Before heading out the door we stopped by the front desk for a coffee recommendation. There’s a Starbuck’s on the next block but who wants that!
After fueling up we headed to the Navy Pier. San Diego is the principal home port of the Navy’s Pacific Fleet. We could see two aircraft carriers docked at the base across the bay – USS Lincoln and USS Carl Vinson. You can’t tour those but you can tour the USS Midway. The aircraft carrier was decommissioned and opened for tours in 2004. They call it a floating city for a reason. It is massive! We were there for 4 hours and didn’t even see the whole thing. It was overwhelming but so fascinating. It is everything you learn about when watching Top Gun and so much more. Speaking of Top Gun, apparently Tom Cruise rented the entire ship for the premier of Maverick. He even landed a helicopter on the flight deck. He had a special showing at the naval base where many of the men became pilots after watching Top Gun. That’s the story that came from one of the many docents stationed throughout the ship.
Next up… the ferry to Coronado Island. It’s about a 20 minute trip across the harbor and we were right next to the ferry landing. Sounded like a fun place to explore and have a late lunch/early dinner. We wanted to see the famous Hotel del Coronado, which was on the other side of the island. I walked a respectable 25,285 steps today but it was worth it!
We walked along the boardwalk but never reached the end before we decided to turn back to watch the sunset.
On the way back to the ferry landing we walked along side all the kids, parents and dogs who were out trick or treating. We spotted Coronado Brewing along the road and stopped for a beer while we waited for the ferry. A nice way to end a great day.
Halfway Round the Planet, Part 2 