A Grand Adventure! Grand Princess California Coastal Complete Photo Review 9/18-9/25

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

DAY 6: LONG BEACH (ORANGE COUNTY) CONTINUED......

The majority of the rest of the trip would take us up the Pacific Coast Highway (1) on our way back up to Long Beach. Knowing the area, Ernie told us that riding right up the PCH would be faster than going back inland and taking the highway due to building traffic as the day wore on. The PCH is a very scenic roadway that runs right along the coast, all the way up to the north I think, and goes through all the major beach towns along the way. We went through Huntington Beach, which is an old-style beach town that is sort of transforming into an upscale beach town that is kind of caught in between the two. Think Clearwater Beach in Florida if you have ever been there. Or any NJ shore town, same thing. Very nice and there is an intracoastal waterway that runs between these shore towns and the mainland. Fishing, boating, etc.

 

 

I think there is a refinery or some oil drilling here as well. Many offshore oil rigs within view and they say on a clear day, Catalina Island can be seen from these towns. It is about 27 miles from the mainland. Go there if you ever get the chance, by the way. On my Carnival Sensation cruise a few years ago, we went here and it was the highlight of the trip. Susan told us that gas costs more here because of the smog restrictions that are put in place on the fuel blend that is sold. This area is in a basin, between mountains and an ocean and the air can get very stagnant, so any pollutants like car exhaust just builds up and creates ugly air and unhealthy conditions. She said that in recent years air quality has improved quite a bit and they try to keep it that way.

 

We continued on and stopped in Newport Beach a few miles up the road, where we got off the bus and got to walk around some and tour the place. Susan said there was a surf museum here but I did not go there. My mom stayed close to the dropoff/pickup spot for the bus and I went to the beach, which was about a 5 block walk. There are tons of surf and beach shops along the PCH, and then a more east-coast type flat white sand beach and bike path leading up to the ocean. I also walked out on the pier, which went out into the water and featured some shops and restaurants along with fishing spots.

 

 

 

LOL, Zoltar Says machine right outside one of the shops on the pier. I almost bought some trinkets inside the place but couldn't find anything I wanted but I was not the only one paying attention to the machine. And yes, this one was plugged in. Anyone who has seen the movie "Big" knows what this is all about.

 

 

Here is the beach that I mentioned, lots of activity here.

 

 

We got back on the bus around 1500 and headed back up the PCH, along the way we saw some more oil rigs and Susan mentioned that the highway took 19 years to fully complete, that it is really dark and foggy at night, and that they produce about 500 million barrels of oil from those rigs in the immediate area so there is a lot of money in that game. We continued northbound, as we got closer and closer to Long Beach.

 

 

More on our ride through Long Beach......

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

DAY 6: LONG BEACH (ORANGE COUNTY) CONTINUED.....

 

I think we entered LA County somewhere along the way here, and soon we entered the city of Long Beach, the neighborhood of Belmont Shore, which is a trendy part of town. Susan told us that there is a constant threat of a big earthquake and sooner or later one will likely hit in our lifetimes (due to just statistical probability) and that she just is always prepared by keeping sort of a go-kit in her car that she can get to quickly in the event of a major disaster. I get what she is saying, you cannot live in fear and just whatever is going to happen, will happen and the most you can do is be ready for it the best you can.

 

Anyway, we got into downtown Long Beach, and she said that there has been a lot of redevelopment of this area in recent years, that it had been pretty run-down years ago but is better now. Lot of high-priced housing, hotels, government buildings and other attractions to keep the area bustling. She said that in the past, lots and lots of vice-stuff went on but most of that has dissipated in recent years. She did say that there are lots of homeless people there, and it is because simply put, the weather is so nice there, it is possible to live outside all year. Not like that in most parts of the country. She also said that she thought people come from all across the country to be homeless there.

 

 

Just as we arrived back closer to the ship, she pointed out the In N Out Burger restaurant nearby and explained the phenomenon of it to the tour guests. It is strictly a west coast thing, company owned, fresh ingredients, limited menu, that there are not that many of them, and that people there love them. She said that the family that owns the chain is really socially conscious and great in the community as well and that after the entire corporate board was killed in a plane crash many years ago, company officers must not travel together in order to avoid it happening again. I have never been to In N Out but have seen the one in Las Vegas near the Strip and have heard how great the stuff there is. One day I will get a chance to try it out.

We arrived back at the spot we were picked up around 1600 and before we pulled into the parking spot, Susan told us about the Queen Mary and said we should check it out if we got the time to do so. It is a hotel now, used to be a luxury cruise ship, I didn't go but maybe sometime I will if I ever cruise out of Long Beach again and have some time before the cruise. We got off the bus, tipped and thanked our crew and were on our way back to the ship.

 

 

Before going back into the port building, I got a nice picture of our ship docked at the pier and watched some Catalina Express helicopters take off and land at the nearby heliport. Neat. There is also a huge cargo port here and when I was here before, the longshoremen were on strike and dozens of cargo ships were just hovering off the coast waiting for them to open up again. They were in full operation this day.

 

We went back through security and to the ship, were on by 1630 for the 1730 scheduled departure, and I went up on the top deck to get a snack and watch us sail away from Long Beach. My mom and I got some pizza and a hotdog and fries as we had missed the lunch buffet and as usual, everything was good but the fries, which were cold as usual. My mom went back to the room before departure and I stayed outside to watch us leave out of port again. Got a nice shot of the Queen Mary here as well.

 

Good views of the cargo port of Long Beach

 

Long Beach as we sailed away around 1800, next stop would be San Diego

 

We still had the evening, so stay tuned for that, more to come.....

Edited October 23, 2016 by FlyingCruiserNJ

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

DAY 6: LONG BEACH (ORANGE COUNTY) CONTINUED.....

Captain Wilson came on the PA system shortly after departure to brief everyone on the expected weather and sea conditions and the forecast was for calm seas and temperatures around 70 degrees for the night and the next day. Good. I went to the hot tub to relax before sunset and got a picture of the nice sunset again, as I stepped out of the not-crowded hot tub to do this.

 

 

 

After the hot tub, it was the usual shower and change and dinner at 2000 in the Botticelli. We had thought about going to the steakhouse or even the Crab Shack dinner the one night but after our lunch experience in the steakhouse earlier, we ruled that out. We had also thought about the Italian restaurant but we figured we were enjoying ourselves in the MDR enough so we just went with that. We did pass through the photo gallery on the way to dinner just to look at the few pictures we had taken by ship staff and did not like any enough to purchase. We sat down and shared our day's experiences with our tablemates and sat down to a nice dinner. I got some spaghetti and pasta fazul/minestrone soups for my appetizers tonight and pot roast for my entree. The spaghetti and soup were great, the pot roast was not. Reminded me of too-dry short ribs, nothing like the kind of pot roast you would get at Golden Corral. Anyway, I got some neapolitan ice cream for dessert which was OK and we were out of the dining room before 2130.

 

 

 

After dinner, we saw the magic comedy show of Jeff Peterson and his dog, Indy in the theater. I think it was a 2145 performance (also had 2000 for early diners and early to bed people) and it was good and funny. Obviously nothing too serious, lots of mocking of magic stuff with comedy mixed in. I am a dog lover so I also enjoyed how he got along with his little dog. He mentioned before the show that he is also a big supporter of the SPCA and of taking care of shelter animals, which was nice. He said he had a close call with Indy healthwise a while back and that put things into some perspective for him. The show was over by 2230 or so and again, that was pretty much it for the evening as the entertainment did not go too late again. I know many people noticed the lack of late night stuff to do and I don't know how many people said anything to the staff about it but it was noticeable.

 

 

So, again around 2300 I went back to the cabin to get some sleep as there wasn't much going on upstairs, I was tired and was still feeling the effects of the cold and developing cough that I had. We had a scheduled arrival into the port of San Diego scheduled for early the next morning, so we had that to look forward to for our next day. The usual Princess Patter was on the bed and I had not yet finished all the chocolates I had received during past evening turndowns. Shortly after laying down, I was asleep and resting up for the next day.

 

I do have to issue a correction to something I said along the way. I flipped Huntington Beach and Newport Beach around. The surf museum was in Huntington Beach and not Newport Beach, that is also where I got off the bus and walked around on the pier. My apologies for getting the two confused - it's been a while since I have been back home. LOL.

 

That is it for DAY 6: LONG BEACH (ORANGE COUNTY), hope you enjoyed my storytelling and pictures of the many things we did on this day. We still have three more cruise days to go along with debarkation day and some of the pictures I got in San Diego are some of my favorites of the entire cruise. Stay tuned for that, whenever I get to it (hopefully it won't take me a week to get to the next part LOL) and thanks for reading along with my adventure. Good night!

Edited October 23, 2016 by FlyingCruiserNJ

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Fabulous! Since I live here, the idea of a tour seems funny, but you got to see some great stuff. I haven't been to Capistrano in ages.

 

I tried to get as much of a feel of the place as I could in pictures. Places like these have to be seen to get the full experience though. Amazing how things were just a few centuries ago though. I figure we had 8 hours to see what we saw and it would take days to see everything that area had to offer. It was a good time though. I did not know what to expect with the Capistrano visit beforehand but I did like it and my mom really was into it and enjoyed it a whole lot.

[ar1950]

Thanks for continuing the review. BTW, you should have asked Zoltar to get rid of your cold. :D

Edited October 23, 2016 by ar1950

[waverley7]

Still enjoying your review! :D

 

My departure times from San Fran just got changed from 1:05 to 11:45.

 

Since I'm heading to Canada I need to be 2 hours prior for check in. So,

just wondering what time you were able to disembark at. Think we can make it to the airport for 9:45 am?

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Thanks for continuing the review. BTW, you should have asked Zoltar to get rid of your cold. :D

 

I should have, haha. Kind of scared to ask Zoltar for anything though, as my wish might actually get granted and I don't want to open that can of worms after seeing how things went for Josh Baskin. :) But seriously, my cold didn't get any better until I was back home actually, and although it didn't ruin the rest of my trip, I went through about 2 boxes of tissues in the cabin and it did ruin my evening one night, will get into that when that day's wrap up comes. Thanks for reading along with me and I will be getting to my day in San Diego later tonight hopefully. Really neat stuff to see there, some famous attractions and some stuff that geeks like me really got excited to see.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Still enjoying your review! :D

 

My departure times from San Fran just got changed from 1:05 to 11:45.

 

Since I'm heading to Canada I need to be 2 hours prior for check in. So,

just wondering what time you were able to disembark at. Think we can make it to the airport for 9:45 am?

 

As long as you do self-assist debarkation and don't mind taking a cab, no problem at all. We had an 1100-ish flight at SFO and we were at the airport by 0830 or so. My mom was paranoid about getting stuck in a long line at customs or whatever and then waiting even longer for a shuttle, then traffic back to the airport so we took the self-assist option and got off the ship in the first group. No problems at customs or getting a cab, which surprisingly was not that much more than Princess's shuttle bus or even a private van and no traffic on an early Sunday morning and it took us like half an hour to get to the airport. So long story short, yes, if you plan it right (make sure you plan for self-assist debark with early off group when they give you the paperwork to fill out in the cabin a few days before the end of the cruise) you should have no problem at all getting back to SFO by 0945. I have never gotten off a ship so quickly or gotten back to any airport (even FLL and TPA) as quickly. I will talk more about my whole experience with that when my debark day review gets closer. Thanks for reading along and I hope this is helping you prepare for your cruise. You will have a great time.

[shredie]

Yes, In-N-Out. I'm spoiled now for hamburgers because theirs are just so good, I don't want anyone else. Everything is fresh. I like the picture of the Grand tied up at Long Beach. That's not something you see a lot. That dock is Carnival's regular spot, and only as a tour stop does Princess go there. Of course, the whole thing is only five or so miles down the coast from San Pedro, Princess' usual port.

[SheriffJoe]

As long as you do self-assist debarkation and don't mind taking a cab, no problem at all. We had an 1100-ish flight at SFO and we were at the airport by 0830 or so. My mom was paranoid about getting stuck in a long line at customs or whatever and then waiting even longer for a shuttle, then traffic back to the airport so we took the self-assist option and got off the ship in the first group. No problems at customs or getting a cab, which surprisingly was not that much more than Princess's shuttle bus or even a private van and no traffic on an early Sunday morning and it took us like half an hour to get to the airport. So long story short, yes, if you plan it right (make sure you plan for self-assist debark with early off group when they give you the paperwork to fill out in the cabin a few days before the end of the cruise) you should have no problem at all getting back to SFO by 0945. I have never gotten off a ship so quickly or gotten back to any airport (even FLL and TPA) as quickly. I will talk more about my whole experience with that when my debark day review gets closer. Thanks for reading along and I hope this is helping you prepare for your cruise. You will have a great time.

 

This is true BUT ONLY on a Sunday...any other day and you will most likely miss your flight.....

[waverley7]

This is true BUT ONLY on a Sunday...any other day and you will most likely miss your flight.....

 

Thanks Flying Cruiser and SheriffJoe

 

We will be coming back in on a Saturday so it sounds like I should change it eh :rolleyes: Dang

[SheriffJoe]

Thanks Flying Cruiser and SheriffJoe

 

We will be coming back in on a Saturday so it sounds like I should change it eh :rolleyes: Dang

 

Saturday isn't quite as bad as a weekday but I wouldn't chance it ...any traffic issues or TSA back up at all and you will miss your flight...Saturday mornings are quite popular downtown and along the waterfront in San Francisco for scheduling of all kinds of events that can clog traffic...

Edited October 25, 2016 by SheriffJoe

[PRINCESSTHE BEST]

This is a fabulous review and I have been completely enthralled. Thank you so much for putting a tremendous amount of time and effort into it.:)

[AF-1]

Your pictures are excellent. They tell a story along with your narration. Thanks.

[4cats4me]

Thank you for such a nice, comprehensive review. I am enjoying it immensely

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Yes, In-N-Out. I'm spoiled now for hamburgers because theirs are just so good, I don't want anyone else. Everything is fresh. I like the picture of the Grand tied up at Long Beach. That's not something you see a lot. That dock is Carnival's regular spot, and only as a tour stop does Princess go there. Of course, the whole thing is only five or so miles down the coast from San Pedro, Princess' usual port.

 

I guess the closest we have to that around me is maybe Five Guys. I should really go to an In N Out next time I am in LAS and see for myself what everyone talks about. Lots and lots of people were taking pics of the Grand, I actually took a few of couples and families while I was standing there. Just a little strip of grass near the water, to the right of the port building but the views there are pretty good. I would say it is a little bit of a walk to get to the Queen Mary and we didn't feel like doing it, but it might be walkable if you want to see it after you get done your tour or if you don't do any tours at all and just want something to do away from the ship for the day. I knew that port was only for Carnival Corp, did not know that Princess docks further away usually. It is a unique setup though. I know I had a hard time finding the Platinum check in when I sailed from there before, I did see where it was on this trip though, outside the building before you even enter. :) Anyways, I am finally going to get to continuing this today. Lots of nice pics from San Diego and a nice story to go with it.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

This is true BUT ONLY on a Sunday...any other day and you will most likely miss your flight.....

 

I was thinking of mentioning that as well but still, 3 hours should be enough to get back to the airport without any stops so you can make a flight. I know when we rode up from the airport to the cruise terminal on the Sunday before, that there was traffic but it was moving and it did not take that long at all to get there. We spent tons of time on the Embarcadero on Saturday though and yes, it does get backed up quite a bit. The port dropoff area is small and SFPD does traffic control outside, so maybe you could get stuck in a line going in or out of there but our experience was flawless. Too easy, we had too much time to kill before our flight home, lol.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Thanks Flying Cruiser and SheriffJoe

 

We will be coming back in on a Saturday so it sounds like I should change it eh :rolleyes: Dang

 

I still think that as long as you get right off the ship as soon as they start debarkation with self assist, you can still get a cab and make it to the airport by 0945, but you said you were from Canada right? I do not know if the customs process for non-US passengers takes longer than for US passengers. I have seen that line stretch pretty long on other cruises in the past. It's up to you though if you want to try it or not. Or just move to another later flight if it wouldn't be too much hassle. Anyways, thank you very much for participating in this review, I am going to get moving along with it in just a minute here. I enjoyed San Diego a lot. Hope you enjoy my pics and story to go with it. Enjoy your time on the Grand.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Saturday isn't quite as bad as a weekday but I wouldn't chance it ...any traffic issues or TSA back up at all and you will miss your flight...Saturday mornings are quite popular downtown and along the waterfront in San Francisco for scheduling of all kinds of events that can clog traffic...

 

Yeah, weekday - based on what I saw of our travel from the airport to the hotel in Burlingame (not even downtown SF) on a Friday, traffic must be a nightmare in the city. There are a lot of activities downtown on Saturdays, but it being so early in the morning, once you get back to the expressway from downtown, would the traffic still be heavy? I really don't know but you also may run into problems once back at the airport so you never know. I thought the security at the airport was quick (one of the airports that uses private screeners and not TSA - hard to tell the difference but it seems there is one) and even the bag drop line was not long at all at the ticket counter. It might be a close call but planning it all out in advance is what made it possible for us.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

This is a fabulous review and I have been completely enthralled. Thank you so much for putting a tremendous amount of time and effort into it.:)

 

Thank you for your kind words. I am happy that people are enjoying the review. I do love doing these things, they help me re-live the cruise experience while sharing it with others and now that the weather is beginning to get colder, it does kinda help me think of nice warm and sunny days. All in all, each day takes about 2-3 hours to do which is why unless I have that time to sit down and work on it without being rushed, I wait until I have the time. Hurrying to do something like this just guarantees that the finished product won't be as good as it could be. Thanks for reading and being patient with me as I roll along with this thing. I am going to get to our day in San Diego this afternoon, hope you enjoy.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Your pictures are excellent. They tell a story along with your narration. Thanks.

 

Thank you very much. I often find myself taking pics in some cases with the idea of a flowing story that I can show people back home so they can see the vacation from my perspective. I know people who used to do Flat Stanley for schoolkids in my area who never got to travel and that was sort of a vacation review and I always thought that was kind of cool. I am going to get going again with the continuation of this review, hope you enjoy my day in San Diego.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Thank you for such a nice, comprehensive review. I am enjoying it immensely

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Thank you very much for the words and I am glad that you are enjoying the review. I figure if I am going to review a ship and ports, may as well talk about the entire vacation and put readers in a position to see the adventure from my perspective. There is more to a cruise than just the ship and although I love the ships and what I do on them, I also enjoy the time before and after the cruise and the stuff I do in ports as well. Happy cruising and enjoy my San Diego port day review, upcoming in just a few minutes.

[waverley7]

Yeah, weekday - based on what I saw of our travel from the airport to the hotel in Burlingame (not even downtown SF) on a Friday, traffic must be a nightmare in the city. There are a lot of activities downtown on Saturdays, but it being so early in the morning, once you get back to the expressway from downtown, would the traffic still be heavy? I really don't know but you also may run into problems once back at the airport so you never know. I thought the security at the airport was quick (one of the airports that uses private screeners and not TSA - hard to tell the difference but it seems there is one) and even the bag drop line was not long at all at the ticket counter. It might be a close call but planning it all out in advance is what made it possible for us.

 

I'm a bit stuck as there are no other direct flights to Montreal that day. However, my mom will be with us and she will be wheel chair assisted so we can avoid lineups at the airport. I've decided not to worry about it because I think we should be good to go now that I have thought of that. Anyway, thanks to both of you for your help with this. Moving forward....on to the review! :D

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Thank you everyone for the kind comments and discussion that we have going here as I slowly but surely make my way along in this Grand Princess review. I didn't think it would take this long to do, I am sorry for that, but I am all set to continue on. I was all set with continuing yesterday after responding to everyone and then my "bucket of photos" had some issues and I wasn't able to get to them to post. It appears to be OK today, so I am going to give it another shot.

 

Our previous day was spent in Orange County, and the port of Long Beach, and we moved our way down the coast some and stopped in San Diego on this nice Thursday. The following will take place between 0900 and 0100 on Thursday (24 reference - you know, the show that was good for a couple years and now not as good). Anyway, enjoy my story and pictures from this day in an interesting city.

 

DAY 7: SAN DIEGO

 

We did not have any ship-bought excursions to meet on this day in San Diego, so no need to get up at a certain time to be anywhere. I was feeling pretty stuffy also, so I elected to sleep in some. The ship parks in the downtown area, between the airport and the USS Midway, so not far from anything. We awoke to the sound of supplies being loaded and downloaded from the underbelly of the ship and this went on for quite a few hours. I guess San Diego is where they get restocked and not San Francisco, or maybe this was just a special re-load mission. Either way, it was loud and noticeable.

 

I got up around 0900 and in addition to the provisioning that was going on, this was also the day that the crew designated to be safety drill day. Today's focus was a man overboard and evacuation scenario. We watched the morning show on the cabin TV and checked out the TV news to see what was going on nationally (MSNBC and FOX news were the only two "news" channels available, no local network programming) and around 1000, we headed up to the breakfast buffet for a leisurely meal. Also, that would allow Grace time to service the cabin. Fresh towels, clean up a little, make the bed, etc. The stewards generally would not touch any drink glasses or anything if it was set on your desk in the room, so those could pile up quickly if you do not attend to them or let the steward know you are done with them.

 

So, around 1000 we sat down with the usual breakfast stuff and looked out the window of the lido dining room to see what the outside world in San Diego looked like. To our right was the USS Midway and to the left was the city and SAN. And behind us was Naval Base Coronado. Directly in front of the ship was the downtown area of San Diego. The crew made sure to make many announcements that the emergency sirens and activity around was just a drill and nothing to be alarmed about. By 1100 we were done and my mom went back to the room to plan out what we would do in the city today. I walked around on the top decks to see what was all around us. Got some nice pictures for sure.

 

Looking off to the left side of the ship, a marina. SAN airport in the distance. Didn't even realize how constrained that place is until you see it from another angle. Even better looks at it as we went on a tour later in the day.

 

 

The front of the ship. We docked right up against the street in the downtown area. It was quite a walk to get to that street even though we were right near it, will get into that. Nice views.

 

 

To the right was the USS Midway, which is decommissioned and is now a museum open to the public. I really wish we could have made it there, maybe I will if I go out there again for a land vacation and Phillies road trip next spring. My buddy from work used to be in the Navy and had told me all about the Midway. Seems interesting, maybe someone else reading this has been to it and how was it?

 

 

So, after taking pictures and getting cleaned up, we made our plans for what we were going to do. My Navy friend told me about some of the stuff to do in San Diego, and what he liked and what would be worth seeing so based on that, we did not book an excursion and planned to go off on our own. Around 1130 we headed out through the Piazza and off the ship, and along the walkway across from the ship, making our way towards the street.

 

You can get a shuttle bus from there, which will drop you off in downtown and we used that because although I could have walked it, my mom would rather not have. It is a bit of a wait to get it but it was not crowded and it dropped us off right near the little downtown mall, called the Headquarters. The driver made it clear to us that his bus was one of a number of similar-looking ones but his was the only one going back to the ship. He said that if you got on the wrong bus, it would literally take you all the way to Las Vegas or Phoenix, and under no circumstances would be turning back, so make sure you are on the right bus. Look for him and only him and he gave his bus number to record to memory. The ride only took about 5 minutes along the waterfront and to the Headquarters.

 

Taken out front of the mall. Lot of high-end shops and restaurants there now, it used to be the old city police station and who knows what else, but I guess it is historical. Nice location also, light rail nearby and not far from the Seaport district.

 

We walked around the courtyard some and I think they had little brochures with maps that could help you around the immediate area. I will say the signage and directories for people walking around the area were not good though, hard to find your way around unless you knew exactly where you wanted to go. Being a geek, I had to find the police station which has not been in operation for some years now but they have a lot of artifacts and a story about it, along with the original jail and a list of some of the people who did time in it. Neat.

 

Some old police uniform patches and accessories that officers used back in the day.

 

 

Much more to come with San Diego shortly......

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

I'm a bit stuck as there are no other direct flights to Montreal that day. However, my mom will be with us and she will be wheel chair assisted so we can avoid lineups at the airport. I've decided not to worry about it because I think we should be good to go now that I have thought of that. Anyway, thanks to both of you for your help with this. Moving forward....on to the review! :D

 

Man, yeah if there is only one flight to where you are going it could be a little stressful. Maybe have them change it to a connecting flight somewhere? I know that is more hassle but it is better than missing the trip altogether. Being able to get precheck if you are with an elderly or disabled person helps though, it speeds things up a lot in many cases but I can count on one hand the times it has taken me more than a few minutes to get through even the regular security line anywhere in the last few years. I think that issue with nightmarish security lines was overblown this summer as I really didn't see any problems but maybe I was just lucky. I am always happy to help fellow travelers plan stuff as I often look here or on other travel sites to get recommendations on that kind of stuff if I am not familiar with it. About the review....lol. I had it all written up yesterday and the poof, the "bucket of photos" decided to take an um...rest and I wasn't able to put any of them into the review. So I held off until it was back up and it seems to be fine now, so on we go. Hope you enjoy my wrap up of San Diego. Will be long with a lot of pics but should be enjoyable.