snapshots abroad: San Diego: Ships, Tacos, and Catching Up Over Brews

We landed in San Diego early in the morning and went straight from the rental car compound to the USS Midway right before they opened. There was a bit of a line at the ticket booth so while we waited I purchased two passes, which actually saved us a couple of dollars! As soon as the museum began to accept visitors we ducked out of the ticket line and went inside. Like a boss.

I can't believe we spent three whole hours there! The Midway is definitely a fascinating carrier and a fun step back in time for us 80's kids who remember watching the Gulf War unfold on the news when we were in grade school.

Hans' favorite WWII aircraft (F4U Corsair)

The hangar deck has one of the big elevators lowered

so that you can see under the flight deck

You can explore fairly extensively below deck but my favorite part was the galley!

The five little shapes on this [replica] navy helicopter are for

each of the Apollo capsule recoveries it made!

Up in the island. This is the part of the ship that requires a docent.

It was impressive watching our guide, a skinny guy in his 80's,

scurrying up and down the ladders ahead of us.

The War Room and other strategic centers

Tactical deck sweeper

From the deck of Midway you can see another aircraft carrier, the USS Theodore Roosevelt. The most exciting moment, however, was when a brand-spankin' new (relatively speaking) guided missile destroyer sailed into the bay and right along our position! The USS Michael Monsoor is the second of three of its kind and hadn't even been commissioned when we saw it (the ceremony happened later on Jan 26th).

We think this was a retirement ceremony

After eating a light lunch we walked around in order to keep the creeping jet lag at bay. After checking in at our hotel in the Gaslamp Quarter we walked to the next neighborhood over and met up with my friend, K! I hadn't seen her in a really long time, which was the main reason Hans and I booked a weekend getaway in San Diego. We met up at the taproom for Duck Foot Brewing Co. and I have to say they had some really creative beers. My favorite was their coconut IPA. It was the perfect mix of delicious coconut flavor without being sweet, aided by the clean IPA finish. Oh, man, I wish I could have brought some home! Next, K took us to one of her favorite taco places in town, Lola 55. We were in taco nirvana! Hans and I had to leave at around 7 pm because we had reservations at a popular bar. I was so glad that we had to be there earlier on a Friday night because by this point our poor tired brains were running on fumes since we had a 6 am flight on the east coast.

San Diego is a definitely a haven for beer lovers but it also has a thriving cocktail bar scene. I like me a good craft cocktail! One of the fun types of establishments in the city are throwbacks to old speakeasies and I opted for a place with an entrance that's so hidden Hans thought I had lost my mind when I took him through a restaurant and into the back by the bathrooms. Heh heh. The Noble Experiment definitely has one of the coolest atmospheres I've ever seen and their drinks were legit. Was it all absurdly expensive? Definitely. As an experience though it was totally fun.