If I have to describe the ship in one word, it's BIG. Really really really big. Nearly 1,000 feet long.
We checked out audio guides for the self guided tour. This is one of the first stops, where the lowest-ranked men slept. This picture doesn't really show how tight this space really is. They had virtually no room to themselves- they called them sleep coffins. As you increased in rank, you got a little more personal space.
I acted up on the tour and got put in the ship's jail.
The top deck of the ship was completely flat and open for the aircraft. Mark's sitting in this one.
This is the top of the ship, taken from the flight deck. It's pretty intimidating looking.
The USS Midway is one of those museums that you could spend an hour or five hours at, depending on how much time you have and how interested you are. Truthfully, I found it a bit boring. It was really neat to be on such a large ship and learn about some of her missions. They had some veterans speaking and it made one take time to reflect on the sacrifices so many people have made for our freedom. But, I'm not all that interested in naval history and I'm certainley not interested in how much horsepower the engines have (212,000), so I was ready to go after about an hour.
After the ship we headed to a ritzy suburb on San Diego, La Jolla (Jolla is prounced like the last part of Oscar's last name). La Jolla is about 30 minutes north of the city. It is to San Diego what Johnson County is to Kansas City, only not quite as cookie cutter. It does have a lot of neat little shops and restaurants.
One thing I didn't realize until we got here was how big microbrewing is in this city. Karl Strauss is one of the biggest microbreweries in town, and although they don't have brewery tours, they do have a restaurant in La Jolla. I got Mac and Cheese that the menu told me "might change my life." It was good, but not life changing. Mark got one of the best Greek salads he's ever had. The best part of lunch, for Mark more than me, was the beer. He tried several different kinds, and every one was awesome. They had rich, full, unique tastes. I would definitely recommend both the restaurant and the beer (I might have had a few sips)!
After lunch we headed to Children's Beach. I had really been looking forward to this part of the trip. This beach was built so that local children and citizens would have a place to enjoy the water, but in the last 10 or 15 years seals and sea lions have taken over. Today, the beach is a hot political topic with beach goers on one side and wildlife conservationists on the other.
I didn't know exactly what to expect. As we approached the beach, I could see several gray little heads bobbing in and out of the waves. As we grew closer, we saw a few seals sunbathing on rocks. There were a few seals playing together in the water, but for the most part we just saw dozens of single seals. We spent quite a bit of time observing and taking pictures. We walked along the shore line when an old man told us to keep going. We did, and before we saw more seals we heard them. Imagine dozens and dozens of seals barking at once. It was loud. And awesome. This part of the beach had many, many seals. It was breathtaking, almost spiritual. I'm not sure I have ever seen wild animals like this. There were a few people swimming with the seals, which is allowed but not advised. Here's a few of the hundreds of pictures we took:
Children's Beach is another must-see for anyone visiting the area that likes animals even a little bit. We finished our time in La Jolla by stopping at a couple places for drinks and dessert (creme brulee, which is very popular out here).
Tonight we went to dinner in the trendy Gaslamp district. Mark picked a Spanish Tapas place called Seville. The atmosphere was cool, but the menu was out of my comfort zone! I didn't know what any of the food was, and the descriptions of the food used a bunch of words I didn't know! I was worried. Mark didn't know much either, so we eventually told the waiter to bring us some of his favorites. We got lamb chops with Northern Beans, sweet potatoes flavored with something really spicy, and chicken with garlic and peppers. Every one was delicious!
I had heard a pub called Henry's had swing dancing on Tuesday nights. We walked a few blocks to get there. A lead singer/guitarist was accompanied by drums and a stand up bass. They were playing a slow song when we walked in, and Mr. Miller pulled me onto the dance floor. The second song came on, and Mr. Miller headed to the bar. A guy asked me to dance, and before I could tell him I had no idea what I was doing, he was spinning me like a top. It was so fun! That was the end of our dancing, but we had a blast watching the talented regulars.
Tomorrow is our last full day, and we're going to Sea World!
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