My Visit to San Diego, 2023

San Diego was my first Port Visit. When we first came alongside, what I wanted to do was take the tram. After half an hour of trying to find my way outside of the San Diego base, I managed to make my way to the tram and take it for a ride.

From there, I didn't have an idea of where to go, but I knew that there was the USS Midway museum that I could visit, so that is that I did.

I must have spent at least two hours at the USS Midway. It was a monumental museum, and I got to see a lot of things of how American Aircraft Carriers work and how they functioned in their day to day life. That is what I care about the most for history, not the major events and the numbers, but the plight of the average person during that time. Everything from the various messes, to the Church they had, to the dental clinic, meant a lot to me. The view from the flight deck was a sight to behold:

I then visited downtown and got to see some murals. I'm always fond of when cities have small details and arts that demonstrate its history over time, even if they are small trinkets that pay homage to what happened inthe past. The murals in question pertain to the pre-American Spanish settlement of the region. The downtown square itself was nice also:

The next day I decided to pay a visit to Old Town, a free museum located in San Diego dedicated to showing how life was like for the settlers in the 19th century. These are always a treat for me, as for me the details of how the average person experienced their life has more value to me than the blank, tombstone historical facts. I decided to also buy a few trinkets, as I'm not immune to the allure of touristy goods (this is also how I tried large cigars for the first time!):

Old Town was quite immersive; There were employees there dressed as settlers, and the architecture and design of the shops an dliving places do give the impression that they are from that bygone era, just on the cusp of the Industrial Revolution, prior to the mass manufacturing of everything:

Overall, I thought San Diego was a beautiful city and it's unfortunate I didn't get to explore enough of it. I will see you again soon, San Diego.