3,000 potatoes daily
500 pies
60 cooks
Now that is some kind of kitchen!

The Superstructure of the USS Midway

Top Gun ??

Some of the 4 Acre Flight Deck!

Launch Command

The Commander's Chair - Only In Your Dreams!

Next we were off to do a Harbour Cruise.  Due to some technical issues, the cruise was cancelled.  Of course, Sonya found yet another museum close by!  Never fear dear readers, at least this one I was definitely interested in - it was a Maritime Museum aboard several ships!

This is a historic picture of the Star of India.

The oldest active merchant sailing ship in the world began her life in November 1863 (yes she still can sail).  Her first voyages took her to India as she helped supply England with much needed jute, since cotton was unavailable from the USA due to the Civil War.  Later she was used to transport immigrants to New Zealand as part of England's bid to maintain superiority over the world's oceans.  Passage was $2,000 in today's currency, largely paid by the New Zealand Government. At the end of her commercial life, she served the Alaskan salmon trade.

The rigging was complex and impressive.  Here is the view from behind Sonya's lens.

Next we go on board the B-39 Soviet Submarine.

The B-39 spent twenty years in service, first with the USSR, from 1974 to the collapse of the Soviet Union, then in the Russian fleet until its retirement in 1994.  It spent much of its time watching a number of US Carrier ships including the USS Midway.  It seems appropriate that it now sits across the harbour from the USS Midway.

Life was cozy on board, as can be seen here squeezing through one of the compartment doors!

The Red Star on the Con Tower will bring back memories for those that remember the Cold War Era.

Thankfully these torpedo chambers are now empty.  They previously held nuclear devices.

Well, all in all, the last two museums (The Midway and the Maritime) were two of Sonya's better picks as museums.  I really enjoyed these two, not that the japanese lacquer display wasn't interesting but ...

Last stop was the Hillcrest Farmers' market, where you could buy darn near anything - and we did!  Sonya found a BackSedator.

If you want to know what it is, you will have to go to www.backsedator.com to find out!

That's it from San Diego!  On to Palm Springs.  We will check back with you in a few weeks!

Have a great one,

Paul & Sonya

Our Final Days in Baja

After leaving Cataviña, we headed to Vicente Guerrero, a longer leg, but much better highway overall.  210 kms took about 4 hours to drive.  This is pretty typical in Baja.  Friends of ours commented that the trip from the top to the bottom of Baja California should take about 20 hours one way, according to Google Maps.

Well, let me tell you, even with good roads, you can average about 45 - 50 kmh. Road construction, driving through towns and slowing WAY down for topes (think of parking lot rumble strips) in towns and schools zones, along with military check points  all bring the average speed down.

We often had to follow a variety of slow moving vehicles before we could find a safe place to pass (unlike local Mexicans who pass up hill around blind corners).  Sonya commented that she wasn’t sure why they even use “no passing” signs down here!

You can probably guess by the picture of the tractor, we were in an agricultural area.

In fact, the covered vegetable and fruit crops stretch on for miles and miles.  Much of the produce lands in the grocery stores throughout North America as the quality is excellent and includes many organic offerings.  The produce is inspected and tested at the border and if there are problems a truck can be held up for days - not good for business, so every effort is made to employ good growing and harvest standards.

While we were at Vicente Guerrero, tail-gunner Dave spotted a field of tempting ripe strawberries that he wanted to raid.  Fortunately, he quickly realized that this may not be the best of plans, given our lack of understanding of the Mexican legal system!

While we saw many beautiful scenes and country sides, there were some areas that needed some attention.  Lisa pointed out this yard as we were driving by.

This reminds me a little of the show Sanford & Son, for those of you old enough to remember.  The difference,  this junk may eventually slide down the hill!

On our second last day, we made it to the Ruta Del Vino, (the wine route) in the Valle de Guadalupe. The drive is very similar to one that you would make as you head south from Kelowna to Oliver to Osoyoos, with entrances to vineyards every few hundred meters.

We were given a tour of the L.A. Cetto winery, the largest one in the area. It was founded by an Italian, Angelo Cetto back in 1928. They have over two thousand acres in the immediate area, with additional locations in Ensenada and Tijuana.  They have more than 300 international first placings for their wines.  In fact, the grapes of the Napa Valley owe much to the original vineyards of the Valle de Guadalupe, because the original NAPA stock came from here.

The fermentation area has capacity to hold more than 1 Million litres of wine.  This is one of four locations for the L.A. Cetto winery, still a family owned organization.

We tasted five of their wines, all of which were excellent.  (Thanks to Dan Goy for the picture.)

Who knew Mexico had such good wines!

You should look for their wines in Canada as well as other producers from the area.   I don’t think that you will be disappointed.

After our tour, we headed back to our campground at Rancho Sordo Mudo, a Christian-based residential school for deaf children in Mexico.
The founders, Ed and Margaret Everett, believed that deaf children did not have to become beggars, and so they teach them to read and write as well as Mexican and American Sign Language, along with a trade for their future.  The work is now carried on by their sons, Edward and Luke.

Sonya spearheaded a collection of food from our fellow campers for the school. It is funded entirely by donations, so our fellow campers were generous in their giving.  (Thanks to Dan Goy for the picture).

Together we were able to provide a dozen bags of groceries as well as a cash donation to assist in the running of the school.

During the night, we heard the rain coming down on our RVs.  Collectively, we all wondered how we were going to get our rigs out of this campground, as the entrance had a steep sand slope from the highway.

Dan lined us up and we each took turns running up the hill onto the highway without, timing our runs between vehicular traffic!  We all made it out in one shot! At the beginning of our tour, Dan promised us “fun" and “adventure", reminding us that these were two separate words.  This qualifies as the latter!

Here are a few photos to give you a taste of our last drive to the border.  As you can see from the first picture, we had more road construction to get through - this time with the added joy of rain and mud!

This has been an incredible experience and we highly recommend Baja Amigos, and here is why:

Travelling with Baja Amigos has provided us with a truly unique opportunity to experience Baja Mexico and to develop an appreciation of its people, culture, economy and geographic diversity.

This opportunity exists because Dan and Lisa:

• have spent years creating and perfecting just the right mix of travel time, destination locations, excursions and relaxation times.
• have created incredible preparation material which is invaluable as you provision for the adventure, something we had never done before.
• run the wagon train adventure with fun, humour, and many opportunities to develop friendships with fellow travellers on the road, all with due regard to safety and security.
• are people of true integrity in all that they say and do, as evidenced by the deep relationships they have with community members wherever we stopped.

All of their qualities make for the very best experience you will ever have.

Dan and Lisa are THE consummate Wagon Masters!

We are all now safely back across the border.

We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  We are taking a time out and  will touch base with you again in 2017!

Paul & Sonya