San Diego Trip - Day One

Following the lead of a friend of mine who is chronicling his journey with posts on the web, I too figured I would write about my trip. Granted, my trip is not exactly on the same scale as Matt’s trip. I’m in San Diego for eight days, half of which is work related, the other half is vacation. Matt’s trip is a year-long journey to visit all seven continents and see as many wonders of the world as possible. I still thought it sounded like a good idea though. I likely won’t be nearly as good or as witty in my writing at Matt, but hey, if you don’t like it, just click that little “x” in the top right corner of your browser. (By the way, if you want to read about Matt’s journey, go to: www.tallmatt.com)

One important note to keep in mind when taking a trip, which I realized on the way to the airport: using a smaller suitcase and jamming in full of clothes and other items does not make it lighter than a larger suitcase that is packed partially full, just because it’s a smaller suitcase.

All airports now have stricter security in the post-September 11 days, and I have absolutely no problem at all with that despite the inconveniences. I totally understand. My only complaint on this trip was the 80-degree, 80% humidity weather in St. Louis was a bit uncomfortable, and waiting in the long security line with the air conditioner in the airport apparently off made the long wait incredibly annoying.

Once the flight started and the beverage/snack service began, I had my first encounter with the biggest scam in the airline industry. Since when do we have to start paying for food and drinks on a 3 ½ hour flight? I kid you not. And of course the prices were outrageous. Small, turkey sandwich on a bite-size bagel - $5. M&M Cookie - $3. Half-sized bottle of water - $2. All this after paying $450 for a ticket and they’re going to charge for snacks on a long flight like that? Is American Airlines in that much financial trouble? My next thought was to come up with some bogus medical excuse on why I needed a bottle of water to prevent some life threatening dilemma. That or look for some loose change in my floatable seat cushion. Mental note to buy some food at the airport before boarding the plane for the ride home. Check that – buy food at a store before arriving at the airport to avoid their equally over-priced food selections.

After getting checked into the hotel by a little past noon, I decided to hit Sea World for the afternoon. I love animals and any type of theme park that features animals, so I knew I would have a good time. Unlike a zoo, where the animals just sit there and you watch them, Sea World was more of an educational experience with workers constantly talking about the animals and doing “tricks” with them for the crowds. How appropriate that coming from St. Louis, the first thing I saw upon entering was the Anheuser-Busch area that featured a Clydesdale decked out in full Budweiser, pull the wagon gear. The Wild Arctic area featured a pair of white beluga whales which were different looking, and the penguin exhibit was next door so that came next. Having just missed the start of the dolphin show by about five minutes, I moved on and made a mental note of the start of the next show.

Next was the manatee rescue area, which I made just in time for their afternoon feeding. I’ve read and heard about manatees and the problems with them being endangered, but I had never really seen one before. They had three of them in the water and they were huge. It was amazing they could actually move around in the water and avoid staying afloat without sinking to the bottom. Despite their massive size, they were very smooth just gliding through the water. Next door was the shark encounter, which started off very disappointing. It was just a big tub of water with various types of small sharks swimming around. At the end, it saved itself a bit, with a big conveyer belt taking you through a tank with larger sharks swimming on both sides and directly above you. Very cool views of some very scary fish.

Next came some stalling, trying to find things to do in the area I was at so I could make sure to catch the next dolphin show. I stopped by the flamingo area, which was more interesting than I would have thought. Watching the weird looking birds was pretty amusing. Their next or so long and flexible, it led to some very odd looking contortions by the flamingos as they were cleaning themselves. It got real comical when a few starting fighting and biting each other and making one of the most annoying, god-awful shrieking sound I think I’ve ever heard.

I then went and watched an even louder animal, the sea lions, and their barking and belching sounds. There were a pair laying on the rocks that looked cute. One was laying on his/her belly, stretched out. The second was laying next to the first and had his/her head laying on the shoulder area of the first. They very looked comfy and content.

Another animal I saw while wasting some time was the sea turtles. I love them. Animals after my own heart. They all just sat there doing nothing but resting. One poor guy though, tried twice to climb up out of the water and onto the makeshift sand/beach. Both times he/she got the front half of their body out of the water and front flippers in the sand, but just couldn’t get the back side out of the water and he/she slid back into the water both times. I felt so bad because I could see this big ‘ol thing trying and literally grunting trying to pull him/herself out of the water but just couldn’t do it.

Then it was on to the dolphin show, which was really fun. I think the most amazing thing I noticed was watching the trainers – and it had nothing to do with the full-body, skin tight diving suits the female trainers were wearing. It was very interesting though watching the interaction the trainers had with the dolphins during the show. I don’t want to say the trainers controlled the dolphins, because they’re animals and are naturally unpredictable in their actions. But the hand signals the trainers used to communicate with the dolphins and the relationship between the two parties was really amazing to watch. Not to mention watching the amazing things the dolphins actually were doing. All in all, it was a great show that went by incredibly fast but was well worth it.

Next on the list was the best known inhabitant at Sea World – Shamu the killer whale. There were actually four or five of them, but Shamu is the headliner. Like the dolphins, I was again fascinated at the female trainers in their full-body, skin tight diving suits. And again, was amazed at the communication and interaction they had with these incredibly large animals. Where the dolphins were smaller and quicker, the killer whales were huge. It was amazing though to see these incredibly large animals easily glide through the water so smoothly and gracefully. They were so large, yet the trainers would get in the water with them and do tricks going under water and these big, strong whales were so delicate and precise in what they were doing it was amazing to watch. With their grace though, they also demonstrated their strength and power by using their tail to throw water up about 16 rows into the crowd. Following the show, I lingered around the back side of the stadium area and was able to see more the trainers and the whales doing things together and it was great to watch.

Then it was time for the ride home. I carefully studied the San Diego public bus transportation system and used their website to figure out what bus to take from the hotel, and where and witch bus route to switch to in order to get to Sea World. Where I failed was not looking up specifics for the ride back. I assumed it was the same as getting there, just in reverse. I was partially right. It was a different bus route leaving Sea World to the bus terminal where all routes converge, but that was no big deal. We had probably the most happy, enthusiastic public transportation driver I have ever seen in my life. This was a man who truly enjoyed his work. Upon arriving at the terminal, I departed that bus and went to the area for bus route 28C. I took 28B from the hotel to the terminal, and 28C was the same route, but in the opposite direction. However, I got very nervous when the bus at the sign for route 28 said 28A on it, and the time table chart informed me that the last 28C bus for the rest of the night left about 20 minutes ago. About the time I was ready to start looking for the cab stop, I asked a fellow bus traveler if this 28A bus would still go by the stop at Nimitz Blvd, the road where my hotel was located. She said it did and that was actually her stop as well. We then chatted on the bus ride and she was very kind and provided me with information on restaurants in the area I was staying, as well as other points of interest to visit while in San Diego and I was grateful for the bus stop help and the information on my visit.

After getting back and having dinner, I returned to my hotel room and realized what a complete and total idiot I am. I have always had this problem, thanks to my father, of having skin that is very sensitive to the sun and I burn easily. I especially burn easily on my forehead, where my hairline in continually moving backwards. I realized that the one thing I forgot to pack for my trip was a hat. I had suntan lotion, which I conveniently left back at the hotel, but I forgot the hat and now my forehead is burnt to crisp and glowing red. My plans for the second day are unknown for now, but whatever I decide to do, it will involve finding a store that sells hats.