Saturday, January 30, 2010 / sunny, mid 60s
The disembarkation from the Spirit was the easiest ever-there was no customs line and the Carnival staff took our declaration of goods purchased and that was it. We found a porter who suggested we take a pedicab (a bicycle with room for luggage and 4 people) to our hotel nearby. We were assured that everything would fit! What an experience! Picture us at ¼+ ton of luggage and people [you can do the math] and one man pedaling us about 10 city blocks or more to the Marriott-San Diego/Gaslamp Quarter on 6th and K Streets. Our room on the 16th floor was ready when we checked in at 10:30 a.m.
We walked several blocks to Metro bus #7 and arrived at the San Diego Zoo by noon ($66/2). I don’t have statistics readily available, but the zoo is HUGE! The bus tour for an overview of 70% of the zoo takes 40 minutes. Our first sight was the exhibit of about 40 flamingos, a shockingly pink flock. After the bus overview we walked to the giant panda exhibit. Only one was in view, but she was eating her bamboo with a passion, like corn on the cob. We were told to be quiet, as scientists are studying the sounds she makes. Visitors can get very close to the panda—at the DC zoo, one sees the pandas at a distance. Everyone would like to spend a lot of time watching this fluffy, adorable, huggable animal, but viewing time is limited because of the large crowds.
We moved on to the “Elephant Odyssey” area. At least four elephants are exhibited in a very large habitat. Other elephants are in an “Elephant Care Area” where veterinarians and zookeepers take care of other elephants that need attention. Life-size sculptures of extinct animals from 12,000 years ago are displayed and accessible for children and photos (mammoth, sloth, sabre-toothed tiger, etc.). Nearby was a depiction of LaBrea tar pits. We saw gorillas, hippos swimming above and underwater, orangutans, camels, jaguars, canvasback ducks, colorful exotic birds, monkeys, and snakes. Fortunately, there are moving sidewalks to help us climb the many inclines. We also took a skyride on the “SkyFari Aerial Tram.” The lush vegetation is so well maintained. Of course I found cute little things for B1 and B2 in several of the ten gift stores. I never thought I would see this zoo, which has to be one of the biggest in the country. One cannot see everything in one day!
After five hours we met up with Donna and Lawrence, who were also at the zoo, and we called Brian and Nancy. They picked us up in their big Ford F150 truck and took us all to Phil’s BBQ for dinner. We waited over an hour for a table at this very popular place, but the baby back ribs were the best we have ever ever had. Brian and Lawrence easily entertained us during the wait. We counted nine Phil’s BBQ catering vans to give you an idea of the popularity of this restaurant. (note: when we were buying luggage at the Horton Plaza downtown, the salesman agreed that Phil’s was the best barbecue in San Diego)
NOTE: We have verified that TK's yellow fin tuna did weigh over 100 lbs. The confusion happened because the first mate was saying the weight in kilos. Also, it took 1 hour and 40 minutes for TK to land the fish--this was verified by the times on all three cameras.
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