Blog Entry II Lovely San Diego Week II

San Diego, the place where everyone has their favorite beach!

San Diego has 11 beaches and Linda and I are doing a pretty good job checking them off. Despite my liberal use of sunscreen, each day the sun seems to find that new, sensitive spot that I missed. I do love the antidote though: a pledge to get it perfect tomorrow and a cold, evening beer. 

Viva la cerveza!

Good things come in small packages!
The city was bubbling with excitement yesterday. For the first time in weeks, rain fell for an hour and a half. We got about ¼ of an inch … that’s it! Sitting in the middle of a desert, San Diego only gets about 10 inches of rainfall a year so there were lots of accidents at the height of today's downpour.

So where does S.D.’s water supply come from? Thankfully, the near-by mountains supply enough H₂O for America’s 8th biggest city.

Experiencing life on an aircraft carrier without leaving port!

I haven’t been to the pyramids but the sense of wonder and amazement that I felt in Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome, I also felt today when we visited the USS Midway, once one of the U.S.’s longest-serving aircraft carriers and now a floating museum. 


What a marvel of complexity, both in its construction and in its execution of military missions. 

Our tour was so interesting…an unforgettable adventure.

Did you know:

• In 1945, construction costs to build the Midway were $90 million; 
  
  
  In 1970, overhaul costs amounted to $260 million.
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  The Midway's flight deck is 4 acres in size.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  The Midway's 4 500 Navy personnel consumed 10 tons of food daily.

The Midway's 212 000 horsepower motor burned 260 gallons of fuel per mile traveled..

• During her 47 years of service, the Midway had 40 captains each averaging a little over one year of service. 
  
  
   Maybe they should have christened her:
  The Liz Taylor.

Life’s good near the park!

Torrey Pines State Park, right here in La Jolla, is a magical place with some of the wildest stretches of coast in Southern California. Its 2000 acres are fantastic for hiking, climbing, and beach-combing and is becoming a favourite haunt of ours.

                Torrey Pine....Magic Pine

The Torrey Pine, the rarest species of pine in the U.S., leads a difficult life here in San Diego’s desert conditions. The region’s 10 inches of annual rainfall leave it thirsting for more. Oh! Oh!


Not to worry! The tree’s long spindly pine needles come to the rescue. When the cool humid air blows in from the Pacific, moisture condenses into rain drops around the needles and falls to the ground. Et voilà! 10 more inches of rain yearly.

A song and a prayer at Mary Star of the Sea

Is it a countdown to tuques and sweaters?

In just 21 days, we’ll be in Seoul where signs of spring are MIA (missing in action). 

Today, we googled Busan’s weather and was shocked that temperatures there were hovering around -4°C.

We’ll keep watching and hoping we won’t need to dump some ballast to make room for winter clothes.  

We said a little prayer by this church!

Until next time!