Day 2, San Diego
Day 2, San Diego: I can now say I have ridden a Segway, I have been to Balboa Park, I've seen where Anchorman, and Step Brothers were filmed, I've seen the worlds largest organ, I've road on the San Diego trolley, I've had dinner at a Mexican Restaurant in Old Town, and I've learned more than I've ever known about the US Navy in my entire life. A big day it was in a beautiful city!
What better way is there to cover 5 miles of a foreign city than on Segways? I was nervous about not being good at riding it, but after a few minutes to get used to it, it was a piece of cake.On this tour we saw everything from the world famous Cafe 222, to the home of the San Diego Padres, to a view of Tijuana, Mexico. There was nothing more fun than weaving through the trees on your Segway, and feeling like you're skiing.
I was amazed by the fact that Petco Field which we wheeled through took 10 and a half years to build, while most stadiums take 2, and that the stadium had not sold out until this year. San Diego is not a huge baseball city, but I was surprised to learn that at most games, there are more away team fans than Padre fans. There is a grassed area behind the score board where families can sit, picnic and watch the game. Back in Vancouver, you could not even get a Vancouver Canadians ticket for that cheap.
This statue was very neat: this man was a sailor in World War 2, he was so happy when the war was over, that he grabbed the first person in sight and gave her a nice big kiss. These two did not even know each other. A photographer just happened to capture the moment and it became a very famous picture. People searched for years to figure out who the people in the picture were, no one was ever successful until the sailor himself saw the picture and turned himself in.
Notice the curve in the bridge? It's kinda hard not too, and you're probably thinking it's so ships can cross under it which is partially true, but there is another reason too. The government said they wouldn't fund a bridge that isn't at least 2 miles long, and since the gap between the mainland and the island wasn't quite that far, they decided to lengthen it as much as possible by creating the large arc, and they also lengthened the bridge so it is extended quite a ways on to the land.
USS Midway, Navy Museum was next on the day's to-do list. The ship and the museum was super impressive. There's no doubt that I learned more about the American Navy today, than I ever have. In fact, until today I hadn't realized how little I did know. As neat as the museum was, all the "Naval Aviation" information was at the least of my interest. What I was more interested in, was the 1000 loaves of bread, and 3000 pounds of mashed potatoes needed everyday just to feed the crew. I was more interested in the living conditions of the Navy members. They slept in tiny, tiny bunk beds, with no personal space at all, but they were fed very well. One of the many posters hanging on the ships walls' read "Payday means I can send $40 dollars to my wife to pay the bills and raise the kids." I was surprised to learn that of the 3600 people on board the Midway, not one of them was ever female.
These Navy ships were docked right across the inlet from the Naval Museum. They are the exact same type of boat except these ones are active. San Diego is where the ships come for storage and repair, and while the ships are being worked on they are covered up by tarp so that no spies can see what they're up to. It it kind of wild to think all this is happening right here in San Diego. Or course near the ports, there is super high security, but it is scary to think how dangerous of a place this could be for terrorists. Our tour guide said that she gets nervous when a whole bunch of ships are parked there at the same time.
I always encounter the most interesting people on public transportation, and today was no let down. We were trying to figure out how to get to Old Town, so we asked this man which stop we need to get off at. During our conversations, we happened to see a woman getting hand cuffed, so this man told us how he thinks the police in California are corrupt. He then told us, in Arizona, even today, someone can be pulled over for being Mexican, and they're trying to pass the same law in California. How ridiculous, this is the 21st Century. This is where a young father of three sitting behind us jumped in, and stated how that's never going to happen, and he pointed out that 80-85% of California's population are Mexican. To add to our list of interesting people on the trolley, a man walked on the trolley holding a pizza box, and he was a little on the large size. He sat down beside a very fit looking man about the same age, and for the next 20 minutes, the larger fellow was lecturing about how McDonald's and processed foods are terrible for your body, and how he tries to avoid fast food; all this while he's holding a pizza box, and the other man's drinking a bottle of water. Slightly ironic.
Then, just as I thought things couldn't get any more interesting, a transit security guard walked down the isle asking for peoples' passes. The lady across from me pulls out her transit pass and the security man takes a look at it, and begins to walk away. The lady then called back at him, "what if my pass is expired?" He turns around and asks says he'll get his partner security guard to check it, since he didn't have a scanner. She then begins to call him inappropriate names and says how she's going to sue him, and how he was putting words in her mouth. Confused? I was too.
This is the oldest still "sail-able" sailboat in the United States. . It now acts as a museum, but it is rented out for private dinner parties for a small price of $10,000 per night.
What better way is there to cover 5 miles of a foreign city than on Segways? I was nervous about not being good at riding it, but after a few minutes to get used to it, it was a piece of cake.On this tour we saw everything from the world famous Cafe 222, to the home of the San Diego Padres, to a view of Tijuana, Mexico. There was nothing more fun than weaving through the trees on your Segway, and feeling like you're skiing.
I was amazed by the fact that Petco Field which we wheeled through took 10 and a half years to build, while most stadiums take 2, and that the stadium had not sold out until this year. San Diego is not a huge baseball city, but I was surprised to learn that at most games, there are more away team fans than Padre fans. There is a grassed area behind the score board where families can sit, picnic and watch the game. Back in Vancouver, you could not even get a Vancouver Canadians ticket for that cheap.
This statue was very neat: this man was a sailor in World War 2, he was so happy when the war was over, that he grabbed the first person in sight and gave her a nice big kiss. These two did not even know each other. A photographer just happened to capture the moment and it became a very famous picture. People searched for years to figure out who the people in the picture were, no one was ever successful until the sailor himself saw the picture and turned himself in.
Notice the curve in the bridge? It's kinda hard not too, and you're probably thinking it's so ships can cross under it which is partially true, but there is another reason too. The government said they wouldn't fund a bridge that isn't at least 2 miles long, and since the gap between the mainland and the island wasn't quite that far, they decided to lengthen it as much as possible by creating the large arc, and they also lengthened the bridge so it is extended quite a ways on to the land.
USS Midway, Navy Museum was next on the day's to-do list. The ship and the museum was super impressive. There's no doubt that I learned more about the American Navy today, than I ever have. In fact, until today I hadn't realized how little I did know. As neat as the museum was, all the "Naval Aviation" information was at the least of my interest. What I was more interested in, was the 1000 loaves of bread, and 3000 pounds of mashed potatoes needed everyday just to feed the crew. I was more interested in the living conditions of the Navy members. They slept in tiny, tiny bunk beds, with no personal space at all, but they were fed very well. One of the many posters hanging on the ships walls' read "Payday means I can send $40 dollars to my wife to pay the bills and raise the kids." I was surprised to learn that of the 3600 people on board the Midway, not one of them was ever female.
These Navy ships were docked right across the inlet from the Naval Museum. They are the exact same type of boat except these ones are active. San Diego is where the ships come for storage and repair, and while the ships are being worked on they are covered up by tarp so that no spies can see what they're up to. It it kind of wild to think all this is happening right here in San Diego. Or course near the ports, there is super high security, but it is scary to think how dangerous of a place this could be for terrorists. Our tour guide said that she gets nervous when a whole bunch of ships are parked there at the same time.
I always encounter the most interesting people on public transportation, and today was no let down. We were trying to figure out how to get to Old Town, so we asked this man which stop we need to get off at. During our conversations, we happened to see a woman getting hand cuffed, so this man told us how he thinks the police in California are corrupt. He then told us, in Arizona, even today, someone can be pulled over for being Mexican, and they're trying to pass the same law in California. How ridiculous, this is the 21st Century. This is where a young father of three sitting behind us jumped in, and stated how that's never going to happen, and he pointed out that 80-85% of California's population are Mexican. To add to our list of interesting people on the trolley, a man walked on the trolley holding a pizza box, and he was a little on the large size. He sat down beside a very fit looking man about the same age, and for the next 20 minutes, the larger fellow was lecturing about how McDonald's and processed foods are terrible for your body, and how he tries to avoid fast food; all this while he's holding a pizza box, and the other man's drinking a bottle of water. Slightly ironic.
Then, just as I thought things couldn't get any more interesting, a transit security guard walked down the isle asking for peoples' passes. The lady across from me pulls out her transit pass and the security man takes a look at it, and begins to walk away. The lady then called back at him, "what if my pass is expired?" He turns around and asks says he'll get his partner security guard to check it, since he didn't have a scanner. She then begins to call him inappropriate names and says how she's going to sue him, and how he was putting words in her mouth. Confused? I was too.
This is the oldest still "sail-able" sailboat in the United States. . It now acts as a museum, but it is rented out for private dinner parties for a small price of $10,000 per night.
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