Tuesday 18th March 2014 -8 Hours GMT ­ San Diego, California, USA: Welcome to San Diego

Hi Folks sorry there has been a long interregnum made a little longer unfortunately because of a nasty case of jet lag.  As I write it is the late afternoon of Monday 31^st March 2014 and the first day since I landed back in the UK on Thursday 20^th that I have felt free of jet lag.  I was waking at 3.00 – 4.00am and totally shattered by 8.00pm.  I have not had such prolonged jet lag symptoms before so I have put this down to still trying to shake off the virus that I suffered for the last 3 weeks of the voyage.

OK so down to the business of completing the blog.  We arrived off San Diego Bay at 11.00am and bang on time at the pilot station after another marathon 5 days at sea from Hilo in Hawaii.  San Diego is a major city in California, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, approximately 120 miles (190 km) south of Los Angeles and immediately adjacent to the border (Its only some 16 miles and can be reached by tram from the main railway station in San Diego) with Mexico. San Diego is the eighth (latest estimates say sixth) largest city in the United States and second largest in California and is one of the fastest growing cities in the United States. The city is regarded as the birthplace of California and is known for its mild year-round climate, natural deep-water harbour, extensive beaches and long association with the U.S. Navy.

According to Wikipedia historically San Diego was home to the Kumeyaay people and was the first site visited by Europeans. Upon landing in San Diego Bay in 1542, Juan Cabrillo claimed the area for Spain, forming the basis for the settlement of Alta California 200 years later. The Presidio and Mission (Missions have played a big role in the history and development of California but sadly I don’t have time to explore this in depth here) of San Diego, founded in 1769, formed the first European settlement in what is now California. In 1821, San Diego became part of newly independent Mexico, and in 1850, part of the United States following the Mexican-American War (Didn’t Davy Crockett have something to do with this war?) and the admission of California to the union.

The economy of San Diego is dominated by its deep-water port, which includes major submarine and shipbuilding yards and its major military installations since San Diego is known as the "birthplace of naval aviation”.  It is also home to the majority of the U.S. Pacific Fleet's surface vessels, many of the Navy's West Coast amphibious ships, a variety of Coast Guard vessels, two Nimitz class aircraft carriers and several submarines in addition to many smaller ships.

The mid-day operations of the huge Marine Corps base on our starboard bow were very much in evidence as helicopters of all sizes buzzed overhead on take-off and landing training.

The impressive skyline of San Diego soon hove into view in the hazy sunshine with the veteran aircraft carrier of the Vietnam War – the USS Midway – taking centre stage and the Coronado Bridge on the left linking San Diego with a major residential area across the San Diego River.

Our berth at the “B Street Cruise Terminal” reminded me of my visit to New York aboard the Cunard Queen Mary II in 2011 with our ship’s bow at right angles to the shoreline so facing straight into the city and two berths down the huge USS Midway aircraft carrier now a Military museum.  The same configuration as in Manhattan that also has an aircraft carrier museum as well as one of the now grounded Concorde aircraft.