We arrive in San Diego after 5 days at sea crossing the Pacific from Hawaii.
We are at the pier before 6 AM. The fog is thick with visibility of only a few hundred feet. The city is not visible from the ship.
We have a tour at 9:30.
There are no clearance procedures to disembark the ship, just walk off. Most of the passengers are leaving the ship today, about 250 of us are staying on for another 4 days.
The tour has 35 passengers. The guide is well versed on San Diego and is also telling the bus driver exactly which streets are the best to take.
By the time we have left the pier, the fog has lifted and the sun is out. Temperatures are in the low 70's. We have won again with another perfect day.
After a drive through various sections of the city we head to Balboa park for a brief visit. No, no ops session on the model railroad today.
The highlight of the trip is La Jolla. Sea lions and pelicans have taken over the beach. Hundreds of them to the delight of tourists but to the irritation of the locals. The stench at nearby restaurants and luxury hotels is unbearable, but the wildlife wins because they are protected.
Our tour finishes with shopping and time for lunch in "Old Town". A classic overpriced tourist area of dozens of shops. Being very poor shoppers, we settle for an ice cream cone.
Heading back to the ship I do one of the dumbest things I have done in years. I get off the tour bus and leave my phone in the seatback pocket in front of me. After having walked into the terminal and emptying my pockes for security do I realize what I have done.
Lynn, being must faster than me works her way backwards through the line, explaining to security people why she is going the wrong way.
The cooperation of everyone was fantastic. Through a joint effort of ship personnel, security officers, tour operators and port security the bus was stopped at the exit gate of the pier. Lynn was able to walk over to the bus and retrieve my phone.
I bet I don't do that again, but won't promise not to do something else just as stupid.
When we arrive back at our cabin, we are unable to open our safe. A call to the front desk and a clerk with the special key resets it for us.
The slot machines have been removed from the oceanview bar area. Much of the crew has been assigned new work areas. New passengers are trying to find their cabins. Many of the staff recognize us and tell us that they are working in such and such area this cruise. A string trio has now joined the ship. A Hilland America usual that was missing the first part of the trip. We also have a group that will be playing in the Ocean View Bar now that the slots have been removed.
The ship is scheduled to leave at 3:00. We enjoy sailaway from the crows nest bar.
We go to the dining room at our assigned 5:00 PM. We have the same table and staff as we have had for the past three weeks. Tory, our head waiter made sure of that. It sure is nice to just walk past all the passengers waiting for table assingments. There are two large tables near us, they both have more kids sitting at them than were on the entire ship the previous 3 weeks.
We have a new comedian tonight. OK but not in the upper half of rankings in my opinion. Show times have been restored to the more common 7:30 and 9:00. We do the early show. The theater is packed.
This 4 day leg of the cruise did not sell well and was heavily discounted, hearing many cabins went for less than $500 with kids sailing free.
Tomorrow we are Santa Barbara. A tender port with an early tour.