160 LAST FULL DAY IN SAN DIEGO

Well., today is the final full day in San Diego.  I had always planned on this being a rest day before leaving, because of all the walking and lifting I’ll have to do tomorrow.  But the rest day won’t mean a do-nothing day.  First and foremost, I must remember to confirm my flight home.  Hopefully today won’t be the day that the internet craps out again.  That’s been my one complaint here.

Today will also be a packing day.  I don’t have a lot of additions.  A couple of baseball caps and some purchased photos, along with just under 17,000 digital photos I have taken.  It’s been a great trip and travelling alone is better.  I can do what I want, when I want and take as much time as I want at a specific location for photography.

I haven’t been lonely at all since I have Facebook to stay in touch, or I can text if I want.  I’ve made friends with some of the staff, but all of them have been the staff at the restaurant onsite.  I’ve only seen the front desk staff when I checked in and one other time when I went to report losing one of my room keys.

The TV in this room has way more stations than the one in Orlando did, and I don’t really watch it.  I have it on in the evening while I’m editing shots from the day’s shoots, but that’s about it.  The room is comfy, and I have the air conditioning cranked up.  It gets cool enough in here that I have a sweatshirt on as I type this.  Sometimes I even must turn it off.

The weather has been great, not too hot, not too cold.  There was one day that got quite hot and there was only one day where it rained most of the day.  There was a couple of days where it had rained overnight and looked like it was going to rain more during the day, but it always cleared up.

The hotel itself is situated near the Miramar Naval Air Base and it was cool watching the jets taking off and doing flybys directly behind the hotel, where my room (105) is situated.  I got some good pics of the planes and helicopters.  It was like having my own private airshow.

TWO F-18'S DO A FLYBY

My favourite places to go for photography had to be a tie between the San Diego Zoo, which prompted this whole trip, and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.  I went twice to each of them.  I pretty much had to though, because they are so big.  I doubt a person without disabilities could cover the entire parks in one visit.

The zoo itself, I had no idea how big it was or how many hills and stairs there were to walk.  The stairs can be bypassed by strategically placed elevators.  I walked the zoo the first time and only saw half of it and I was hurting badly by the end of the day.  That was nothing though compared to the Safari park which is 10 times bigger.  It really is.  The zoo is 90 acres in size, the safari park is 900 acres.

I learned my lesson when I went to Seaworld, but then I was forced to.  My body was hurting so much by then that when walking to the entrance I was already in trouble.  I finally broke down and rented a scooter.  This was a boon as it allowed me to see the entire park.  It became a detriment though as it turned out to be the hottest day of my trip.

The scooter had a sun shade, but it didn’t really cover anything.  I guess it kept the sun off my head.  But it left my legs sort of locked in one position, as if I had fallen asleep in the sun, somewhere.  My arms were basically in the same boat.  I didn’t put sunscreen on, because it hadn’t been necessary until that day.  On the final day of the trip, the burn is still evident, but is more tan now finally.

As I mentioned, I’ve had a great time and had a lot of fun.  It’s been a lot of work editing the shots I’ve taken and posting them on Instagram, well at least when the internet was working.  But that was part of the fun in the long run.  I’m sad to be leaving, but really looking forward to getting home.

This will be the extent of my travels for now.  Mainly because, I have no idea where I want to go next yet.  I want to be home for the birth of the first grandchild in June.  I also have tickets to see Paul McCartney in July, on what could be my very last chance to see him as he is getting up there in age.

So, it’s a pause in the travel adventures for the time being.  I may consider a weekend trip to Seattle, but I would drive there.  I may also consider an attempt to return to the lake, but it would be for a short period of time at best, but we shall see.  One never knows what’s coming over the horizon.