Today 25Nov2023: Saturday in San Diego

I am starting the blog early as I do not know how much time I will have to write today.

I ordered a place for one at the San Diego, The Prestige, with prime rib as my dinner. The show runs around $130 for the cheap seats and thirty more for front-row seats. Only two cheap seats were left. It is a magic theater, small, and more my fit than the discos and country music bars. More on that later–I have to be there yet.

Picking up from the last entry, I slept well with only a few interruptions. The wake-up call at 4:30 would have been better on Sunday morning, but this was a rooky move on my part. I forgot you never ask for one except the night before to ensure it is not done too early in your trip.

I work at 6ish, my usual time, then rolled over for my 7:30 alarm and started my day.

The shower took five minutes to get warm, which is also a usual thing at old hotels. If this was not a historically registered place, it would have already been knocked down and turned into some gleaming metal and glass addition to the skyline. Instead, it is now a glorious, renewed building with the class that Marriott brings to all its premier properties.

I, clean, dressed, and updated by reading emails and news, I headed downstairs to find food to go with my meds I had just taken. The coffee in the lobby is no longer the dreadful 1990s coffee but excellent and is always available (free) in the lobby, freshly made. I made a cup and tried the US Grant Grill, but the wait was twenty-five minutes at 8:30. Instead, I walked across the street and found Duncan Donuts, which was perfect. I picked an Old Fashion and let the person at the counter pick one more that “she thought I would need.” The glazed Old Fashion was selected, spending only a few bucks instead of the likely eyewatering bill for the hotel restaurant for breakfast. I ate outdoors in the bright Californian morning–the water report has changed to all sunny today with a high just under 70F (21C).

The homeless people, and there are many, were already on the move this morning. They are only partially clothed and may or may not have shoes. Their eyes are hollow, and they try not to make eye contact. Seeing so many poor folks intermixed with the tourists is a bit unnerving. San Diego has some of the most expensive rent in the USA at over $ 3,100 average monthly rent (over 250,000 rupees), undoubtedly impeding people from getting housing.

Aside: While, as a liberal, I have much to say about housing and helping folks, this blog is about my experiences, not my liberal beliefs.

The USS Midway CV-41 Museum opens at 10AM. I will start there. Expecting to spend a few hours walking the ship. Let’s hope for easy ladders.

Back at 2ish to the US Grant Hotel via an Uber for a few bucks. I spent the whole morning and part of the early afternoon aboard USS Midway CV-41, a museum ship. There are endless stairs (installed later) with a few elevators. The Engine Room and the Bridge on the Island were not accessible to the handicapped, and the original ladders are steep and crawl through narrow spaces.

It was fun, and my foot issues did not slow me down much. Some uneven surfaces on the flight or hangar deck were more of a threat than ladders or steps, I discovered. The island tour was first after walking the whole length of the hangar deck and then walking forward to the island. The tour was done in small groups as the spaces were tight. A docent takes you through the spaces. On the bridge, I was asked to dial the speed for the ship on the bridge equipment and accidentally set CV-41 at twenty knots in reverse, not impressing the docent at all. The ship, to my surprise, is more Cold War than WW2 until you get into the engines–which look like 1940s stuff. It was nice to see them instead of watching videos. CV-41 was decommissioned in 1992 and saw service in the first Iraq war.

USS Midway has a huge collection of jets on its flight deck from the 19502 until the 1990s, with many from American carriers that no longer exist or are being scrapped. If you are a naval jet person, this is the visit for you. On the hanger deck is a focus on WW2 planes, the history of carriers up to Midway’s construction and updates, and a focus on the namesake for the carrier, the Battle of Midway, June 1942. The theater includes 3D (no glasses required) reconstruction of people talking about the battle. It focuses on the people and the loss of life more than I expected. Usually, these things, especially Midway, are more Hollywood than history. I recommend it; it got my eyes wet–but my emotions are close to the surface, but I think it was a bit emotional.

Ship’s wheel.

Engine room controls. Troddle.

USS Midway was soon packed, the cheese burger from Cafe 41 was OK, and the book store–including used books, excellent. I resisted buying anything except a few coins for friends as I was traveling extra light this time. You can spend more time there, and the star of the show is always the ship.

I rested a bit and then took an Uber back to the US Grant Hotel. My driver and I talked about the economics of driving while he took me back to the hotel from the waterfront, and he said he would rather get fares at $4 each than wait hours at the airport for one good fare. He does like the fare to the airport as the Uber system then connects him with a fare back to San Diego. It is about an $8 fare from the airport to downtown, so he gets $16 for a short trip (the airport is in the city near downtown).

I called Leta, Susie’s mother, from the hangar deck, and we talked for a while. Leta was feeling better and could move more. She was happy to get a call from the USS Midway!

On returning to my hotel room, after giving the driver a good tip, I rested my feet and treated my left foot with Arnica and felt better. I also wrote more of the blog. I thought about getting a beer in the bar and writing, but I wanted to rest my feet a bit. I took a short nap. Ready to start again.

I started out at 4:30ish and headed to the US Grant Grill Bar and had a nice glass of wine. The bar was nearly full, and I took the chair at the end and let the bartender pick my wine; it was an excellent blend of Napa grapes. While I sat there, more and more people came to get a drink, all in suits or formalish dresses. Soon the bar was busy, and it was fun to watch the mixing and splashing as a dozen drinks suddenly had to be made.

It was the first bar I ever ate at, and remember the bartender telling me, “Always eat at the bar, the food is better, and there is better company.” I have followed that advice for years and commend it to my fellow travelers. I seldom eat in the hotel restaurant, but I do often order something at the bar.

I then headed to the Prestige Magic Dinner Show and bar, but it was not yet ready, so I walked around and settled at the Tipsy Crow and had a beer there. They had live music, and the electric guitar playing was excellent–or at least I enjoyed it. After that I returned and claimed the last seat, again, at the bar in the Prestige and watched magic and started on ginger ale and Jim Beam for my next drink. The show was at 7:15PM, and we enjoyed three magicians doing close magic, mostly card tricks, but also some old-school cup and balls and ring and thread work. All done better than I expected. I recognized a few from eIllusions which is based here in California, so I was not surprised. One was an elegant card forcing that I missed completely.

The entrance to the theater is through the fireplace but can only opened by an incantation and knocking three times. A young person got to do that; perfect. The dinner was excellent, with nothing over-salted; I had prime rib with mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. They projected a cartoon on each table, and we watched a little chef make our dessert, and then a near-matching plate was set before us. Excellent!

The headliner finally was introduced and he did stage magic. I had not seen such old stuff in years. He did the rope, magically coming together and apart. He also did the money appearing in a lemon trick, a very old trick, indeed. This is when a person gives a large bill to the magician, who destroys it only to discover it inside a lemon. I was happy to see someone bring the trick back. He did a few more items, some metalism restyled as coincidence magic. He was good but a bit slow. He stretched out each trick more than I would have. Still nice to see perfect execution on what are some chancy old-school items.

After that, I headed off to Mr. Tempos. I heard the bands blasting last night, so I wanted to try it. I was carded (oh, that feels good at 59), and my license did not scan. Apparently, Oregon is not valid here, but the security guy smiled at me and told me he knew I was over 35. I was padded down for weapons.

The place was blasted with music played and screaming at top volume. The place was full of young people. I was older than anyone, including the security guards, by many years (decades, I think). I found the bar, and a tightly-clad gal got me a regular margarita on the rocks with salt. She looked happy to get an order she had to make instead of pouring from some machine. Another gal, the photographer, asked me if she could take my picture, I removed my hat and held it in my hand so my white-gray hair showed–they have proof that not everyone is just over 21 that comes there!

I was pointed at some unused tables and sat and watched the show. Girls in almost no clothing were parading around with one lifted like a queen on a toy car and waving a tequila bottle. The food was served at the tables. The band of horns, tubas, and drums played loud and the girls would make their parade every fifteen or so minutes. It was boiling with energy, and I enjoyed the fun. The margarita helped with the enjoyment.

I had one drink, demurred when asked about another, and walked back to the hotel after leaving. I was limping a bit. I returned to the hotel, packed, and finished the blog.

Thanks for reading this extra-long blog.