The long-awaited trip to San Diego got off to a rocky start when illness struck 2 days before I was supposed to leave.  So, I was a bit shaky when the car arrived to take me to the airport at 3:30 on a Wednesday morning.  For some reason, a 6 AM flight didn’t seem like a ridiculous idea back in January when I booked it.  So, feeling a little queasy, I boarded the plane heading to Denver.  Which also seemed like a good idea back on the cold January day.

After landing in Denver, the connecting flight to San Diego was close enough that I got off one plane and got right on the other.  Another quick 2 1/2 hour jaunt and we landed in beautiful San Diego around 10 AM.  A quick bus ride later and we arrived at the Manchester Grand Hyatt.  While we checked in to the hotel and got all of our conference information, our luggage was supposed to be delivered to our rooms.  So imagine my surprise when later that morning, I got a call from someone in the other tower of the hotel saying my luggage had made it to her room.  Not a huge deal, but issue #1 of the trip.

After getting the luggage situation worked out, I ventured out to reacquaint myself with the city.  It had been almost 10 years since my last visit, so I tried to retrace some of the steps from my previous visits.  First was a walk past the convention center, where I had attended a comic con or 3.  Next stop was PETCO Park, which is just up the street from the convention center.  When I first found out the dates of this trip, the first thing I checked was the Padres schedule.  Unfortunately, a game wasn’t in the cards this time, but I did get a look in to the stadium thanks to their open center field concourse.  From there, I headed off to Horton Plaza, looking to try and grab something for lunch.  This is where I ran into a little trouble because, for the life of me, I couldn’t find it.  I eventually had to resort to looking it up on my phone to see how to get there.  I guess 10 years really is a long time.

Wednesday night was the big gala event on the USS Midway.  Due to the chilly (for southern California) weather, we were moved from the flight deck down below, but still had access to roam the retired aircraft carrier.  Both before and after dinner, groups of the winners were called up to shake hands and get their picture taken with Suren and their AVP.  It was a nice way to wind down the first day in San Diego.

Thursday morning had the only “work” event of the trip, an 8 AM Q & A session with the senior leadership team.  After that, we were on our own for the day.  I went out for another tour around the area, first looking to confirm the location of the comedy club I had purchased a ticket to for Friday night.  I was able to find the club, but no sign of the performer, Matt Braunger, I was supposed to see.  It seems a different act would be performing the following night.  Trip Issue #2!

After that, I headed out in the other direction in search of the hotel and bar, the famous Elephant and Castle, where I had stayed 10 years ago.  I also got a look at the USS Midway in the daylight, along with some of the statues and memorials dedicated to the veterans of World War II.  Once I got back to the hotel, I checked my email and there was nothing about the comedy mix up, but my credit card showed a credit for the ticket I had purchased the month before, so my one official plan for the San Diego portion of the trip was now cancelled.

Afterwards, I caught lunch at the hotel bar, which just so happened to be showing afternoon baseball featuring Chicago teams.  My plan for the afternoon was to sit out by the pool, relaxing and enjoying a good book about a certain blonde private investigator.  Thursday night featured a trip to marine base Miramar for dinner and more looks at military aircraft.  While there, we were able to witness transports returning soldiers to the US and being reunited with their families.  A nice dinner followed in the officer’s lounge, after which it was back to the hotel for the night.

Friday morning started with a nice breakfast courtesy of the conference, followed by a 2 hour boat tour of San Diego bay, where we saw plenty of military crafts and the occasional sea lion.  After that, I headed back towards the Gaslamp district, where I checked out some of the local hotspots, including the Chuck Jones gallery, and a quick lunch at the Old Spaghetti Factory, which I had managed to avoid during every previous trip to this fine city.  Friday night ended the festivities with dinner and dancing at the hotel.  Again, we were originally supposed to be outside on the pool deck but the chilly weather moved the festivities inside.  To bring things full circle, I ended up sitting with the people who wound up with my luggage at dinner.

Saturday morning featured one last breakfast before checking out and taking the shuttle to the airport, where I jumped over to the Enterprise shuttle to pick up my rental car and move on to the next phase of the trip, Los Angeles.