Dollar_Bill and Jools Go West, Day 16 Return to Palm Desert

[Jools]

Day 16 San Diego, return to Palm Desert
Monday 29 September 2008

We both slept well last night – hmm maybe the champagne had something to do with that. We were soon showered (using my favourite Crabtree and Evelyn products which Hilton thoughtfully provided). We then went to the restaurant for our ‘romance package’ breakfast. This was a self service buffett but boy it was good. There were all sorts of cereals and fruits as well as a good selection of cooked items and also cold meats, cheeses and Danish pastries. We took our time and just enjoyed being there, overlooking the marina and eating well.

After breakfast we collected our belongings and checked out. We wanted to see the USS Midway Museum which is actually the USS Midway which was part of the US Naval Fleet from 1945 until the ship (an aircraft carrier) was decommissioned in 2002. Bill and I both have an interest in all things nautical as we used to spend many months at sea when Bill was a marine engineer in the Merchant Navy. Well this certainly didn’t disappoint us. We were on board the ship as soon as it opened for visitors at 10am and were there for around 3 hours.


The first deck we encountered was the Hangar Deck which is where the fighter aircraft would have been stored. There were lots of exhibits open to the public to look at/try out. These included sitting in various types of aircraft, and also in ejector seats, whilst watching video footage of pilots having to use this all important seat. Luckily for us these seats did not eject themselves theme park style.


We then went on to the flight deck. There was a man there who told us he’d served on the ship in 1974 and this was the first time he’d been back for a visit. He was choked with emotion as he was telling about his time on board, and it was a very humbling experience to talk to him.

We could see this statue from the flight deck. It is of a sailor and a nurse and the guide on our trolley tour the day before told us it was called sweet surrender – ahh.


Here are some photos from the flight deck.



Bill would like this to be the next gadget/accessory for his bike – in your dreams buddy




Back inside and down to the lower decks which is where the living quarters were. This was the Chaplains quarters.


We also looked at the galley and the engine room, both of which were remarkably similar to those on the oil tankers we used to sail on.

These were only a very small collection of the many photos Bill took, we’d really enjoyed our look around this magnificent ship and also liked hearing and reading about the history behind it. There is also a gift shop (well there would be wouldn’t there) and a café, which is on the poop deck at aft end of the ship. We had a drink on ‘the poop’ part way through our tour and it was good to be able to sit and watch what was going on in the harbour – in our case a cruise ship leaving the port.


Following our look around the Midway we went back to Old Town for another ice cream from the Stone Cold Creamery before our drive back to the desert. We were so pleased we’d gone to San Diego, even though it was little more than a flying visit. It gave us a good taster for the place and we will certainly go back for a longer visit in the future.

[Jools]

On our drive back to Palm Desert we stopped off at this posh McDonalds.


Once back at the resort we went straight out to the pool as it was just so hot. It was in fact far too hot to be at the pool unless you were in the water, so we resembled a couple of shriveled prunes by the time we came back inside. Once back at the villa a gaggle of geese came to see us.


Later on we were feeling a bit hungry so we went out to Applebees for our evening meal. We’d never eaten there before but it looked nice so we decided to try it. Vey nice it was too. I had sizzling chicken fajitas and Bill had his usual burger. I also had a Bahama Mamma, which just hit the spot nicely. We were running low on cash, so dear Bill suggested I put the bill on my credit card and he would leave a cash tip – he really is all heart

We’d had another good day, went back to the villa and watched some TV before going to bed for the night :zz: :zz:

[pepsicube]

Oh no - running out of cash, good old visa!
Another great day.

[Guest]

Another brillant day

[Rigstig]

Glad you enjoyed the Midway tour as much as we did.
Sofa's... in a Macdonalds.

Great report and photos Jools.

Stuart

[Jaydee]

The USS Midway Museum looks really interesting

Great pictures once again!

[Sarah84]

Another great day, the McD's did look nice with a lovely sofa.

[DisneyMadAng]

Nice to see you enjoyed the romance package. What's this about champagne?... off to hunt out day 15.

[Guest]

Loved the tour round the ship, but you didn't get to the zoo! Shame on you, tho think that Bill might have needed an electric scooter - it is very hilly there.

[highlander447]

The museum looks really good and something I'd love to see, you both are quite good at finding the posh McD's