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Old 30 Aug 08, 10:44 PM  
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ali-s
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California without a car, Day 7

California without a car Day 7 Monterey – San Diego Aug 15th

Today we are flying to San Diego. After many hours trawling the net I had found direct flights with Expressjet,who had just started flying this route.They also seemed to be the only ones who flew direct, everyone else went via San Fran or L.A. They were also a good bit cheaper- grand total of $318 for the 4 of us. I’m speaking in past tense as I read that , due to rising fuel costs, they have now cut this route. Seems we struck lucky with our timing.

Our flight was at 9.40am, not sure what time we should checkin for our flight, but knowing the airport was a 10 min taxi ride away and is a small, one terminal affair, I thought we’d be ok getting a taxi about 8.20am. While trawling the net for transport from Monterey, I had stumbled across reviews of the Monterey taxi company- seems they aren’t the most punctual, conscientious firm, so allowing for that, I had reception call a cab for us at 8.05am ( can you guess where this is going ? )

25 mins later, there is no sign of our cab. Reception phone again- emphasizing we were going to the airport. ‘It’s on it’s way’, they said just a couple of mins. At 9am , reception phone again and are told ‘we’re very busy at the moment you know, it will be there in 10-20 mins. Listening in , I’m practically climbing the walls and tell her we need to be AT the airport in 20 mins, she repeats this and they assure her the taxi will be with us in 10 mins. At 9.17am , the taxi finally arrives. We run out and sling the cases in before the driver has fully opened the boot, he looks at us and says ‘are you guys in a hurry ?Where are you going?’ When we are on our way he says no one told him an airport run was needed and that there is no way we are going to make our flight , he gets on the radio to control and asks’ what’s the story with these people? They called for a cab an hour ago and now they are going to miss their flight ‘ I was speechless at controls reply ‘ ah well! Nevermind’. NEVERMIND ! for all they knew , we could have been getting a connection for an international flight. You have been warned , if you ever need to use the Monterey taxi company, allow a couple of hours for them to turn up !

I asked the driver to hurry, saying maybe the flight would be delayed, we might just make it ( though what are the chances of that ? )as we pull into the airport at 9.32, the driver notes ‘I can’t see any Expressjet- maybe it is delayed’ . We grab our bags and I fling a $20 note at him, I don’t have time to wait for change, so he done quite well out of a $10 trip ! Entering the terminal, there are 2 checkin desks within 20 ft of the door- this place really is tiny. A girl ambles over to one desk and asks ‘are you flying Expressjet’? she goes about tapping into her keyboard and announces ‘ I’m afraid there’s a delay, your flight will be leaving in an hour’ she looks rather bemused at my ‘oh, THANK GOD FOR THAT !’ think she assumed we knew about the delay and that was why we were arriving so late ! The 1hr delay turned into a 2hr wait, but I really didn’t care. There was a small café area and a few ( about 6 ) chairs before security, so we sat and read and the boys played hangman and visited the loo every 5 mins for entertainment ! We went through security- which was basically walking from one room to another , we did the metal detector and shoes off thing, DS12’s name was confirmed ,he was stared at, his passport peered at and age checked- his name is obviously’flagged’ here as well. We then sat in the ‘departure lounge’ for a while –this is one room with 4 doors- each door being a boarding ‘gate’ !they even had a decent gift shop there!

Our plane eventually arrives at 11.30am and we all traipse out to it – it was a little Embraer 135 something if that is of any interest for all you plane spotter types, the seats were 2, 1 config, me , DS12 and DH were sat behind each other in the single row, DS9 for some reason had been sat next to a woman in one of the two’s, maybe because he was a child and couldn’t sit on his own ? but why not sit him with me ? he didn’t mind anyway, we could all see each other. The stewardess comes on the intercom , and I can’t believe her voice. Anyone remember ‘Police Academy’? the little female cop with the squeaky voice ?, well, that was our stewardess,I thought it was a joke for the first few mins, how the passengers didn’t crack up I don’t know.She told us she would be bringing around juice and cookies, if anyone wants coffee, put your hand up and I’ll brew some, but I’m not brewing if you don’t put your hand up ! – wonder if that would work on Virgin? She was lovely. She noticed that DS9 had goosebumps on his arms,he never said a word, but she fetched him a blanket and tucked it around him! Thankfully for DH the flight was very smooth –he was worried about travelling on such a small plane. I got some nice photos as we left Monterey



And a few more when we landed in San Diego.



On arriving in San Diego 1 hour later, we claim our luggage ( which had to go past us to be put on the carousel ! )and discuss how to get to the hotel – Embassy suites Downtown, the hotel is only 2 miles away, so we could jump in a taxi and be there in 10 mins, or phone for the hotel courtesy shuttle, which is free, but may take longer, after the mornings’ taxi fiasco, we decide to phone for the bus. We then proceed to sit and wait, with 6 other hotel guests, in the hot san Diego sun for about 35mins ! looks like we made the wrong decision. The shuttle driver, when he arrives is apologetic, but blames bad traffic, and indeed , it seems to be at a stand still , maybe a taxi wouldn’t have been a better choice !
We arrive at the hotel about 1 ½ hrs after landing ! I think the Embassy Suites was the nicest hotel we stayed at. All the floors are arranged around a central atrium that is full of plants and has a stream with fish and a turtle(we searched everyday, hoping to see a ‘friend’ for the turtle, but he appeared to be on his ownsome- though his ‘house’ was called ‘turtle town’ so maybe we didn’t look hard enough !)They had glass sided elevators that went up the sides of the atrium – maybe not so good if you suffer from vertigo, but the boys were impressed! Our suite had a large bedroom, with 2 queen beds, a bathroom with toilet, sink and shower and a ‘vanity area’ outside with another sink, then a large living area with coffee maker, fridge and a 3rd sink ! We had a reasonable ‘city view’ from the window.




The plan for this afternoon was to tour the Midway aircraft carrier, we were already a couple of hours behind schedule, so we slung the cases into the room and set out. It was HOT ! It was maybe a 10 min walk to the Midway. We were given headsets for an audio tour, worked the same way as the Alcatraz one. There were 3 levels to visit ( climbing up and down stairs/ladders)and all the points of interest were numbered so you could key the number into the audio and jump ahead or go back to something rather than follow a set route. The first 2 decks were fine, we saw the sleeping quarters, the anchor and mess deck etc, by the time we got to the 3rd level – sick bay, communications, officers quarters etc, we were flagging. It was hot outside, but below decks it was v. warm and airless, they had a lot of fans about the place, but we all began to feel a bit stifled. We had some lunch at the café, which had outside seating, but then the boys really didn’t want to continue with the tour, so we called it a day and set off back towards the hotel.




I had read on tripadvisor that Ralphs’ supermarket was a good place to buy cheaper Knottsberry farm tickets ( we’d be going there next week )and we needed stamps ( for the postcards we had bought in San Francisco ! )and with this heat, a selection of cold drinks to stash in the fridge, so we decided to try and find the supermarket, I’d overheard the shuttle bus driver say it was a couple of blocks away. It would have been sensible to ask at reception for the quickest route- instead we wandered aimlessly, stumbling upon the supermarket ( Ralphs ) after we’d walked 3 blocks in the wrong direction ! We bought water, fruit punch, 2 bottles of Bacardi Gold ( at $11 a bottle, it was rude not to , I would have liked to have bought the 1.75L bottles at $17, but the weight put me off ! )and stamps.I almost forgot the Knotts tickets, which were the reason we went there in the first place ! the whole lot came to $172, the Knotts tickets, if we’d bought them at the park would have been $179 ! ( they are cheaper to print at home, but that option doesn’t seem to be available to UK customers )

Started back to the hotel, we found a more direct route, but when the hotel was in sight we were harassed by a pedicab rider, these cycle cabs are everywhere in San Diego and we quickly learnt to ignore them, but not before this one caught us. ‘Do you want a ride’ ? he shouts, ‘no, it’s ok, we are almost there’ I reply. ‘Where are you going’? he asks, I tell him Embassy suites,’ Oh, c’mon, I’m going right by there’, he cajoles, I refuse again, but he insists, ‘c’mon, I’ll drop you right outside’ he made it sound like he was doing us a favour and a tip would be all that was required. About 100 ms later ( that’s how close we were) we climb off and he asks for $15 ! then gave me a filthy look when I didn’t give him extra !

Back at the hotel , I make use of the laundry room ( the holiday inn express doesn’t have laundry facilities )and then go with the boys to the pool,it’s an indoor pool, which is a bit strange in a hot climate, but it was quiet and we enjoyed a nice swim. We drip our way into the ‘cool’ elevator and back to the room ( no changing area at the pool )and watch Men in Black before our rumbling stomachs force us out to look for dinner.

We go across the road to Seaport village. A touristy collection of shops and restaurants. We do the menu reading thing again- DH can’t decide what he wants, but it isn’t whats on the menus ! We finally sit down near several ‘take out’ windows. DH goes to the Italian and gets Lasagne and garlic bread for him and DS9, I get fish tacos from a Mexican place ( yuk, like pancakes with bits of grilled fish and raw cabbage rolled up in them ! )DS12 has chicken strips from the American place.It fills our stomachs, that’s about all I can say. Back to the hotel, stopping to watch fireworks – think they were being let off on the other side of the village, but we had a reasonable view from the road.



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Old 30 Aug 08, 11:11 PM  
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coombsyl
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That cab company beggars belief! The flight sounds like a great experience.

Another lovely trippie - thank you.
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Old 31 Aug 08, 12:04 AM  
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Sarah84
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San diego looks and sound lovely, i cant believe the nigtmare with the cab company in Monterey though
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Old 31 Aug 08, 04:54 AM  
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Jools
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You got a good deal on the Knotts Berry Farm tickets I'm looking forward to reading more about San Diego
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Old 31 Aug 08, 10:46 AM  
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What a nightmare with the cab company in Monterey.

I'm looking forward to hearing more about san Diego.
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Old 31 Aug 08, 11:07 AM  
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The stewardess comes on the intercom , and I can’t believe her voice. Anyone remember ‘Police Academy’? the little female cop with the squeaky voice ?, well, that was our stewardess,I thought it was a joke for the first few mins, how the passengers didn’t crack up I don’t know.She told us she would be bringing around juice and cookies, if anyone wants coffee, put your hand up and I’ll brew some, but I’m not brewing if you don’t put your hand up ! – wonder if that would work on Virgin? She was lovely.
That had me 'ing

She noticed that DS9 had goosebumps on his arms,he never said a word, but she fetched him a blanket and tucked it around him!
aw how lovely

Great photos again... and another busy day!

Edited at 11:20 AM.
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Old 31 Aug 08, 12:18 PM  
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I'm really enjoying your trip reports, it's brought back a lot of memorys of our trip last August. Our cab came late as well, but not as late as yours, thank god you had a delay on the plane! Also we had asked for a van, and a car turned up, I ended up with a heavy suitcase on my lap, which I wasn't happy about, but we didn't want to risk waiting for another car in case we missed the flight. We didn't go to San Diego so I have found that really interesting. Looking forward to more!
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Old 31 Aug 08, 04:08 PM  
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Lucky that your flight was delayed! Another great day.
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Old 30 Sep 08, 09:35 PM  
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I would have been seriously stressed out waiting for that cab to take you to the airport!
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Old 16 Nov 08, 03:12 PM  
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OMG at the cab company:angry:
I love the photos of the aircraft carrier, looks like SD may be added to our growing list of places to visit .
Great report again, thanks ali.
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