Saturday, March 23, 2013

San Diego, Day 2

Today as I was waiting for Melon Man to get up, I went out on our balcony and grabbed these pictures.  These folks were headed out to go deep sea fishing.  I would have loved to go do that again.  I enjoy being out on the ocean and trying to catch an ocean fish.



Melon Man finally got up and we went to Hash House a Go Go for breakfast.  I so badly wanted my usual, but since that has roast chicken in it, I couldn't have it.  Instead, I found something else that I could have.  It was good, but our service wasn't all that great.  I still enjoyed spending the time with Melon Man though and that made it all worth it.  The day was quite gloomy but it would eventually wear off.  We decided to head back up to our bench in La Jolla.  Since it was gloomy, I knew there would be some wave action.  We sat there and watched the waves and the surfers.  I had no plans.  I didn't really want to do anything special.  I just wanted to relax and meditate.  So, that's what we did.  It was kind of cold so Melon Man snuggled with me a little bit.  Guess I should have brought the jacket he told me to bring.  I also need to learn to focus my camera better...I was supposed to be catching the water in this picture, but instead, I got the plant.  Oh well.




This dude was just sitting there on his board waiting for a good wave to come in.  It was strange how sometimes there would be waves and then all of a sudden, nothing.  The water was so gray too.  It was kind of eerie.






I am fascinated by the seagulls on our beach.  I love to watch them.  Sometimes, they watch us.  This scene was pretty funny though.  This one seagull on the left looks like he's yelling at the other two.  Get off my beach, gulls!  No way, man, it's a public beach.  We can be here if we want!
We watched these pelicans for quite a while.  They would fly one after the other for a while, then swoop down, fly right above the water, and then whoosh!  They would grab a fish out of the water and fly off!
The weather was very gloomy and there was still some fog out over the ocean.  Or, maybe it was just mist.  I don't know.  It was just gloomy and cold.  These three boats were all out there doing deep sea fishing trips though.  I bet they caught a ton!
See...another seagull staring me down.  He finally got tired of me looking at him...so...here he goes! 
All of a sudden, the gloom lifted and it was clear and sunny!  Weird!

When we first arrived, this guy was just sitting there on the beach staring out into the ocean.  He sat there the entire time.  It wasn't until we were just about to leave that he finally got up and moved.  I thought the picture kind of portrayed how I've been feeling lately - alone and just needing peace in my life.  This is why I like to come here.  It gives me the opportunity to look out into the vast expanse with everything else behind me.  I think a lot and contemplate what's going on in my life.  Something has to change.  I don't know how much more I can handle right now.
We finally left La Jolla and went downtown.  Melon Man had always wanted to go see the ships that are downtown.  So, this time, we did.  We started with the Star of India.
Here he is holding the "map" of all the ships that are part of the Maritime Museum of San Diego, which preserves one of the largest collections of historic sea vessels in the United States.  For the lovely price of $16 each, you can climb aboard the following ships:

  • Star of India (1863): This iron-hulled beauty is the oldest active ship in the world and a state and national historic landmark
  • Berkeley (1898): The first successful propeller driven steam ferry on the west coast and a state and national historic landmark 
  • Medea (1904): This steam yacht is from the age of conspicuous wealth
  • Pilot (1914): The oldest pilot boat still in service on the west coast
  • USS Dolphin (1968) US Navy submarine with the record for the deepest dive
  • H.M.S. Surprise (1970) replica of an 18th century Royal Navy frigate
  • B-39 (1967) Soviet attack submarine designed to track US and NATO warships during the Cold War
  • Californian (1984) replica of a mid 19th century revenue cutter (this one actually was just heading out to sea so we didn't even get to see it)






When we went onto the Star of India, I was shocked to see the quarters that people had to live in.  The beds were so tiny.  The cabins tiny.  These next few pictures don't even do it justice of just how small they are.




These were the "tools" the on-board surgeon had to use.  Ew. 
These windows were over the "dining room" and would open up to let fresh air inside.  At one point, we were up top and Melon Man asked me if I could feel the ship rocking.  I really couldn't.  However, when we got down into the living quarters, especially at the front of the ship, I could really feel it and I started to become nauseated.  I actually had to sit down for a minute.  And, we were only in the harbor!  I can't imagine how awful it would have been out on the open ocean for months at a time.  I do pretty well when we've gone deep sea fishing, but I suppose that's because I'm always up top fishing, never down inside the boat!





We didn't go down into the hull of the Star of India because the stairs were just too steep for me.  So, we moved on to the Berkeley.  I LOVED the stained glass windows on this ferry.  They were just beautiful.





We cruised through the gift shop and some more of the museum, but we ended up not going to any of the other ships.  We'd had enough, plus I get kind of anxious in enclosed spaces, so there was no way I was going to go in a submarine, even if it was Russian.

We left and went over to Seaport Village.  I needed to go to the Village Hat Shop to see if I could find a cute beret to wear at the Prom.  I found this one - it's red, of course - for $14.95.  I wanted one that I could also wear "in the winter" as a normal thing when we visit Utah or I go to Chicago or Ohio for work.  This will match with my new coat that I recently bought.
We meandered around and Melon Man got some food.  It was really busy because there was some event going on.  We decided to head out, but I grabbed these pictures of some beautiful flowers while I was sitting waiting for Melon Man to finish up in the restroom.


By this time, it was late enough in the day that we were kind of tired, so we went back and took a snooze at the hotel.  A couple of hours later, we got up and went to Filippi's Pizza Grotto for dinner.  It was SO GOOD.  I missed having pepperoni on my pizza, but oh well, I'm kind of used to it now.

We came back from Filippi's and decided we would try out the hotel's restaurant for some dessert.  It was awful.  We were not impressed.  We signed the tab and left.  We went back to the hotel and cuddled, then went to bed.

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