Travel Adventures: San Diego APRC

 



Memorial down by the Midway.

I am in San Diego, California for work this week.  This time it is not involving food safety, but recycling!!  Yes, this probably doesn't make sense, but go with it.  I wear two hats at my job; food safety and sustainability.  This time I am focusing on sustainability by learning more about recycling agricultural plastics, which is something which growers are interested.  I am at an Agricultural Plastics Recycling Conference.

I flew in yesterday and had an uneventful fight, which means I was not delayed.  Yay!  I like flying out west because the planes are nicer.  The flight from Dallas to San Diego had TVs on the back of every seat.  I watched the movie Mother's Day with Julia Roberts and Kate Hudson in it.  It was cute, a great way to pass a long flight.  I took Uber from the airport to my hotel.  I accidentally clicked on Uber Pool.  Whoops!  I had to share my ride with someone else.  It actually worked out okay because they were already in the car and were sitting in the front seat.  I was dropped off first.  My ride was only $7.00.  I ordinarily would not have chosen that option, because (I don't know... I don't want to ride with a stranger)!!  In hindsight, it really wasn't that bad.

I am staying at the Hyatt Regency Mission Bay because that is where the conference is located.  After exploring around yesterday, I am not a big fan of this location.  I would never choose to stay here if it wasn't for the conference.  It is just located really far from everything.  If you don't have a car, forget it.  It's not like you can walk anywhere.  They only have a couple of restaurants on property, one of which is pretty pricy.  The hotel is also very dated and in need of an update.  Some of the paint is peeling off in my bathroom and the door is so awkwardly placed that it almost hits the toilet when you shut it.  Yes, I can hear my neighbors through the walls. Ugh!  On the positive side, I have a seriously nice view of the bay and ocean.

Today, I had time before the first session of the conference started.  I decided to do the hop-on-hop-off trolley tour.  Luckily it picked up from the hotel and took us to the trolley sight.  I love doing these trolley tours because they give you the highlights of whatever city you are visiting.  We had stops at the Midway, a retired Naval ship, San Diego Zoo, Coronado Island and Little Italy, etc.   I have to say, I am totally in love with San Diego!!!  There is a ton of stuff to do here and the city is so clean.  I wish I had my family with me.  I am definitely going to plan a trip back here.  Also, it is August and the weather is gorgeous!!  Here are a few photos from my tour.

Bar where Tom Cruise sings in Top Gun

Ship in the movie Pirates of the Caribbean

 

El Prado Art Museum and Balboa Park