California Here I Come!!!

California Here I Come

My Significant Other (SO) and I took our annual trip to San Diego, California. I love going to San Diego, California! But I do not like flying for five and a half hours, but that is the quickest way to get there. My SO son moved out there a few years ago. We go every August to visit him.

My SO is a Coast Guard veteran and he flies for free. He had to drive to Washington DC from Philadelphia. There he took a flight to Las Vegas. He spent the night in Las Vegas. He then took Greyhound Bus to San Diego. That was his free flight. Sometimes he gets a straight flight, sometimes he doesn’t. For him it is about saving money not too much about convenience. It is about convenience for me.

I use Expedia.com to book my trips. I recommend booking your hotel and flight together, it is usually cheaper. I booked my flight in February because I only needed a flight. My round trip flight cost $357.39. I flew out of Philadelphia on an American non-stop flight to San Diego. My SO picked me up in a rented car. I flew Jet Blue on my return flight. I flew to Boston, sat there for three hours and then on to Philadelphia. I won’t do that again, trying to save money. My time is worth much more. The flight going was freezing cold. The return flight was much better. But why is my departure gate always at the end of the airport? The gates at my terminal were numbered 1-26, and my gate was 26.

I prefer to have my car at the airport, that way I do not have to wait for anyone to pick me up. There is a bus that takes you to every terminal and picks you up at every terminal on your return trip. The cost is $11 for every 24 hours. I was gone eight days, but was charged for 9, because it was past the 24-hour mark when I picked up my car. Costing a total $99, I was not happy with that.

We stayed at the Military Lodge on one of the Navy bases. I did not take any pictures on the base. The last time I tried to take pictures on the base a MP got out of his car and came up to me. He said that I could not take pictures, so I do not take pictures on the base!

It is now 10:30 AM in California and time for breakfast. We went to Coronado Island. Coronado Island is beautiful with a small town vibe. We ate breakfast at a fifty-style restaurant. There were jute boxes with music from the fifties, the waitresses wore aprons and they made milk shakes the old way.  You could sit at the booths or sit at the counter. They used a cash register from the fifties. The food was delicious. Their coffee is ten cents on Wednesdays with military ID.

We took a road trip to Los Angeles. We stayed two nights at the Los Angeles Air Force Inn in San Pedro. Our room was really a one-bedroom apartment.  It had a queen-sized bed with a walk in closet, a fully equipped kitchen, a separate bathroom, a living room, two televisions with cable, free Wi-Fi and a beautiful breeze.

We ate at the famous San Pedro Fish Market and Restaurant. They catch, clean and cook the fish right there. I had the best Mango Margarita. It was Fleet Week in San Pedro, so there were plenty of sailors and ships to see. We drove to downtown Los Angeles and took in the sights. On the way back to San Pedro we drove through Watts and Compton.

San Diego and Coronado had beautiful weather. I absolutely loved the vibe. The houses looked beautiful on the outside. However, it is expensive to live in San Diego and more expensive in Coronado compared to other places. If your retirement income can handle the expenses of San Diego and/or Coronado, this would be a great place to relocate. The weather is gorgeous and the water views are fantastic. I would love to move here but I prefer to spend my retirement income on other things.

We had a great time! Oh, we did spend time with my SO’s son. We took him out to eat several times. Well, until next year!

Taken from hotel room patio.

Taken from hotel room patio.

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles, California