Today we are catching up with some friends from Australia at the San Diego zoo at 10am in front of the Panda cage.

Leon and Simone are on their honeymoon and they have been travelling around California for the past three weeks, just as we have, but today is the first opportunity we have had to catch up.

After an early breakfast we catch the No 1 bus 8:15am bus outside the hotel, and change to the No 7 bus at University Ave. The No 7 bus drops us off just near the zoo. From the bus stop turn left at the corner and the zoo is just a short walk.

We are given a map with our ticket and from the look of it the Panda enclosure is right at the other side of the park. We have arrived early so we catch the bus tour around the park to get orientated.

To start with it’s a bit like a Jurassic Park tour with no animals to see but as we get further around some of the animals are active.

This is a set tour so we have to stay on the bus until it returns to the point where we set off from. There are also buses that have set down nd pick up points around the park which is ideal if you find yourself getting tired.

By now it is ten minutes to ten so Paula checks the map to find the quickest way back to the Panda cage.

Before long we see Leon in the distance. There is lots to talk about as we head off past the Sun Bears to see the Panda’s.

Leon and Simone have driven around Yosemite, San Francisco and they have just arrived in San Diego after a few days in Las Vegas. Pretty much the same trip as we have done except we went to The Grand Canyon instead of Yosemite.

Panda’s are super sensitive to loud noise so everyone is requested to be very quiet. A lady is sitting on a stool quietly relating facts about the Panda’s.

These animals consume 30-40 pound of bamboo each day. The park is self sufficient in that they grow the plants and fruits that are required by the animals. So there are great clusters of bamboo growing a the around park.

Everyone is really enjoying the antics of the Panda’s as they chew up the bamboo shoots. These animals are so cuddy looking and are a big hit.

Then it’s off to have drink and chat before going to see the Polar Bears, another firm favourite with the crowds.

To get to the Polar Bear enclosure from the Panda’s we take the escalator up past where the future home for the elephants is being built.

Then walk past the Takins cages and the entrance to the Skyfari Aerial tram which travels high over the zoo.

We can only see the bears heads to start with, they are messing about and fall into the water in front of the viewing area and we manage to get some underwater photos before moving to the outside viewing area.

As if on command the bears put on a great show of tumbling and pushing each other. Everyone gets lots of great photos and suddenly the bears leave the water and head to the back of the enclosure, no longer interested in their captive audience.

Our next stop is the Zebra cage, but they have just been fed and as the three of them have their heads in the trough we are treated to a display of their rear ends only. This is thoroughly uninteresting so we move on back up the hill to the Skyfari.

The price for unlimited rides on this and the buses is included in our ticket price of $34.00. You can purchase a park only ticket for $24.00, which is fine if you aren’t going to utilise the buse and Skyfari Aerial Tram. Personally I think it is better value to pay the extra $10.00.

Travelling across the top of the zoo is quite exillarating and there is a great view of the park below.

Once we reach the other side of the park we say goodbye to Leon and Simone and each set off our separate ways to explore further.

This gorgeous bird looks as if he is artificial – he is so vibrant and colorful.

Today there is a street fair in Rolando St which is only a couple of minutes from the Best Western Hotel in El Cajon Blvd.

We head down the road at about 10am and not all the stall holders have set up as yet. After strolling down through the rides and stalls we go up the road to Ralph’s to get something to have for lunch later in the day.

We want to do some work and are hoping our room is cleaned by the time we get back. Unfortunately it isn’t. We are finding that housekeeepking comes around really early when we are getting ready to go for breakfast and if you aren’t ready they don’t come back until late in the afternoon. This works fine for the week days but on Sunday when we want to work this isn’t convenient as it breaks into our work time. We wait around for housekeeping to knock as they are just next door, but they move up to the other end of the units.

So in the end we go out to the street fair again, to give housekeeping more time to clean the room, and this time there are lots more people enjoying the beautiful day and taking part in the activities.

Almost everyone seems to have brought their dog with them for a day out and there are plenty of stalls with dog related clothing and toys.

There are also a variety of food and drink stalls, a music stage, and activities  for the kids such as face painting and rides. 

The police have a recruitment drive on and they are all very smartly dressed with their shiny badges.  The officers mingle with the crowd and they are very approachable and friendly.

When we arrive back the room still hasn’t been cleaned so rather than keep waiting we settle in to work and will make do with the room not being serviced.

Paula is busy working on the changes to our cookware website. I’m just relaxing writing posts for the travel blog.

The beauty off having an affiliate business means we can work on our websites wherever we are in the world.

After reading some of the reviews on the internet about Tijuana we have decided against going there today and instead we went into the Gas Lamp district to have a look around.

Now that we have worked out the bus system, we caught the No. 1 bus right across the road from the hotel and this took us to one of the trolley stations. Unfortunately the bus doesn’t stop at the trolley stop we were going to, 70th Street, on Saturdays and we ended up at the Amaya Drive stop.  Here we hopped onto the Orange line trolley and this was a totally new experience from yesterday.  The young girl across from us had a radio blaring which she proceeded to sing along to.

Although there are signs everywhere stating that patrons must use earplugs with radios etc, have drinks covered and not put their feet on the seats, a number of the patrons on this line ignored all three instructions.

This line goes through some shopping areas where we saw the 99cent shop, the commercial area, past the cemetary, and less tourist related areas. There is a fair amount of graffiti on the buildings which we didn’t notice on the trip into town using the green line.

The trip on the orange line also takes longer to get to Downtown.  We get of at the Gaslamp Quarter which is across from the Convention Centre which is an outstanding looking building, as is much of the development in the Downtown area.

Fifth Ave is cordoned off today and there are stalls set up in the middle of the road selling paintings and bric a brac.  We go into the Hard Rock Hotel which was opened last year, to buy some pins for our collections. This is a stunning looking hotel and very close to the water and transport.  One of the pins we purchase is a split pin of which one half is the sun and the other is the moon. 

We can only get one half of the pin set and have to head off to find the Hard Rock Cafe 5 blocks away to buy the other half. An excellent merchandising ploy on behalf of the Hard Rock Cafe group.

As always the directions are very vague, “It’s 5 blocks away”, with a wave of the hand in a general direction.  It is also in 4th Avenue not 5th but we find this out later after we have been unable to find it and have to go to an informtion booth for further directions.

On the way we stop to check out a store that sells clothing where nothing is over $5.99 and although there are some good buys we leave without making a purchase.

After finally finding the Hard Rock Cafe we end up only buying the one pin each, simply because the staff behind the counter are too busy interacting with each other and leave us standing for so long we become disinterested.

Then it’s off to lunch back at Anthony’s Fish Grotto once again. We request a table by the window so that we can look out over San Diego bay.  The meal is as delicious as yesterday’s and today we are given the bonus of two delicious rounds of bread with butter that has been mixed with sun dried tomatoes  – delicious.

For the return journey we take the blue line trolley and change to the green line at Old Town San Diego then catching the No 1 bus at Amaya Drive which drops us right at the hotel door.

Breakfast is provided by the Best Western Hotel so we were up early to make the most of this before heading out to take a look around. The Best Western Lamplighter Inn & Suites is in a good position if you have a car, which of course we don’t. So if you are like us and are relying on public transport, here are some instructions to help you get around.

There are buses and the MT Trolley which will get you to all the main attractions, there is also a hop on, hop off sightseeing bus and the Old Town Trolley Tour – not to be confused with the MT Trolley system.

We decided to start with the MT Trolley which meant leaving our hotel and turning right into El Cajon Blvd. Walk up past the Howard Johnson Hotel and the Fitness centre and turn right into College Ave and walk to until you come to the San Diego State University (SDSU) which will be straight ahead.  The walk is 1.5 miles from the hotel to SDSU and it is a nice easy walk. When you get to the Transit Centre go down the escalator or stairs and purchase your ticket from one of the vending machines.  We intend to be out and about so we brought a 4 day pass for $15 each. Go through the doors to the left of the vending machines and go downstairs to the platform.

The trolley’s run every 15 minutes and it’s not too long before ours arrives. The transit center and the trolley are extremely clean and there is no graffiti anywhere. It is such a nice change to find a place where the people take pride in public property.

Another thing I noticed is that when an elderly or infirm person hops on the trolley, the young people stand up and offer their seat straight away. None of this ignoring them or looking the other way as is often seen in other centers.

We are on the Green Line trolley which takes us to Old Town.

The Plaza del Pasado or Old Town in San Diego is a historic town that captures the festive spirit of Mexico and where some of the old buildings have been turned into restaurants and shops and others such as the old courthouse and the dentist rooms are preserved so todays youth can see how things were in the past.

It is a beautiful day to spend time strolling around the shops and outdoor markets and we take our time enjoying the exotic aromas and colorful decor of the plaza. Old Town is considered to be the birthplace of California and in 1769 it became the first permanent Spanish settlement in California.

In 1846 the population numbered 250 and had grown somewhat and it was incorporated as a city in 1850 with the government activities centred around the Plaza Viejo.  After the business district of Old San Diego was burned down in 1872, the business centre moved to the present day site of Downtown San Diego.

Some of historic buildings still standing are the Casa De Machado which was built in the adobe style of construction by Corporal Jose Manuel Machado for his daughter Maria Antonia Machado de Silvas, The Temple Beth Israel which was the first synagogue built in San Diego in 1889. Most of the other buildings are recontructions such as the Brick Courthouse and the George Johnson House. But all are worthy of a visit.

Then it is off to catch the Blue Line Trolley, which leaves from where the Green Line ends, and head off into the Civic Centre in Downtown San Diego.

By now it is lunchtime and we head over to Anthony’s Seafood Grotto which is right on the water of San Diego Bay. The food is absolutely delicious and our waitress is friendly and chatty. Once again our accents cause comment, most seem to think we are English and are pleasantly surprised when we state we are Aussies. This generally leads to conversations about how long it took us to get to the US, where we have been and how long we will be in town.

After lunch we head off down to the USS Midway Museum which has a 4 acre flight deck and gives visitors the opportunity to explore the ship with the aid of an audio presentation.  The tickets are $15.00 and the ticket office suggest making sure you have 1.5 to 3 hours to complete the tour.  We decide that we will return another day and do this tour.

By now we have picked up a number of maps and public transport timetables and routes and it turns out that we have a bus that stops right outside our hotel which will take us to the trolley transit station.  Before we discover this piece of information we decide to hop of at another stop, other than the SDSU to see if it is closer to our hotel.  So we hop off at the 70th Street stop, and turn right from the carriage and set off in what we hope is the right direction. The No.1 bus (which runs past our hotel) goes by, so we figure if go in the same direction we will at least be heading the right way.

We turn left into 70th Street and walk up a rather steep hill until we reach El Cajon Blvd.  Here we turn left and continue. It is simply a matter of walking along El Cajon Blvd. We are at number 6900 when we turn onto the Blvd from 70th Street and our hotel is numbe 6474 so we have a way to go.  We pop into Ralph’s on the way and pick up some groceries and a Ralph Card that gives us some excellent discounts on our items.  I am a sucker for saving money and will join just about anything if it gives me a bargain.

Our feet are getting tired – thank goodness we brought good quality ARA walking shoes before our trip because we have walked many miles since we arrived in the States, and we are very happy when the hotel looms into sight.

After a nice hot cup of tea we head out to do some washing at the laundromat which is almost next door to the hotel. Turn left as you leave the hotel reception area and walk  just past the Chicken Rotissere store where there is a block of shops with the laundromat.  After putting the washing into the washer we go back to the hotel to watch some more Stargate episodes. Our hotel has more stations than any other we have stayed in so far and one is a sci fi station so this makes us very happy.

Paula also spends time on the phone to the internet company as we have been unable to connect to our hotel’s internet, which is included in the price of the room. It turns out that we have to update the drivers in our Acer notebook before it will connect to the right service. 

Once the washing and drying has completed and we once again have nice clean clothes, we set off for dinner.  We had intended to  eat at the buffet at the Howard Johnson hotel that is just up the road, but it is closed when we get there.  We continue up the road and come to a Mexican restaurant.  The food turns out to be awesome and of course way more than we can eat.

Tomorrow we are going to head off to Tijuana on the blue line trolley.