San Diego – Day Two: Coronado Island

“It’s been such a long time” *

I didn’t mention this before but I have been to San Diego before. Way back in 1996 I attended a business conference here for a few days. My time was quite tightly managed and because of that I didn’t really have a chance to look around that much. I did manage a boat tour of the harbor and I think I probably walked around the Gaslamp Quarter but I don’t remember it. That said, the city must have changed out of all recognition in the subsequent 28 years. I do remember it as a being a nice place, hence why I wanted to return and see it again, in more depth.

It’s the last day of this road trip in America. I extend checkout time slightly so I can stay in the room to suit my plan for the day. Breakfasts here worked well although I had to request a fridge when I arrived as there wasn’t one in the room. My travel notes said there was one but on checking Booking.com again an in-room fridge was not listed, so I must have made a mistake. Luckily they could supply one free of charge.

Lots More To See

I’m packed and ready to leave in good time, so I do a bit more diary before my second full day in San Diego. When doing the detailed planning for this trip I realised there was more in San Diego than I thought. So much so that when I (hopefully) get to do the Western Coastal trip, I will easily fill another two days here.

Knowing (or hoping) that I will be back sometime made me relaxed about what I chose to see this year. I also discovered even more stuff to see next time so it might even be a three day stay then. I check out at 11.30 am, leaving my bags at reception until later. Walking a couple of blocks I photograph a sign across the road that denotes an entry to the Gaslamp Quarter. I couldn’t get a decent shot of it when on the trolley yesterday.

Coronado Island

I walk back to the trolley stop and a bus arrives a few minutes later. It is another sunny day with clear blue sky and thankfully only 71º F / 22º C. The trolley makes its way on to Coronado Island where I get off in the center of Coronado. I of course travelled here on the bus yesterday but didn’t get off to explore. That is for today. I find where the walking tour starts from then check some eateries for lunch later. My plan is a bigger than normal lunch, but not full blown, then to top-up in the airport lounge later so I can go straight to sleep after boarding the plane. I find a ’50s style diner that looks good.

Orange Ave, Coronado

At the Coronado Historical Association ‘shop/office’ in a grand building on Orange Avenue I’m greeted inside and told there’s one more person on the Walking Tour of Historic Coronado. A man who, five minutes after the designated start time, still hadn’t turned up. After my not-so subtle “How long are we going to wait for him?” question to the tour guide, she decides we’ll set off. So I get a one-to-one tour. The mystery no-show does not come running after us so no idea where he was.

Not A Good Tour

I’m not going to name my volunteer guide because to be frank I was not impressed with her or the tour. I lost count of the number of times she said “I don’t know about that” or “I’m not sure when that happened / who did that / why that was done” whenever I asked a question. A free-flowing commentary as we walked around Coronado it most certainly was not.

The guide gave me quite a bit of information but she assumed I knew what, say, a “faux Victorian” style of house was. Haven’t got a clue. Nor was any explanation offered as to what made it such a style. For example, in layman’s terms, a flat roof, pointed roof, dormer windows and so on. I’m none the wiser about anything I saw over the hour of the tour. I saw lots of nice old-ish buildings on a pleasant walk in the sunshine around Coronado. But I learnt zilch. Overall Coronado seems a nice quaint place. But I do not recommend the walking tour I’m afraid.

Clayton’s Coffee Shop

I do recommend Clayton’s Coffee Shop however. Inside it’s a 1950s style diner. Whether the furniture and fittings are original I don’t know but it certainly looks the part (it first opened in 1938). It’s clean and spotless with good service. I have a turkey and havarti sandwich with coleslaw and pink lemonade. My only gripe is why Americans don’t put butter on sandwiches? Can’t someone educate them about this? 🙂

After lunch I leave Clayton’s and walk back up Orange Avenue to the trolley stop in the sunshine. Unfortunately because of the route’s layout I’ve got to re-do the whole tour to get back to the hotel. I did look into not booking a second day on the trolley and getting taxis to and from Coronado Island but it worked out about the same price. Plus I didn’t know what the availability of taxis might be on the Island and the trolley has a regular schedule. I also thought that if something changed on the second day it would probably be better to use the trolley to get around the city instead of potentially multiple taxis.

Nothing did change but it was interesting to hear another set of drivers give different commentaries as I passed the same places as yesterday. I learnt some new things about San Diego and it was fascinating what some drivers left out and others added.

The trolley was late arriving at the Coronado stop. On the route back to the hotel some new road works had sprung up in a couple of places. It also seems to be rush hour with much more traffic about. As such I’m back at the hotel later than planned at 4.40 pm. However I have plenty of time in hand but it just goes to show that you never know what might happen.

“Then I’m going back home” **

The hotel orders me a taxi and it arrives about five minutes later. Ten minutes later I’m being dropped off at the airport’s Terminal Two. I’m that early that check-in isn’t open yet. However there was nothing else I wanted to do in the city (or had enough time to do, given the day’s schedule) so I thought I may as well sit in the airport lounge here rather than back in the hotel bar.

Five minutes later and check-in opens. Security is very quiet and the agents here seem almost pleasant unlike the morons at SFO. British Airways does not have its own lounge here so I have to slum it in the American Airlines one. This is quite a way from my gate but I have plenty of time. I’m flying back in Business Class because the plane does not have a First Class section unfortunately.

In the lounge it is quiet at first but come 7 pm it’s become very busy and very noisy. Especially annoying are two 5-6 year old boys who are either running around shouting or sitting down and arguing loudly over a handheld video game. Their father, sitting next to them, just ignores them as they continually make such a loud noise. The mother, in a hijab and Arabic clothes, also ignores them, contentedly pushing their 2-3 year old daughter around in a buggy.

Poor, Noisy Lounge

I’ve never been in a business class airport lounge that charges for alcoholic drinks but American Airlines does. Domestic and well drinks are free but anything else is classed as Premium and charged at $5 each or more. Have airlines completely forgotten what hospitality should be for business customers? BA does something to alleviate this by having a few extra drinks available for free listed on a card over and above AA’s miserly list. BA added Gordon’s Gin as free and their white wine addition was good as well.

The food on offer was rubbish. I’d decided to eat in the lounge then go straight to sleep on the plane. But the only hot option was some nasty looking chicken noodle soup. For the rest it was cold meats, cheese, salads, tortilla chips and salsa, and nuts. The only dessert was small pieces of carrot cake. Not impressed. It might cause me to re-think whether I fly home from here when next in San Diego, maybe opting to go from LAX.

I also wondered to myself, given the noise and poor food, whether I’d have been better off getting something near the gate. However when I get there later there are very few shops. I didn’t see any decent food outlets either. Then after entering the Duty Free Store I discover that they only sell Jack Daniel’s in twin packs, which means to get it through UK customs I’d have to pay duty. I explain this to the twat shop assistant who asked me if I needed help: “Yes, sell single bottles so I don’t have to pay customs duties when I land” as I swiftly walk out.

“It’s too late” ***

It’s time to board the plane. It is one of the older 777s that has the backwards seating in Business. Whichever dumb ass ever thought that was a good idea all those years ago was an idiot. I’d read BA is finally removing them all. Later in the flight, after seeing cabin crew and passengers alike struggle to operate and move around in such an absurd layout, it makes you realise why BA lost its way so many years ago. Some time later I hear the Chief Steward confirming to a few passengers that all the seats are being replaced “very soon”. I knew about the backwards seating of course when I got ripped off £90 to reserve my £2000-odd Business Class seat, choosing a normal forward facing one.

We take off very late. First, the ground staff have some unspecified problems loading hold baggage. Why the f*** in this day and age does this happen so frequently? Then, which I did not know, San Diego airport only has one runway. The Control Tower has to manage take-offs and landings in blocks of one hour at a time. They don’t allow ‘mixed mode’ operating. Our plane taxis down to the end of the runway for take-off – and then grinds to a halt.

A few minutes later the First Officer explains that we were next in line to take off when the Control Tower switched the runway over into landing mode from take-off mode. Despite the Captain’s pleas to the Tower during taxiing to let us take-off before runway switch-over, us being late of course because the airport couldn’t get the bags loaded on time, the Tower refused. We are stuck here for an hour until the next take-off window opens. Shit.

Back to the UK

When we finally get in the air, having eaten my fill in the business lounge I ask for a large bourbon instead of dinner. It arrives late but I can then settle down to sleep. Which I do, guessing I got about five hours or so. The flat bed is surprisingly good.

On waking up some passengers are already eating breakfast but the cabin is still fully dark with no lights on and the window blinds down. Why? It’s 2 pm UK time and we have flown through the night and it’s time for breakfast. Light the cabin up! They don’t. The cabin is not lit until the First Officer announces 40 minutes to landing. I can’t remember that happening before. And I don’t like it.

I have some juice and eat a bit of fruit and yoghurt. We land 90 minutes late at 4 pm. Being in the foremost cabin I’m one of the first off the plane. I then have a great run of luck with elevators, satellite shuttle train and an empty Passport Control. And no hold baggage of course. I’m in the T5 Arrivals Hall just 25 minutes after the wheels touched down. Then it’s down the M4 in my waiting taxi and back home once more.

* Long Time by Boston

** Going Back Home by Dr. Feelgood

*** Station to Station by David Bowie