San Diego & Tijuana

After a good rest in Vegas we hit the road and headed down the freeway to San Diego on the I15 via San Bernardino. It was hot day without a cloud in sky so we put our shades on and enjoyed cruising to rock radio. Before long just near a place called Barstow, we saw signs for a 50s diner called 'Peggy Sues 50's diner', a perfect place to break up the drive. This place had everything you'd expect to see in the classic American movies. The food was tasty and portions very generous, but you'd soon get fat eating there too often! We stuffed our faces and rejoined the freeway.

Peggy Sue's 50s diner


Eventually after some fratching and a bit of stressing on the busy freeways  around the outskirts of LA, we ended up at the end of the I15 at the US Naval Base of San Diego (of all places). We'd overshot the city so we had to drive north through the dodgy looking neighbourhood, until eventually getting to the city centre. We found a motel and got some sleep. We'd planned to meet an old friend of Kate's the next day at a fantastic bar called The Yard House http://www.yardhouse.com. They had around one hundred and thirty beers on tap there, with the taps soldiered up next to eachother. The beer was good and so was the company. It felt funny hearing a broad yorkshire accent again tho after all our travelling in the states!

Whilst in San Diego we went to a classic car museum, enjoyed Mission Beach, and saw a fantastic sunset at La Jolla bay (pronounced 'la hoya').  See pictures below.  

Lockheed SR71 Blackbird

DeLorean DMC-12

David on Mission Beach

La Jolla Bay

We had five nights in San Diego but there was still lots of things to see and do. The waterfront near the marina, and views from the beach at sunset are vivid and beautiful. You will also see a photo of the original town settlement, which is essentially an open air museum. There were plenty of turn of the century adobe style homes to view, mostly turned into ye olde shoppes with staff in period clothing. The downtown area is the modern city area.

San Diego Old Town

On our last day we headed to Tijuana, Mexico.  We took the trolley to the border and followed signs to the Tijuana shuttle.  We walked over a bridge and, without passport control or anyone batting an eyelid, we waked into Mexico!  

Mexico - USA border


Tijuana is very run down but we had a great day.  We wandered around the main street and did a bit of shopping.  David enjoyed haggling on price and talking to old men about the history of Mexico.

Welcome to Tijuana!

Tijuana cathedral


Restaurant staff were out on the streets beckoning tourists to their establishment and we decided to eat in a busier restaurant with a balcony.  The food was good and the beer was very very cheap!   Whilst we were waiting for our meal, a band arrived to entertain us. Below is a video David took.   

From San Diego we headed north up the coast towards Los Angeles.