The Great Bike Ride – Days 18-19

Thursday-Friday, September 13-14, 2007

Sorry for not posting yesterday. The internet connectivity at this place is wretched, so I knew it would be an exercise in frustration to try to upload anything. Today, I found an alternative source of connectivity, and things are much better.

These past two days have been spent in San Diego, so no route map is warranted. My main goal for Thursday was to tour the USS Midway (CV-41), an aircraft carrier which served in the fleet from 1945 until 1992, forty seven years. We spent close to four hours on the ship, touring all the areas open to the public.

Then, at John's suggestion, we took a trolley tour of the city, and I got to see many areas with which I'm unfamiliar.

In the evening, I connected with Aunt Betty and Uncle Bob, and rode up to their place in Rancho Bernardo to have dinner with them. They have a beautiful home on a golf course, and it was great to spend a couple of hours with them.

Friday morning, we took the bikes to the Harley dealer in El Cajon to get oil changes before we start the trek across the desert tomorrow. We had lunch at a great BBQ place in El Cajon, and then returned to San Diego to ride out to the end of Point Loma, again at John's suggestion. This national park is hundreds of feet above the city, and gives a great view of the city, the harbor, North Island Naval Air Station, Coronado and the Pacific Ocean. Lots of things are happening in San Diego this weekend, including something called Yachtfest, sailboat racing trials for the Olympics, and the beginning of Fleet Week by the Navy. We wish we had arrived next week.

But tomorrow we begin heading east, and start the process of shorting the distance to home...

DAY 20