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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