My Daily Walk

First off I would like to say I am obsessed with taking my daily walk. I generally walk for my lunch, but today I took my lunchtime walk early. Walking the same route at a different time can really change the character of the scenery. I thought you might like to join me this morning.

I work in downtown San Diego, across the street from the Bay. And yes, I do realize how lucky I am - I grew up in Minnesota and appreciate every day the beautiful location I live in now.

Today we are lucky to have a "mega yacht" moored in the Bay. The Princess Mariana (and you owe yourself a look at this...) is over 250 feet long, three stories and has its own helicopter as well as two smaller boats that go along with it. It's a charter boat - I'll save you from googling the exchange rate. It's a 2 week minimum charter, and costs about $1.4 million per week to start. Not including gratuities for the 26 person crew.

On the different part of the cruising perspective ... just down the boardwalk we have Carnival's Elation. Summertime is quiet for cruising out of San Diego. We get two ships a week, one Carnival, one Royal Caribbean. I believe they both go to Mexico. Starting at the end of September, the traffic picks up quite a bit. Today, the Elation was finishing their debarkation process (lots of folks milling around with their luggage... some of whom seemed like the last time they were standing without a cocktail in their hand was when they left this same pier last week, but that's another story).

A little further along the boardwalk, I saw a group of Japanese students, probably between 8 and 12 years old. Incredibly well-behaved. We see a lot of students on field trips in this area. Usually not very well behaved. I had a conversation yesterday with a couple of folks from Britain. One of them now lives in San Diego and told a story about his last visit to Britain. He said that he was with friends and family and they sort of stared at him oddly. Finally someone told him he was talking loud. Really loud. He laughed and said he knew he really belonged in America. It was a funny story, but kind of sad too. That's what people outside of America think of Americans. And after seeing these Japanese students, I wonder if those people are right.

I also got to pass by one of my favorite seafood restaurants, The Fish Market. If you are ever in San Diego and in the mood for seafood, this is the place to go. Great views and great food. I like passing by early in the morning, before it is open. Today the produce delivery truck was there, and the head chef was outside reviewing the produce before approving delivery. I like to see the chef so involved in the details of the food. Good ingredients make good food!

Time to turn around and walk back - good thing too. It is starting to get warm and humid and I get to walk into the breeze on the way back. The boardwalk is getting busier. Lots of pedicabs looking for fares. I see the crew of the Carnival Elation conducting their lifeboat drill. In my vast (okay, 2 cruise) experience, cruise ship crews work incredibly hard!

Now back to work. Glad you could join me!



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