San Diego

USA

October 2006
2 days

28th and 29th October 2006.

Yet another flight this time into LA and have been invited to visit some long lost relatives of mine the wonderful Don and Jan in San Diego.

We immediately get on a greyhound bus to them and say goodbye to LA knowing we´ll be back in a few days.

The bus to San Diego made for an excellent opportunity for sleeping and it´s a wonderful feeling to awake from slumber, look out of the window and see some palm trees before going back to sleep.

San actually means Saint and much of California once belonged to Mexico hence the Spanish names (San Francisco, San Diego, San Jose etc) but the Americans took this land to be their own. We were only a half hour drive from the Mexican border but had no plans to venture across at this juncture. The tension between these two very different countries is interesting. Mexicans slip across the border all the time but now the US has plans to put up a Berlin type wall to prevent this! Hey ho - Love they neighbours!

Don and Jan were excellent hosts and with the promise of San Diego Zoo - reportedly the best in the world for the next day we had a relatively early night - after a nice drink!!

San Diego zoo was amazing. The animals all have very big enclosures and are well kept, looking healthy and inquisitive. We were lucky enough to see two adult and one baby panda bears awake and feeding. The selection of animals to view is second to none and more than one day is needed to really see all it has to offer.

Next day Don very kindly gave us a further tour of San Diego, seeing the navy base and light house. From this vantage point and with Dons binoculars we were able to watch jet fighters taking off over the ocean for training exercises. We could also just see the infamous Navy Seal training camp where their version of our SAS are put through their paces!

It was with a heavy heart that we said goodbye knowing the was so much more to see and do.

Thank you once again Don for sharing all your stories and knowledge of the area and Jan for your kind hospitality and your most excellent food!!! Don, your breakfasts are legendary! (Cereal, nuts, fruit, milk and honey in a bowl big enough to sink a battleship!) No wonder you never eat lunch! lol.

Don´t forget you can also view our photos at this URL too http://www.spicyapple.co.uk/worldtour2006/default.asp