Finally - land
After these days spent at sea, solid ground was a necessity. We needed to walk, to feel the earth beneath our feet. After all, everyone else was doing the same. It was hard to keep us on the ship. Everything happening now was a new experience for all of us. No set curfew, no fear of being late; we could stay out as long as we pleased, to see the city in the night hours. What had previously been impossible was now ours for the taking. For at least a day, we could feel like genuine tourists. Just go out and enjoy, without a thought of work or anything that comes with it. It was just the beginning of the afternoon when we stepped out. The whole day lay ahead of us; there was no need to rush. That fact alone was enough to make the city look fantastic. Though, honestly, San Diego is beautiful. You can see it at every step. Furthermore, the city isn’t a megalopolis like Los Angeles or Miami. In those places, you can’t make heads or tails of the sprawl. Here, everything was accessible, close, and logical. Like any well-organized city, it fully embraces its waterfront.
A walk through the city
Consequently, right in our immediate vicinity lay a massive promenade filled with various attractions. It stretched for miles, packed with content interesting to tourists. To our great surprise, the biggest attraction was right in our neighborhood, just a few hundred meters from our ship. It was another aircraft carrier, but this one from the fifties, built after World War II and converted into a museum. Since it was practically next door, we planned to visit it the following day. Until then, our first priority was food. We were all sick of sandwiches; they had been coming out of our ears these past few days, so we were desperate for anything else. We started walking, following the promenade. Everything was beautiful, so we weren’t picky. We knew we’d end up… somewhere; something would catch our attention.
And so it was. Following the coast, after a couple of kilometers, we reached a part that didn’t feel like a port anymore but gave the impression of the city proper. The docks ended, and we were merging into the urban grid. Yet, everything remained very accessible. We weren’t separated by miles from the center as in other cities; everything was interconnected. Trams were everywhere, and the street led straight to the downtown area. It was easy to spot by the signs surrounding us. According to the signage, we were in the old city center, partly a pedestrian zone, which represents the most beautiful part of town. Palm trees and tropical vegetation on all sides fit perfectly into the urban ambiance, adding a special dose of beauty.
Our walk continued to be very productive, as we stumbled upon something interesting at every step. Quite by accident, we ran into one of the city’s main attractions: the stadium of the San Diego Padres. Baseball is the national pride of Americans and one of the most popular sports in the country. It is a sport that never quite “took root” back home in Europe, yet it has been their main pastime for over a century. Here and there, I’ve tried to grasp how it’s played, the rules and the systems, but I must admit, it never won me over. Too many pauses, nine innings (which I guess is the main point here: plenty of breaks to sell drinks and hot dogs), too much waiting. And ultimately, at least in my opinion, far too many games. In the regular season, they play over 160 games a year!!??
That is unfathomable to me. It means you can literally watch them day after day, for almost the entire year! Where is the excitement in that? I get the feeling I’d get sick of watching even Barcelona and Real Madrid if they played every single day. But, well, that’s just my personal opinion. The entire United States, all 250 million of them, thinks the complete opposite, so even if I don’t agree, I have to respect that fact.
As popular as it is here, it is equally unpopular with us. We might have walked right past the stadium without knowing what it was, had we not noticed its “strange” architecture. In reality, it was only strange to us because we had never seen a baseball stadium. For some reason, they are built with three stands, while the fourth side is completely open. This allows you to approach from that side and truly appreciate the scale of the structure.
The stadium is magnificent, built on multiple levels, obviously designed to provide total comfort to visitors during the game. Because of that open stand, we were able to walk right up to the field, to see everything in detail. There were no fences or barriers, which surprised us a little. We weren’t the only ones there, so we bravely walked in, toured what we could, and naturally took a few photos for the memory. A splendid, unplanned sporting detour that put us in a great mood.