San Diego, again, Part 2

Our second day in San Diego was spent at Sea World. After renting an electric scooter to make getting around easier, we ventured off to see some animals. We soon found a parade of California Flamingos strutting down the street. We also made our way over to the dolphins and watched them for a while.



We then decided to see the premier show of the park, Shamu and friends in "Believe." What a show!


The next show we went to was the Dolphin show which also featured more whales. Another good show.


It was a full day, even after a couple of shows. But it was not over yet. One of our favorite shows is the pet show where they display trained dogs, cats, birds, and even pigs.

In walking around the park, we found a new friend.



The last show of the day was the Clyde and Seymore show, trained seals. Fun.


It was a fun day. Thank goodness we got the electric scooter!

San Diego, again, Day 1

Our third visit in three years, we took Del and Jeanette with us. We think they had a good time!

It started out with a long flight from Bismarck to Las Vegas that was diverted to, of all places, Salt Lake City. After refueling and arriving about 2 hours late, we finally made our way to San Diego. We arrived fairly late so couldn't really see much. But the next morning we realized the beautiful view from our room.



Our hotel was in the Mission Beach area, with it's own beach on the bay and just a couple of blocks away from the ocean and beach. It was a very nice hotel, set in a lush garden setting and decorated in a Polynesian theme.


Our first breakfast was at the hotel dining room. But after paying the bill, we found it much more economical to prepare our own breakfast, especially since Del and Jeanette had a full kitchen in their suite. That way we had ice cream on demand!



Our first full day in San Diego included a tour on the Old Town Trolley. Since it has several stops along the way, we took advantage of one of the first stops, that at the U.S.S. Midway, the venerable aircraft carrier that served from WWII through Desert Storm. Needless to say, it was of the most interesting tours we have been on. And it was one of the most memorable moments of the week as well.



We finished the city tour seeing lots of interesting sites around the city, learning about the history of the area, and just having a nice relaxing ride. Even over the bridge to Coronado. Pictures here are of the bay as seen from the road along the bay, a plaza near Horton Plaza (a major shopping center), the bay as seen from the Coronado Bridge, and one of the historic homes on Coronado Island.

After the tour we ate at a little Mexican restaurant in historic Old Town. Then it was back to the hotel to put our feet up for a little while. The night ended with a short boat ride on the cove out in front of our hotel.

Review - Time Thief

I finally started, and finished, The Time Thief by Linda Buckley-Archer. I'm glad I read it. The second in the Gideon trilogy, it was hard to put down.

The book starts where the last one left off. Peter has been left behind in the seventeenth-century, while Kate and her Dad successfully transported back to their present time period. But as Peter was getting ready to transport, he was replaced by the villain in the first book, the Tar Man, or Blueskin. Kate and Peter's father, Mr. Schock, transport back to Peter's time, only to discover they have arrived 29 years later. As they look for the young Peter, the older Peter, who assumes the identity of Gideon's brother Jonathan, accompanies them as they seek to repair the time machine. They seek the help of a French aristocrat who is living at his estate while the French Revolution is taking place.

Meanwhile the Tar Man has adjusted quite nicely to modern day life. He discovers he can "blur" and does so frequently in order to steal money from banks, artwork, and other precious things in order to sustain his new lifestyle. Tom, a street urchin from the first book, also discovers he has transported to the same time and eventually teams up with the Tar Man, along with a local girl who acts as their guide in their new life.

The ending is fairly predictable but started to confuse me as it talked of parallel time dimensions and the such. I'll look forward to reading the last of the trilogy to see what happens. Hopefully she won't take as long to finish it as she did this book.

It was fun to read, nothing offensive. I'd recommend it to any child at a 4th grade reading level or above. now it's on to A Prisoner of Birth by Jeffrey Archer.