San Diego, CA

            Tuesday, 28 Jan 2020 – The ship was scheduled to dock at San Diego at noon, which is about 120 miles south of Los Angeles and immediately adjacent to the border with Mexico.  With an estimated population of 1,456,000, San Diego is now the eighth-largest city in the US and second-largest in California.  The city is known for its mild year-round climate, natural deep-water harbor, extensive beaches, long association with the US Navy, and recent emergence as a healthcare and biotechnology development center. 

Star India Museum

After breakfast, we went for a swim.  At the pool, we ran into Cliff, who we remembered from our 2018 cruise.  He and his wife, Angela, were on the around-the-world cruise in 2018, but this year, they would be cruising from San Francisco to Rio de Janeiro.  After lunch, we went ashore.  Because Sally had forgotten to bring a hat to wear in the hot tub, we purchased a nice one from a street vendor for $10.00.  (She started wearing a hat in the hot tub after getting sunburned a couple of years ago.  The hats she packed for the cruise had wide brims, which would get wet.)  We continued our walk along the pier to the “Star of India Maritime Museum,” which we viewed from the outside.  Built in 1863, the Star of India is the world’s oldest active sailing ship.  In its youth, the ship sailed from London to New Zealand, transporting settlers.  It was one of the first sailing ships made of iron in lieu of wood.  We were both very tired when we returned to the ship.

Before dinner, we danced again.  The band was a five piece, with two guitars, a keyboard, drums, and a tenor saxophone.  At dinner, we ran into Brian, who had taken the excursion to Ayer’s Rock with us last year.  After dinner, we watched a documentary about the life of John McCain.  It was obvious that he believed he would have been elected president if he had chosen a better running mate.  But who knows?  Before retiring, we set our clocks forward by 1 hour; that matches MST in the US.