Day 10: San Diego

In a quick visit to sunny, warm, but a little cloudy San Diego, I was able to get a hang of the transit system and use it to get to a couple of places.

Bus route 992 departs from in front of the airport. For $2.25 each time you get on, or $5 for the whole day with unlimited rides, the bus is a convenient mode of transportation. In addition, the trolley car lines are included in the unlimited ride day pass.

Route 992 first passes by a couple of ships docked in the San Diego Bay.

You can see a huge timber that was once a bowsprit aboard the Forester, a four-masted schooner built in 1900 to carry lumber from the Pacific Northwest to coastal ports like San Diego.

A trolley ride away is the Heart of San Diego. There are some good restaurants to try, or you can try the basic deli for lunch. The chicken salad sandwich at Cine Cafe was fresh and delicious, even too too much to eat all of it.

Old Town San Diego State Historic Park is a treasure and worth spending a couple of hours at. While the historic buildings have independent merchants, you can look inside and see what each builing was back in the day. There is an effort to maintain the historical accuracy of the interior of the buildings, while providing shopping opportunities at the same time.

I was particularly fascinated by the cacti in the park. Having visited Arizona’s forest of cacti, it was neat seeing them around town.

The Casa de Wrightington housed Juana Machado Alipaz, known for her nursing skills and care for the sick, for more than 50 years.

Down the street is the Racine & Laramie dealers in Tobacco, Cigars, and Pipes. They display a number of pipes including the Rococo Syle Pipe Bowl c. 1760.

In the Wells Fargo building, which is a functioning bank with an ATM, the Concord Coach #251 stagecoach is on display. The ceiling of the stagecoach isupholstered in damask cloth and the seats in leather.

In the rear of the First San Diego Courthouse Museum is a jail cell.

The Casa De Pedrorena De Altamirano has some beautiful gems, beads, jewelry and carvings.

If you go

Take the bus route 992 from the front of the airport. Buy a day pass for $5. Viewing the San Diego Bay and walking through Old Town San Diego offered a lot to see.