20161120 – San Diego; A Spot of Culture; Visit Old Friends

For all those whining cry babies who are throwing their toys out the pram because Trump won and now want to flee the country. Go. Abandon your country. We’ll gladly have your citizenship. Dual citizenship would suit us just right.

Our cultural overdose watching “The Two Gentlemen of Verona” by Billy Shakespoke. Wendy dragged along kicking and screaming. Not bad for a first attempt at writing a play.

The language is oh so rich but so fast that you don’t really have time to let it seep in and enjoy it. They should have to pause after each sentence so you can absorb it.

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At last we get some rain here in the desert. Yes, apparently San Diego is classed as a desert.

Lazy morning. Pop down to see Ralph in the supermarket.

After lunch we take a stroll along the beach down to Belmont Park. It’s an old 60’s style amusement park complete with wooden rollercoaster that these days would be considered ideal for a tiny tots amusement park. That’s enough excitement for the day.

Up and out down to the Old Town to pick up the Hop On and Off Tram tour. A tad expensive but a great way to see San Diego – again.

Hop off for a wander around the Gas Lamp district. What a waste that was.

Hop off for a wander around Coronado. Visit the hotel but decide lunch and even a coffee are just too ridiculously priced. Have a stroll around followed by a Panera lunch for Wendy and Starbucks for. Coronado is so up market and relaxing.

Hop off at Bilbao Park for a stroll around. Have tea at the Japanese Tea Hous. Interesting discussion there with 3 raving ranting raging democratic storm troopers, who think that anyone who voted Trump was an idiot and the sun shone out of poor Hilary’s vagina. Wow this country is so polarised. Is there no middle ground? To listen to them everything Trump does is crazy and evil, even breathing. Surely most Americans would agree that both candidates were awful and it was down to choosing the lesser of two evils.

We didn’t hop off at Little Italy, but it looks a great place for a stroll and some coffee.

Finish our tour back at the Old Town. More Mexican shops and restaurants than tacos on a Tuesday.

A great day out. What a lovely city San Diego is if you keep off the Freeways and don’t go out at night.

Lazy morning cleaning up etc.

After lunch we head down to Carrillo National Monument. Free admission with our NP pass, awesome views over San Diego and the Coronado and some pleasant strolls. Watch an interesting film on the Grey Whale. Wow it travels 4,000 miles a year to feed, have sex and give birth.

Pack in the evening and we’re all ready for the last leg of our grand trip.

Happy Thanksgiving America. You can now give thanks that the 18 month pantomime that was your Presidential election is over. Hopefully now is the time to come together and work together. Sadly, like BREXIT, reading the entrails, it’s not looking too favourable.

Set off to Santa Barbara. Involves a drive through Los Angalas, 7 lanes of potential hell, but it turns out that everyone’s tucking into turkey so it’s not too bad.

Black Friday – are they really allowed to call it that?

Drive up to Atascadero to visit Nat and Paul. They were our first home exchangers, in Sedona, and were responsible for puting us onto the home exchange path. Have a lovely afternoon with them, with a trip in Paul’s 1960’s Cadillac. Can you believe this car, only 37,000 miles on the clock, in mint condition, enough steel in it to keep the American steel industry going for a year, a 8.2 litre engine (just drive down the drive and you need a refill) and roomy enough for 2 families to live in. It’s awesome. They certainly don’t make cars like that anymore. A car from an era of big cars. Have a drive around town and practice my royal wave.

Have afternoon tea and then in the evening it’s dinner. A great time meeting old friends, great food, great company. It’s years since we saw them but we pick up just as if it was yesterday.

I see the Obamas have had their Christmas tree delivered. I’m surprised they’ve got the gonads to call it a Christmas tree. I’d have thought holiday tree would have been their mealy mouthed PC response.