Okay, nearly everyone has heard about how spectacular the San Diego area is. The weather, the ocean, the land. Well, much of it is true. There was a cool breeze blowing off the ocean the day I was there. All of the locals were in jackets/coats/sweaters and were a bit chilly. Us out-of-towners were in short sleeves and quite comfortable.

Actually, San Diego is VERY different from Los Angeles. Downtown is really not that big, few skyscrapers (a city choice). The Union Station is small, even when compared to the one in Kansas City, The city is very bike and walk friendly and the bikers believe that they have domain over all of the rest of the citizens and act the part. Karen had told me that Californians are quite friendly folks and that is also true. She said that San Diego is much more slower paced and laid back than Los Angeles (which she goes to often because her daughter lives there).

Karen picked me up after I toured the Midway and gave me a tour of the city. She is one who likes to study the history of a place she visits or lives and how the present came to be from its past. She was telling me countless tidbits about the area as we drove around. We went to her home to have lunch (Richard joined us too). Then Karen took me to see Old Town of San Diego, the original part. It reminded me of the same type place in Albuquerque from when I saw it ten years ago. However, since it was about 4:00 pm, shops and museums started closing. Some stayed open until 5:00 pm. But by 5:01 pm it was time to turn out the lights on San Diego. I did not really care to see the world famous San Diego zoo. Between having seen zoos in several other cities, plus, feeling uncomfortable seeing captive animals, I declined.