Since we had gotten to San Diego a little early and didn't have driving to do, I made raspberry pancakes and bacon for breakfast. It was nice to have a bit of a slower start to the day. The one thing we knew we were going to do in the city was go to the San Diego Zoo, one of the largest in the world and one more thing my dad wanted to check off on his life-long list of to-do's. The San Diego Zoo is part of Balboa Park, what was to me, one of the most impressive things about San Diego. This was my trip second trip to San Diego, but on my previous trip I had missed this 1,150 outdoor complex of gardens, museums, and other arts venues. Balboa Park was created as part of the 1915 International Exposition celebrating the completion of the Panama Canal, with buildings all built in Spanish Revival style by architect Bertram Goodhue.
I never have been a fan of zoos. In fact, on a class trip to New Orleans during high school, I ran out of an aquarium crying, I was so upset by the captivity. The fish swimming circles in the doughnut shaped aquarium really got to me. But since it was so important to my dad, I attended zoo day. They did have quite the menagerie, and the koala and panda bears were especially adorable. I was amused by the wombats and all the hairy pig-like animals and the strange looking tapir. To satisfy my dad's professional football obsession, we searched and searched for a panther in Cat Canyon... unsuccessfully. But my favorite part of the zoo was probably the Silver Leaf-langurs (monkey-like things) I caught cuddling and holding hands. And yes, it did make me miss Paul! Ha!
We had a good lunch and a glass of wine on the harbor at a little seafood restaurant that doubled as a fish market. This also gave us a view of another part of town, the waterfront filled with commercial boats and private yachts. The restaurant was next to a docked aircraft carrier that had been converted into a maritime museum. Along the shore was a tribute to Bob Hope, who spent every Christmas entertaining the military stationed overseas. There was also a giant statue recreation of that famous photo of the sailor grabbing a nurse for a kiss in the streets after World War II.
We came back from lunch to an unhappy Rocinante. We had to park her in a no parking zone outside the restaurant, since all the spaces were small and metered. If we would have parked legally, we would have taken up 4-5 meters and probably gotten stuck from cars on either side of us. So we came back to a ticket. And when we cranked her, we realized she was also sitting on empty. We had to find a station with diesel. Fast. We drove up and down the interstate searching, and finally the GPS found us a truck stop 14 miles down the road. And since we were driving south, our quick trip to get gas turned into a detour to the Mexico border and a meeting between Rocinante and a concrete pole during a u-turn there...
When we got ourselves straightened back out again (about 2 hours after leaving from lunch), we drove back into the city to visit Old Town San Diego. This was the first permanent settlement in California, established as 1 of 21 Franciscan missions by Father Junipero Serro in 1769. This state park now stands as a monument to the town's history, with restored buildings, living history demonstrations, small museums, restaurants and converted shops. We poked our heads in a few of the shops and museums (San Diego's first cigar shop was the most interesting.) and drank giant margaritas by a gurgling Spanish fountain as the sun set.
The closest place we could find to camp toward the north side of town was actually in La Mesa. We had decided to stay another night in town so that we could see some old friends of mine who had recently moved there, Paul and Erin Culp. They picked us up from the campground and we drove back into town for some more Italian. (We were still in search of my dad's favorite dish.) It was good to see someone we knew, someone besides each other! We had a great time at dinner, eating, talking, and getting a little tipsy over wine. It was so nice to have a little bit of home in California.
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