The Mighty Midway, and other San Diego treats

Sunday morning I visited the San Diego Wild Animal Park, which is actually north of San Diego near Escondido.  This has always been a favorite of mine.  Fortunately, the weather was still cool, as this can be one HOT place in the summer.  This park has some zoo-type animal exhibits, but the main focus is the large savannah.  An open-air tram tour is included in the price, along with many miles of walking trails.  They also have a large and diverse cactus garden - if you are into that type of thing, like I am.

Monday I headed out to visit the USS Midway.  The Midway is now permanently docked in San Diego as a tourist attraction.  You know the Midway from the movies, and the history books.  This carrier has served our country since 1945, and was the largest warship in the world for the first decade of her service.  While I never served aboard, the squadron I supported - VMFP-3, had a presence on this ship for 10 years.

The admission price is $18 for adults, not including parking.  A little high, but there is a lot to see and it's not every day that you can walk the decks of an aircraft carrier.   They offer a self-guided audio tour.  If you stopped at each marker, and listened to each audio file, it would take about 3 hours to tour the ship.  They also have a gift shop and small restaurant. 

Your can tour 3 different decks, but my favorite was the flight line.  As soon as I came up the stairs, I saw my fighter!  This is the Navy version, but an F-4 still the same.  I approaced the F-4, and stood there with my hand on it's nose . . . so many memories for me!

Following the visit to the Midway, I headed on to the San Diego Zoo.  This is a world class zoo, and another favorite stop when in San Diego.  While some of the exhibits really could use updating, their Panda and Koala exhibit spaces are fantastic.  The zoo is located in Balboa Park - a great visit on its own.  Full of museums, concert venues, shops, etc. You could spend an entire day here.