Adventures in Public Transport:The Return - Day Seven - La Jolla & Baseball at Petco Park

[Disney Wishing]

We woke this morning around 7am and got ready for the day. We were heading off on an Old Town Trolley Tour to La Jolla but the pick up wasn’t until 9.25am so we headed to the onsite starbucks and grabbed some coffee and some breakfast pastries and sat outside to enjoy them. We went to the meeting point on the lower level of the hotel just before the pick up time and waited. The normal old town trolley came by for the hop on hop off tour and confirmed the beach tour was on its way but was running a few minutes late. It ended up arriving around 9.30am and we were welcomed onboard by our driver for the day, Phil. He was a lovely guy and took the time to find out where everyone was from and asking them their plans for their trips. As we made our way to Old Town to meet the other passengers he pointed out things along the way. We briefly went on the freeway for a bit which was a bit blowly in the open sided bus. DS though this was brilliant!

We arrive into Old town just before 10am and were given a bit of time to go to the loo etc.. This was our first look at Old Town and it looked a fun place. We had plans to come back later to explore. We re-boarded the bus at 10.15am and headed off for our first stop Mount Soledad. It took us around 30 minutes to get there passing along Mission Bay on the way and through some nice neighbourhoods.

Mount Soledad is a war memorable that anyone can nominate a veteran or current serviceman/women to be added to. It also has a 360 degree view of the surrounding area. It was a beautiful clear day so we had great views while we were there. We were given 20 minutes to have a look around.

From here we headed down to LA Jolla through some more nice neighbourhoods. The driver drove slowly through La Jolla pointing out various places of interest and telling us some of the history of the place and some of the people that had lived here. We then got dropped off and had three hours to explore. If you were short on time you could continue the tour back to old town without stopping but we definitely wanted to explore.

I’d spotted a Ralph Lauren Shop on the way in with a sale sign and as DH was after some new polo’s. DH was doubt we’d fine any margins in such a nice areas but in the end we managed to get two polos reduced down from $83 to $25. Shopping completed we decided to grab some lunch so when to Bubba Smokehouse. It like a bit of a quick service place but had high rating on google so we thought we’d try it out. We shared a few different things betweens us and it was all good, especially the garlic mash.

From here we walked downhill towards the coast where we spend a fair bit of time walking along enjoying the spectacular coast line, spotting the sea lions and having a quick paddle at one point (Yes the sea is still freezing here).

Around 2.15pm we started walking back up through the town stopping at a few shops along the way. We manage to find a christmas ornate to add to our collection but didn’t have any joy finding DS new googles he liked to replace the lost ones. It was pretty hot by this time and we really fancied a slushy but ended up settling on a juice place as we could find any slushies.

We headed back to meet the bus at 3pm where the tour continued on through Windansea Beach which was filled with surfers and then through a very pristine housing estate that you would need a major lottery win for a house in.

From there we head back along by Mission Boulevard and back past Mission bay before heading back into old by 3.45pm. We had the option to get off at old town and catch a later trolley back but as we were going to Petco Park tonight we stayed on the trolley and headed straight back. After dropping off a couple of other people we arrived back at the hotel around 4.15pm.

We took some time to get freshened up and changed and headed out to the game about 6.15pm. It was just across the footbridge from the hotel so it didn't take long. We went to will call to pick up our tickets and then to the security to gate to be scanned before entering. The stadium seemed huge to me but apparently its fairly small by normal standards.

We promised DS a baseball cap so we located the shop for that before heading up to get some food. We opted for some burgers from Hodads which were massive and in hindsight not the easiest thing to eat in your seat.

We had chosen zone 309 which we were really pleased we. We had a clear view of the pitch and the scoreboard. After playing the national anthem the game got underway. The atmosphere was really fun, DS loved all the games and things they play to keep you entertained.

The game finished around 10.15pm and we were glad it was just a short walk back to the hotel. Sadly the Padres lost. Just a tip if you are going to an evening game to take your hoodies as it does get chilly higher up. Luckily after getting chilly the evening in Balbao we had.

[Melbatb]

The tour looks fabulous! If the water was cold in summer, at Christmas it is going to ve baltic!

Baseball is such a great game to watch! They do make it entertaining!

[Disney Wishing]

Originally Posted by Melbatb

The tour looks fabulous! If the water was cold in summer, at Christmas it is going to ve baltic!

Baseball is such a great game to watch! They do make it entertaining!

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Your comment on the sea made me laugh. You'll have to brave it and let me know

[Melbatb]

Originally Posted by Disney Wishing

Your comment on the sea made me laugh. You'll have to brave it and let me know

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The kids and DH have full wetsuits which will be taken! My DH used to surf off Swansea in all weathers and the kids are fairly hardy!

[mrsdjh]

The tour looks good. Glad you enjoyed the baseball - there is always a great atmosphere at sporting events in America that keeps you entertained even if you don't particularly like the sport itself.

[summersun]

great day and pics x