The Midway with Margaret

This morning (Sat 4th) drove over the bridge and parked near Embarcadero. There was an area roped off for some sort of event so we went over to ask a police officer what it was about. She told us that it was a concert “for young people, it’s all electric sounds, you would need to take drugs to go to it!” We thought that was very amusing advice from a police officer! The Embarcadero area is very attractive and we strolled along it, then at Margaret’s suggestion we jumped on to a boat trip which took us south under the Coronado Bridge and past lots of warships. James absolutely loved this of course, and Margaret and I also enjoyed the trip, the bridge and city looked really beautiful from the water. The morning had started off grey but gradually the sun came out and it turned into a sunny and warm afternoon. After our boat trip we walked along past shops and restaurants and had a lovely brunch at the waterfront. Then Margaret proved her friendship for us (yet again, because she has proved it many, many times before!) by suggesting that we should all go to the Midway Museum, since we were right there. James was absolutely thrilled. We had been going to wait until after Margaret’s visit because aircraft are James’ passion and he wanted to spend lots of time on the Midway, so he was really happy to get there sooner than he expected. It was interesting in a big aircraft carrier sort of way, and not too busy so there was plenty of room to wander around. We watched a short but moving film about the Battle of Midway (1942) which was a victory for the Americans, but a costly one. The USS Midway was actually not in the battle, it was built afterwards and was named after the battle. We went up to the flight deck and James immersed himself in all of the aircraft displays, while Margaret and I strolled the length of the deck then went to the café downstairs where we got ourselves cups of tea and then sat outside on a side deck to chat and enjoy the view. Margaret and I have drunk tea in many places but an aircraft carrier must be one of the most unusual. Eventually we went back upstairs to find James, who was finished looking around and was just on his way to find us. Then we walked to the Gaslamp District where the buildings are a bit older and there are lots of restaurants and bars. We stopped for cocktails before heading back to the car. It was just getting dark and as if by magic a bunch of strange characters appeared on the streets, either drunk or high. One man for example was stripped to the waist and was gyrating around while yowling and groaning. I drove back to Coronado and we had dinner in the Bluewater Boathouse Seafood Grill at the harbour, which Margaret had booked. It was top notch and the food was absolutely lovely. I did however regret ordering a pudding out of pure greed; I couldn’t even finish it. We walked back to the hotel in the dark along the promenade. Another great day in San Diego.