We have reached San Diego, the end of the road trip and the end of this section of the trip. In a couple of days time we will be boarding the Zuiderdam for our cruise around the South Pacific.

But first we have time to explore the busy and vibrant city of San Diego and its local communities.

A great way to get a feel of the-laid back vibe of the city is to take a stroll along the waterfront at the Embarcadero. From here you can pop in and explore the historic gas lamp area or walk on to Seaport village where you can choose from a wide variety of restaurants. We chose the low-calorie burger and fries option and it was delicious!

We took a tour of the USS Midway. This ship was commissioned in 1945 and is named after the battle which was a turning point in the war in the pacific. This aircraft carrier was in service until 1991 making it the longest serving carrier in U.S. history.

The tour was absolutely fascinating and we spent far longer than we had anticipated exploring this ship.

And according to Jane far too long posing for silly photos!

Alongside the carrier is an outsized statue of “The Kiss” based on the famous photograph taken at the end of the second world war.

Kev and Val took this picture of the Top Gun house. It looks a lot different now all these years later!

We both needed to buy snorkels for the next part of the holiday. Jane was shocked at the response to her google search for the name of the sports shop she had been given!

We were walking along the high street in Carlsbad (20miles north of San Diego) when I spotted this beautiful Lincoln Continental convertible driven by what looked like the Golden Girls (1980’s sitcom for those of you too old to remember)! I called for them to give us a wave and they duly did, what great sports!

Next Stop Cardiff, well, Cardiff on Sea, California!

And another chance to see and photograph some more American classic cars!

The next morning I went for my early morning stroll and I found this locally owned and run doughnut shop………..

……….so it seemed rude not to stop and try some of its wares…………delicious!

And as the sun sets on this part of the holiday and we start to look forward the the next chapter, the surfers are still out there trying to grab every last bit of available daylight !