The Funky Site - San Diego

San Diego

Created 14th August, last updated 14th August 2008.

After our wedding in July our honeymoon destination was California, flying into San Diego with FlyZoom. Located in the south west corner of the continental US, San Diego is blessed with a fantastic climate which hovers around 20 degrees Celsius for a good portion of the year. Thus we flew in to lovely blue skies and sunlight reflecting off the Pacific ocean. We were staying at Humphreys Half Moon Inn on Shelter Island, a mid priced hotel which is best known for it's summer concerts. Upon arrival we discovered to our delight that they had upgraded our room, provided a large basket of fruit (including strawberries), and a complimentary bottle of champagne - fabulous and much appreciated!

Humphreys

Floral display

Champagne at Humphreys

My new wife

Given the eight hour time difference we were both up early on our first full day, so I took my camera out for dawn and an early morning run around Shelter Island.

Sunrise over San Diego

Sunrise over Shelter Island harbour

Sunrise over San Diego harbour

Sunrise over Shelter Island harbour

Sunset over the harbour

Seaworld is probably better known for it's Orlando, Florida parks but the San Diego park offers pretty much the same shows. At $61 a ticket it wasn't cheap, although that was valid for a second day anytime this year - no use to us but maybe for others. Our first impressions were very positive - there seemed to be too many shops and not much in the way of entertainment, but that changed as we attended some of the scheduled shows.

The biggest show (not just in popularity but in the size of the entertainers!) is 'Believe' featuring Shamu the killer whale. Brilliantly orchestrated to music and featuring some amazing sights - I've no idea how they train the whale's, but it's fantastic to watch. There are 'soak zones' for this show and if you're at the front it's likely you'll get pretty wet!

Shamu the killer whale

Surfing on Shamu

Surfing again

Shamu is rather large

Hugh Shamu

Feeding time

The dolphin show is actually quite similar to 'Believe' with jumps, acrobatics and lots of splashing the audience. To finish the show one of the dolphins jumps about 20ft out of the water which was pretty impressive.

Commerson dolphin

Opening the dolphin show

Greeting the audience

Walking on water

Leaping out of the water

Jumping pretty high

Jumping really high

Feeding time

Eager dolphin

We also saw the 'Clyde and Seymour's Risky Rescue' show, a comedy featuring some talented seals and a super cute otter. Whether mimicking the actors, delivering a can of coke (so incredibly cute even if not really natural) or diving from a height they never failed to impress. Great for the kids, fun even for us!

Sea world

Otter service

Ready for the high dive

The big General

Feeding time

Goodbye from the otter

Sarah about to feed a seal

Sarah gets up close with some Rays

The USS Midway is a retired aircraft carrier now moored in San Diego. After reading TripAdvisor where it's the number one tourist attraction we thought we'd give it a try. On the top deck are about fifteen planes of various types (including a couple of helicopters) while below decks the guided tours include the engine rooms, communications centre and captain's quarters among many others. You could easily spend a few hours here, even if you're not a military fan.