Well we’re here!
During the 11 hour flight we’re pleased to say the Weller ‘Night Nurse method’ did the trick so we slept through most of it. We landed in San Diego at 19.15 and were out of the airport looking for our hire car at 20.00. That’s the quickest we’ve ever been through US Immigration.
After a short drive to Carlsbad, we arrived at our friends’ palace, er, house, where we were pleased to see the Union Jack flying again. It was like Christmas with all the parcels waiting for us: Zumo 665 – check (thanks Dan), software – check, a Screaming Meanie – check (that’s loud!), a couple of DVDs and our motorcycle insurance documents including a Canada Card (that’s a relief). We spent a relaxing evening with Paul and Mary catching up on the gossip then went to bed and slept again! This trans-Atlantic travel is obviously very tiring. We woke up at a reasonable time feeling none-the-worse for wear ready to face the beautiful day.
Paul, Erin and Mary on Sunday, Erin’s 20th birthday.
Ostrich Thighs
We spent most of the day at the San Diego County Fair boggling at the food stalls. Paul and Mary spent the time laughing at our faces. The theme seems to be big bacon and we had two enormous turkey legs covered in…yes you’ve guessed, bacon. I was expecting the turkey legs to be a similar size to those on turkeys we have at home so I bought two but I swear these must have come from ostriches and we didn’t finish one of them between us. Deep fried Kool Aid, deep fried butter and chocolate covered bacon were some of the delights we decided we could live without; only in America!
The fair is a bit like the county fairs we have at home but more so: a horticultural area, lots of food, a traditional fun-fair with all the rides, exhibitions of art and photographs, some beautifully crafted wooden objects, a typical display of farm animals and some Red Bull stunt riders. Actually, we don’t have many of the latter at English county fairs.
The weather was a balmy 23°C or so and there was a slight breeze to keep it comfy.
It was a busy, vibrant and colourful place and we really enjoyed ourselves. Mary and Erin braved some of the rides while Paul, Kevin and I contented ourselves with people-watching and eating ice cream, both of which are mainstays of all our travels.
Our meal this evening was at a place called the Encinitas Ale House which serves about 30 different beers on tap plus other bottled beers, many from local micro-breweries. Shame neither of us drinks beer but Kevin did have a rather nice bottle of local cider. I tried a sip of Mary’s Flemish sour ale but the resulting face I pulled left no-one in any doubt as to what I thought of it! It certainly lived up to its name.
We’re off to pick up the bike shortly then have some more shopping to do to pick up a few bits and pieces including US SIMs so we don’t have to re-mortgage the house to pay the ‘phone bill – £1.35 a minute for outgoing calls, £1 per minute for incoming on our UK tariff; they’ve got to be kidding.