Monday 29th September – Wednesday 1st October
San Diego, USA
When you fly into San Diego, you really do fly into San Diego. As you descend to the airport, you seem to barely miss the tops of the high rise buildings in downtown. Then you can just see water. And finally – seemingly just in time – the runway comes into view.
The flight from New Orleans took four hours. There were plenty of signs we had arrived in California: The beautiful sunshine; palm trees everywhere; and the yoga mat provided in our hotel room.
Gaslamp District and harbour
We absolutely loved San Diego, which is in the far south of California, just 17 miles from the Mexican border. It’s perhaps the most laid-back city we’ve ever had the opportunity to visit.
We spent Monday afternoon and Tuesday exploring the downtown area. We were staying in the Gaslamp District, a part of downtown with plenty of bars, restaurants and shops.
On the waterfront is the Seaport District (with a range of shops and restaurants) and the harbour area, which has a number of tourist attractions. This includes the Star of India. Built in 1863, it’s the oldest ship in the world that still goes to sea. It carried British emigrants to New Zealand, rounded Cape Horn 21 times and even survived being frozen in Arctic ice.
Pacific Beach
On Wednesday, we decided to hit the beach! There are lots of beaches within easy reach of the city centre. Pacific Beach was about a 45-minute bus ride away, giving us the opportunity to paddle in the Pacific Ocean!
There were plenty of surfers in the water, and walking alongside the beach you can enjoy watching a procession of skateboarders, cyclists and joggers glide past.
We could easily have spent more time in San Diego, but there’s more of California to explore!
Advert of the day
Spotted in downtown San Diego. Newcastle Brown Ale, how could you?!
Striking Out 