I didn't roll in to San Diego until sunset last night so I hadn't seen much of it until today. Lesley got out the tourist maps this morning and I spent some time deciding what I wanted to see before heading out. I drove south on 5 to Coronado, then back north along the peninsula. Saw the Hotel del Coronado, which I am sure has some historic story to it or otherwise it wouldn't have been on the map as something to see. It's in the Victorian style, which there isn't really a lot of around here so maybe that's why. Crossed the bridge into downtown and drove around a bit. Maybe it was just my timing, but there were eerily few cars on the streets for a downtown. It would be a nice place to live.
Next stop was Balboa Park. The name is somewhat misleading. It is a park, but it's also home to a bunch of museums, of both the science and culture type. I had been meaning to see a Body World exhibit (the plastinated people thing) for a while but never had the a convenient chance. I didn't know there was one here, but when I saw the signs pulling into the park for it I knew it had to be my first stop in the park. This one is Body Worlds 2 & The Brain – Our Three Pound Gem. The focus is the brain, and the exhibit is basically the same as any of them but with probably a few more brains on display and a few info displays about the brain. Given that I have studied cognitive psychology at a university level, the info about the brain was knowledge I found pretty rudimentary. Which is understandable, since the exhibit is targeted towards the lay person, but I would have liked slighlty more complex displays. If you haven't seen one of these exhibits, go. It's an educational experience of wonderfully artistic displays of human anatomy. And if you have gone, you probably don't really need to go again to any of the other Body Worlds unless you are pre-med or studying anatomy. Skipped the space museum at Balboa Park, since I went to a space museum in Washington. Also skipped the zoo, worried that once I found penguins, monkeys or giraffes I would end up spending to much time. Maybe I will go to the Toronto zoo this summer, because they are fun. I did see the gardens.
After that I rode all through La Jolla (Spanish, pronc. key La Hoya) and Torry Pines. Lots of people surf here. You can't surf in Ontario, so it's different to see. Again, this would be a nice place to live and I am slighly jealous. Continued north, then back along some beaches before heading back.
I did some trip planning, and I think at the rate I am going I will make it all the way up the coast to Vancouver before needing to head east towards home. If I were to average 370 miles a day for the rest of the trip (I easily can cover 500 or more a day) then I can hit Seattle, Vancouver and Calgary this trip! I am slightly surprised by this realization, and never thought I would be covering that much ground. Thought I would be just making it into California before needing to beeline home, but it looks like I can keep heading north for a while before I need to turn tail and run back.
Keith and Lesley took me to dinner at the San Diego Yacht Club, which is very nice. Enjoyed a good meal looking out on the boats and the water. Keith says there are around 2000 members, much bigger then CSC :) I believe he said there were 12 fingers of slips, not sure how many slips to a finger but it looks like a lot. Heading up to see Darren in LA in the morning.