San Diego Experience

Author: Beshears (brneyes)
Date of Trip: April 2010

We had just cruised to/from Catalina Island, California and Ensenada, Mexico (see my report on Cruise Critic under Carnival Elation) a few weeks ago. We knew we would have a few hours of layover time at the San Diego Airport, so we wanted to “SEE” some of San Diego, and Old Town was recommended as one of the places to see.

We decided to take “public transportation”, instead of a Taxi, and see how the “San Diego” people do it. I was told that bus #992 could be picked up at either in front of the ship or the airport, which is about 10 minutes away from the ship. We decided to check in our luggage first, before we went on this “adventure.” When we had arrived in San Diego it was very nice of 75 degrees, but when leaving, it was about 55 degrees and very windy and chilly.

I checked with a porter at the airport to make sure that bus #992 arrived at this area where I seen buses stopping, and it did. I was told that you could get a “whole day” ticket for bus/trolley for $5, which we thought (even though we were not going to be there but a couple hours) was a good deal. The bus probably holds about 24 people, with standing room also. Since this bus goes in front of the ship or airport, you can see a lot of people bringing on their luggage, etc. (I did ask the bus driver to say it LOUD when it came close to where we were to get off and get our trolley.) I’ll tell a little funny now. There was a lady getting off the bus. She had “4” pieces of luggage, and also a dog on a leash, which she was carrying. She brought a lot of “attention and laughter” from the passengers, as we were all wondering how she was going to get off with all pieces of luggage and her dog. She had a very hard, but she “made” it.

The bus driver told us (as well as a passenger) where to get off to get our trolley. (I hadn’t been on a “real” trolley since I was a little girl.) We went to the corner to wait, and there were several trolleys that went by, before ours came, saying “Old Town.” These trolleys are just not “one” trolley, but 3 – 5 trolleys attached together. When you get on, you don’t necessarily get on at the front, you can get on any of the trolleys when the door opens up. It was quite a ride seeing some of San Diego in the meantime. There were people that bring on their bicycles on these trolleys, which was “amusing” to us to see.

We got off for Old Town, but unfortunately didn’t get to see much of it, as it took quite a while to ride the bus/trolley to get there. We just walked on the main street, not getting off the path as we knew our time was very limited to get back to the airport. I understand Old Town, is sort of like back in the 1800’s, but what we seen, didn’t look like it. We did see a beautiful area where it was like a forest of cactus.