Skyline, Sea Dogs, a flattop, kites and an Anniversary

Downtown San Diego has changed (just a bit) since I was here in the late 60s aboard a Navy destroyer before heading to Viet Nam. Back then it was a real Navy town; now it’s much more touristy and gentrified, a lot like Newport, Rhode Island, but on a much larger scale. The modernistic skyline is representative of the direction the city is moving these days - banking, business and high tech. As we walked the waterfront at 2:00 PM, a pleasant, cool breeze was blowing off the harbor. In spite of the changes, there are still things for old(er) sailors to do...

The square-rigger you see behind Suzanne is the Star of India, a clipper ship that once sailed in the tea trade to India and carried emigrants from England to New Zealand. She is one of the oldest merchant ships still afloat. Built of iron, she made over 20 circumnavigations in her day, and now is a part of the maritime museum here.

Rudy the Sailing Wiener Dog and Gretchen the Reluctant Sailor were happy to get down to the harbor for a change of scenery. You can tell by this picture of a wistful Rudy that he really misses the excitement of going to sea. He’s probably dreaming of his next voyage... across the Pacific to Japan, or maybe back to Europe. Or maybe he's thinking of that cute poodle he met in Rome... don't pack your bags and waterbowl too soon, podna', we sold our boat, remember?

The big gray thing Suzanne is pointing at is the nuclear powered aircraft carrier, USS CARL VINSON (CVN-70), that was just returning to port as we walked along the waterfront. The US Navy has 12 big carriers, also called flattops, which are the centerpieces of battle groups that deploy for 6-9 months at a time to represent and protect American interests abroad, guard vital shipping lanes and project American naval and air power if needed. These ships carry 90 fixed wing aircraft and helicopters, are over 1,000 feet long, displace 103,000 tons and have crews of about 5,500 men and women. It’s easy to get lost aboard a carrier; think of it as a floating town, with miles of passageways and hundreds of compartments (watertight rooms) to limit damage from explosions or fire in case of enemy attack. They are as big as the largest cruise ships, but don't have gourmet fine dining, bars or slot machines. Destroyers, the ships I spent my career aboard, are much smaller (564 feet, 10,000 tons) and have crews of 300-450. Destroyers are also much more maneuverable, sexy and very cool (think of a Ferrari or a Jaguar). Okay, so Tom Cruise was pretty cool in Top Gun... but he was just an actor...

The Seaport Village area of the waterfront is the location of many shops, galleries and restaurants. The architecture is based on Spanish missions built in the 16th-17th centuries, quite a contrast to the skyscapers of the center city just a few blocks away.

 The salesperson in one shop, the Wyland Gallery, saw that Suzanne was admiring a statue of some beautiful porpoises (dolphins) frolicking in the waves. He noted that the $2200 price was very reasonable, and would actually seem like half price, since you had to put only 50% down and didn't have to pay the next half for six months or so... by then you would have forgotten about the first payment... let me think about that for a moment.  More appropriate to my budget (I reasoned) was a kite shop around the corner. That is, until I looked at some of the kites that were flying above the heads of bystanders. The big one was about 50 feet long! Heck, it wouldn't fit in The Bus, anyway.

The day ended with a special event; Suzanne and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary. I went all out and took her to a bar. Hey, I can hear someone snickering out there... it was a sushi bar! After all, we met in Japan, sushi is one of our favorite meals, and it's lots of fun to sit and watch the sushi chefs prepare our meal right in front of us. Suzanne often converses with the guys in Japanese. That often gets us little freebies, like the tuna sashimi tonight, or the plum wine we get back in The Villages. In any case, I count myself very lucky to be celebrating our anniversary tonight. Kampai!