Seeing San Diego

January 20, 2023

A text from my son at 4 am with his daily Wordle results woke me up. Each day we compare to see who guessed the word in the fewest tries but I need to remember to put my phone in quiet mode over night. He is an early riser anyway, but with the two hour time difference it was TOO early!

Luckily I was able to go back to sleep until a train going by was loud enough to end my slumber. Our hotel room looks out onto the railroad tracks and we can definitely hear each and every passing train. But the hotel itself is nice and over $100 per night cheaper than any of the other hotels within walking distance of the port, so we were willing to put up with the noise. My childhood home was located near railroad tracks and it brings back pleasant memories of sleeping with the windows open on a hot summer night, listening to the coal trains rumble by.

The railroad tracks taken from the window of our hotel room.
Even though we were on the 6th floor, the sound of the trains was loud and clear.

Our hotel, the Hampton Inn San Diego Downtown

Google Maps

From the 6th floor we could see a Disney ship docked at the port as we went down to the lobby for breakfast. Scrambled eggs, bacon and toast for me. Bob had the same and then went back for some oatmeal with plenty of toppings.

While I took my time showering, washing my air, getting dressed, etc. Bob went out to explore. He scouted out the route we will take to get to the ship and then continued on down the embarcadero, going by the USS Midway aircraft carrier (now a museum) and even further past that. 

(Some photos Bob took on his walk.)

The USS Midway (now a museum) is visible on the right side of the photo.
We toured the museum on our port stop in San Diego in 2018.

When he returned, I went online and bought 2 tickets for the Hop On Hop Off trolley. We gathered up what we needed for the day and walked through Waterfront Park. The second stop on the trolley route was next to the Star of India ship at the Maritime Museum and that is where we got on.

The Old Town Trolley has 11 stops and covers about 25 miles in two hours while the driver gives a running narration of what you are seeing. We rode until the trolley stopped at Coronado Island and we got off to explore. The island is home to the Hotel Del Coronado and we walked through the grounds of the hotel and out onto the beach.

Bob was excited to find an orange that had fallen from a tree.

These plastic bubbles were on the beach in front of the hotel. I'm not sure if they were functional or supposed to be some sort of artistic exhibit. The furniture inside appeared to be used living room couches & chairs.

The Grand Floridian Hotel in Disney World was modeled after the Hotel del Coronado.

The Pacific waves were crashing onto the shore. It felt warm to us Minnesotans, but most people were wearing coats or jackets. Bob enjoyed seeing some military aircraft doing maneuvers overhead and we assumed the helicopters we saw hovering above the water might have been Navy seals in training.

We sat on a bench and enjoyed a snack we had brought with us (including the orange that Bob found.) It was huge and so sweet and juicy! Bob saved a few scraps of our snack to feed the sea gulls. He gave one small tidbit to a lone bird and then within an instant he was surrounded by a flock of gulls squawking and fighting to get their treats. Bob would toss little bits of food and the birds were able to catch them in midair. What a noisy racket they made!

Bob enjoying his orange.

Back on the trolley, we passed through Balboa Park and the Little Italy neighborhood and then got off at the final stop before our hotel...Old Town. I was expecting a bunch of touristy souvenir shops (which we did see) but we also walked through the Old Town San Diego State Historic Park which was quite interesting. The weather could not have been more perfect and my eyes feasted on all of the green plants and flowers in the park.

These plants were so unique!

Casa de Estudillo in the park...one of the oldest adobe homes in California.

It was after 3:30 when we got back to the hotel. We grabbed some tea in the lobby and then I took a quick nap while Bob watched a sappy Hallmark movie on TV. He has the most varied taste in movies of anyone I know. 😏

I had done a little research on interesting restaurants nearby and found the Crack Shack located in the nearby Little Italy neighborhood of San Diego. My feet were telling me they were done for the day, but I forced them to go the half mile each way to get some supper. The Crack Shack is an outdoor restaurant that Google described as a "hip hangout that specializes in chicken and eggs." Bob and I both ordered the Firebird...a spicy breaded chicken thigh with lots of toppings. The seating was outdoors. It was starting to get a bit chilly, but there were several different types of gas heaters and fire pits by the tables to provide a little warmth. Bob also got an order of fries and then sampled ALL of the unique dipping sauces. The most unusual was the pineapple mustard. The heat level of the sandwich was at the top of my tolerance level, but Bob proclaimed it the best sandwich he had ever eaten.

The Crack Shack

The Firebird:  spicy fried Jidori thigh, cool ranch, crispy onions, pickles on a potato roll

At the end of the day my iPhone health app showed I had walked over 12,000 steps. And in addition, I was sunburned. Two things that never happen in January.

Tomorrow...time to cruise!