Day 19: Mission Accomplished!

We had a great start to our day in the breakfast room at the Old Town Inn. This family business has served up personalized hospitality since the 1940's and continue as Cesar and his staff answered our questions with good advice. As well, this place is right along the Pacific Coast Highway and close to the metro bus, trolley and tram. Pretty handy!

We caught the 9:30 bus for a full day at SeaWorld, whales, dolphins, roller coaster and wet rides included. The crowd was light until the sun came out after dinner, but we left by 4:00 when we were damp and the piped music became too much. The programs were professional and entertaining, just as we had anticipated. We really enjoyed the views from the Skytower and the Skyride but one roller coaster ride was enough for me. Something that bothered us, however, was the omnipresent junk food and souvenir booths. How would a parent fend off whiny requests from tired children by the end of the day? The educational aspect was shaded by the commercialism.

By 4:00, we caught the bus back, tired but satisfied with our day so far. As we rode, Bryan felt that it was too nice a day to not cycle. On top of that, the light traffic on a Sunday would be better than Monday morning for biking the 27 km to Imperial Beach. So, not long after we got back to the inn, we checked out the route and he was on his way to the Broadway pier to catch the ferry for Coronado. He was impressed with the two cruise ships, aircraft carrier, banquet ferries docker there right in the heart of the downtown. After disembarking, it was clear cycling into Imperial Beach, the end point of our adventure, just across from the Mexican border.

We celebrated with a supper of the usual past at a very unusual local restaurant. We have never been served so much tasty food at one sitting but it was a fitting end to an ambitious project. I am so proud of Bryan for finishing strong in our West Coast adventure.