San Diego's Sea World

Thursday 30 August 2012 –

Day 140 and 18 days to go

Knowing we had a big day ahead of us we were up at 8.30am, having breakfast and then showering before getting ourselves organised for our day at the park. We picked up discount tickets at reception and then made our way to the bus stop to catch the bus to the trolley station.

Today we caught the blue trolley to the Old Town centre and then transferred to a number 9 bus to Sea World. By 11.30am we were finally at the gate and  ready to head on in.

Our first stop was Shamu the Killer Whale show due to begin at 12noon. We were able to find ourselves a seat off to the side but still in the splash zone.

Settled in we waited for the massive sea mammals to emerge and entertain the crowd. They were spectacular. The height they could attain when propelling themselves out of the water was mind blowing. They had 6 orcas doing different things, but of course the best bit was when they were splashing the crowd with their tails. Some people were completely soaked to the skin. It was so funny. We managed to come away with just a few spots thankfully.

With the show complete we went to look at the orcas from the underwater viewing area. Here they were easy to see as they swam around their enclosure. One was quite happy swimming upside down on the bottom of the tank, while another was scratching it’s head on the side.

We then wandered on to the Shipwreck rapids where we joined the crowd for 30min as we waited in line for our turn. The whole time I was thinking we should have bought the express pass to jump the queue. Oh well.

Once on the ride we sat in a tube and bounced around a circuit, splashing over rocks and under waterfalls, by the end of it we were saturated and laughing.

We then wandered towards Dolphin Point, a pool with many bottlenose dolphins in which you could put your hand in. Unfortunately they never came my way.  By now Paul had spotted the Mantra rollercoaster so we made our way over to it, put our things in a locker and then went in search of the line. To our surprise there wasn’t one and we were able to get straight on. The ride is only new and is designed to make you feel like you are swimming underwater with the rays. It was a lot of fun twisting and turning, ducking and weaving around the track.

With the ride complete we made our way to the next viewing area passing the otter and seal display along the way. Our stop was the Blue Horizon stadium to watch the dolphins and pilot whales as well as parrots, black vultures and acrobats diving into the water from trapezes. It was great to watch even if we had arrived a little late and had to watch from the very back. 

We then wandered to the sky tower where we could take the ride 203ft high to take in the view over Sea World and the Pacific Ocean. From here you had a great perspective of the park.

We did a quick wander through the animal encounters where they had some rescued animals kept before making our way round to the next ride; Journey to Atlantis. This was a log ride in which you were sent up a tower only to coming splashing down the other side and again get absolutely soaked to the skin. It was awesome and left us laughing lots.

We wandered over to the Wild Arctic where we firstly went on a helicopter simulator and then we checked out the beluga whales, polar bears and the walrus. It was so cold in this exhibit especially seeing we were all wet.

The next three exhibits were the penguins, turtles and sharks. They all had their own enclosures and you were able to stand on conveyor belts as you passed through each of the exhibits. The penguins were so funny bobbing around. There was even an exhibit of puffins, now they were funny.

After passing through the freshwater aquarium we hopped onto the chairlift to be taken across the bay and back. This was another ride where you could see across the park. Once we returned to the park side we made our way back to the Manta roller coaster for another turn and then we made our way for the exit. Completely worn out after a great day.

We located the bus stop and by 5.30pm we were heading back to the centre of town. We decided we would have dinner in town so we got off near Gaslamp Quarter and walked down the street looking for a Mexican restaurant to eat at.

We located one not too far away and sat down. Lucky for us it was happy hour so the margheritas began flowing. We watched the people go by. San Diego seems to be a magnet for odd ones. There also seems to be a lot of homeless, deformed Mexicans and people off their nut on booze or drugs or both. It provides for no end of entertainment. We even saw one guy with a pimped out ride that had his back tyres jacked right up and the car was bouncing down the road. Hilarious.

The Mexican dinner we ordered was absolutely delicious and so filling. I was glad I hadn’t had any lunch while at the park. We paid up and then made our way back to the trolley and then the bus before walking the final 500m back to the campground underneath a couple of highways.

Once in we dumped our gear, got into our bathers and made our way to the spa for a nice relax. We had a swim in between soaks and then returned to the van. I did some checking of things on the net and loaded photos before we finally called it a night.

Hello California Coast

Wednesday 29 August 2012 – San Diego

Day 139 and 19 days to go

Oh what a night. We had the air con running to start with as it was still so hot, but with only a sheet I was soon shivering so Paul got up and turned it off, but of course it didn’t take long for the van to heat up again and we were sweating again.

I spent most of the night tossing and turning trying to get comfortable on the hard piece of board covered in a thins mattress. Eventually Paul turned the air con on again and I was finally able to sleep. I remember waking at some stage noting the AC was off and it was quite cool however that didn’t last as the next time I woke I was sweating again.

At 8 it was time to get up and get started. Paul went for a shower while I got breakfast ready and packed away a few things. I went for a shower when he returned and when I came back everything was unplugged and we were ready to head on to San Diego by 9am.

We stopped for fuel first as we used ½ a tank yesterday. This van is super thirsty and then returned to the I15 south towards LA. The landscape was much the same as yesterday. Barstow is quite a large centre when you actually get to it over the rise. The highway is quite busy and we did pass through some large centres that just pop up in the middle of the desert mountains. I still saw nothing that would make me want to live here.

By 10.30 we were skirting around the great LA region before deviating south. We were passing greener areas, mainly golf courses and the occasional orchard as we drove the avocado hwy. Many large houses were perched on hills overlooking the busy road.

Following the GPS we were soon reaching the San Diego area and passing a border control for incoming motorists from Mexico as we are only 20km from Tijuana. At 12 we were pulling into our campground and signing in for the next few days.

We moved the van to our spot and set up before I made lunch and we had a rest. I booked us into an LA campground on the net as it is a long weekend here this weekend and we didn’t want to get caught short. We then sorted out what we wanted to do in San Diego and locked up the van making our way back to reception for directions to the city via public transport.

We walked a short distance down the road and caught the 2.30pm bus to the trolley station (electric trams) and then the blue line into the city where we walked in search of the Gaslamp Quarter. Along the way we passed the home ground of the San Diego Padres baseball team who just happened to be about to play the Atlanta Braves so the Pecto Park stadium was filling with supporters.

We walked on a little further locating the Gaslamp street and began walking along it before stopping at Dick’s Last Resort for a drink. I liked the menus so much I grabbed them along with a take home glass.

Our walk continued to Broadway and then we made our way to the water eventually locating the Pacific Ocean and the USS Midway aircraft carrier that is now a museum. We wandered along the waterfront where many homeless people were also frequenting. The area was quite picturesque with many shops and restaurants. There were also many expensive boats moored up in San Diego Bay. What a way to travel.

We eventually made our way back to where we began and jumped back on the trolley to our bus and then on further to our stop. We hopped off and into the shop to pick up some groceries before walking back to the van for 6pm.

We unpacked had a brief rest and then wandered down to the pool area for a spa and a swim to relax. It was just what we needed. By 7.30 the mozzies were starting to bother us so we returned to the van.

I cooked up dinner while Paul checked the net. We had dinner while listening to the Ipod and then I did some checking on Sea World tickets for tomorrow. With everything sorted we had dessert and then it was time for bed.

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On the road again and it's hot DAMN hot!

Tuesday 28 August 2012 – On the road again

Day 138 and 20 days to go

Our last morning at Bellagio and I wasn’t wanting to give it up in a hurry. We had until 11am before we had to check out of the room so I did some net stuff  before reluctantly crawling out of bed at 10 and helping Paul with the pack up of all our things.

At 10.50am we made our way to checkout, paid up and then gave our bags to the bellhop to look after while we went in search of food. We crossed using the footbridge and made our way to the Planet Hollywood shops where the PBR bar was serving cooked breakfasts and showing the World Superbikes on the TV.

We finished up and did a quick lap of the shops before returning to the Bellagio collecting our bags and taking a cab to the Cruise America depot 20min away in Henderson. We passed through the outer suburbs of Las Vegas, none of it was particularly appealing. It is all dry and brown.

Once at the depot we joined the line before finally being served and completing the paperwork. We were then made to watch a video for half an hour on the workings of the van. Before we did a walk through of our van and were finally given the keys by 2.15pm.

Our first stop was the nearest Walmart for groceries. These places are huge with basically anything and everything you need. With our trolley full we made our way out the door and back to the van. It was so hot even the birds were seeking shade.

We stopped to fill up quickly before finally making it on to the highway and heading towards our first destination 2 ½ hours away. The E350 truck hauling our camper rattles and rolls and shakes like a washing machine. The automatic gears squeal and rev and Paul says she handles like a boat. It is not as comfortable as our previous RV. The foot well I have is taken up by a large amount of plastic and I have to sit at an uncomfortable angle to fit my feet in.

The drive from Las Vegas to Barstow on the I5 was an interesting one for about the first 15min and then you tire of seeing rock, a little sand, spinifex type plants and the mountains. It is beautiful in it’s own right but there is no way I would want to stay here. The Joshua trees had us amused for a while. They are odd, like something from a freaked out Dr Seus.

Our drive took us to the Mojave Desert passing a golf course and mining camps. There were plenty of trucks and other RV’s doing the same trek. We crossed the border of Nevada and California where there is a theme park and yet more gambling halls either trying to get the last or the start of your spending money.

By 5.15pm we had finally made it to Barstow where we pulled of the highway at Ghost Town Road. It was an apt name as there wasn’t much but a fuel station and a highway and our little ol’ KOA campground. We checked in then parked up in spot 42. It was then that we did the unpack of our bags finding places to shove all of our things. Apart from being a rattlely old hippo, this RV has limited storage space with nowhere to store our suitcases except for on top of the over cab bed.

I made up the overhead bed where we would be sleeping and after everything was unpacked we made our way to the pool for a well earned swim and cool down. Ahhh. I checked out around the camp spying a Joshua tree and lots of rusty farm gear.

When we returned to the van Paul began cooking dinner while I started planning the next 14 days, checking the net for suggestions. As the sunset the pinks and yellows were tainting the sky so I ventured out to take some photos before returning and eating dinner and discussing our plans.

Paul then read for a while and I caught up on the blog and by 10pm we were ready to call it a night.

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