Travels with No Shoes: Anaheim - A Trolley and a Walk

San Diego to Anaheim

Took a stroll along the pier, ate breakfast looking out at the ocean, pottered about, watched the seagulls. All in all, a good morning.

My room was on the right.

This place just next to the pier must serve really good coffee...

Checked out at 11:00 and to the bus stop and to Old Town. I double check they won't store my luggage either. No. Okay, so it's coming with me. Old Town is fabulous. It's all the old buildings, museums and people dressed up. You can see the Mexican influence strongly.

I'm thinking I'd like to do the Old Trolley Tour cos my train doesn't leave till 4:06 and what can I do with a suitcase? So if I do a trolley tour, the case can come with me but, more importantly, I can see the city on a narrated tour. This is a great area, and it's Saturday so there's lots of people and atmosphere.

Up to the ticket counter and the lady says I can't take my bag in the trolley and they won't store it. So that's very annoying. I'm thinking I can just wander around here - for four hours! As I'm wandering aimlessly up the street, I notice another ticket counter and think I might just try again, with another lady.

She is sympathetic and when I offer to buy a ticket for a seat for the suitcase, she is impressed - "never heard nobody doing that before!" And she goes off to ask the guy in charge. The wonderful Harold says yes! And then she won't take my money for the extra ticket. So nice of her. It is a hop on, hop off type of bus but I won't be able to do that - which is fine. She also lets me put the case in her booth while I run up the three flights to the restroom.

So I get my case and down to the trolley, trying to keep out of sight of the other lady - who was just doing her job but wasn't as approachable and I didn't want her to think I went behind her back - which I sort of did...

Here's the lovely Harold.

I would have been pretty mad if they hadn't let me on when I saw the size of a pram one family out on - equal size as my case.

Here's Chris - great guide. I'm obviously sitting right up the front.

He's running over the rules - don't talk, no mobile phones, no standing while the trolley is moving - every single one of which was broken by the most annoying Italian family. They weren't annoying because they were Italian, the were annoying because they talked loudly and constantly throughout. He told them to shut up about six times.

And we're off through Old Town which was where San Diego was originally founded. Where San Diego is now was all desert but was surrounded by mountains and had a lovely harbour and a guy, Horton, said it would be better over there. They laughed at him but he bought all the land at auction - got 800 acres of land for $246.

The first of the missions is here.

We pass a factory where they made bombers. And some army barracks. There is a place where they train the navy SEALs. Chris is great - he plays music at certain spots. Here he plays The Red, White and Blue (or whatever the official name is).

We go near the airport and a plane flies right overhead (to Leaving on a Jet Plane). It's as we're heading towards the harbour that he has to shut up the Italians for the first time, and he does it very nicely - "Hey, everyone, we need to keep it down cos everyone onboard wants to see and hear the narrated tour. Well, you can't much if the harbour because of the fog, but let's let everyone hear." In other words, shut up!

Along the wharf to the boat where they filmed Pirates of the Caribbean. Very cool. All the photos are like this...

There's an amazing-looking museum on an old warship. Looks incredible. I would explore that if I was here for longer and didn't have a suitcase.

There's also a statue of the kissing couple snapped when the war ended. Didn't have time to get a picture of them. Past the old police headquarters which were build in the '30s and were saved from being torn down. They're being converted to high-end shopping - like Versace and the Cheesecake Shop.

Through Seaport where there's a kite shop, nice beach area.

There's a restaurant where they filmed a scene from Top Gun. It has a big neon sign in the window where they filmed.

When Horton created the town, he ordered that the blocks were close together and there were no alleyways. Horton Plaza is named after him. There is Horton Way at the zoo leading to the elephants, which I thought was a Dr Seuss, Horton Hears a Who thing, but now I'm guessing it's this Horton.

We go into the Gaslamp Area - so-called because of the old gas lanterns.

Lovely area with Balboa Theatre, US Grant Hotel.

As we're heading to Coronado Island, Chris tells us to look at the building coming up on the left. It's the home to the padres. So I'm thinking a monetary, but not it's a ball park - not sure which game but he plays Take Me Out to the Ball Game. And he barracks for the Padres, I'm guessing.

Just before the bridge to Coronado are some great murals - didn't hear the history of them cos the Italians were particularly exuberant. I did hear that Mexico is only eight miles away.

Coronado was also desert and was given to a couple as a wedding gift. Somehow down the line it was auctioned off. A guy called Spreckels ended up with it and he helped create what it is today - which is a lovely resort-style place with lovely beaches and little homes. The village, he ordered that no two shop fronts be the same and not above two storeys.

Great view of San Diego.

He built the Hotel Del, which is gorgeous. I didn't get a good shot of it, unfortunately. The wood to construct it had to be sent down from San Francisco cos it was desert here. This hotel was used for some of the filming of Some Like It Hot.

Along the beach there is beach foliage that from the air spells Coronado. This was put there to welcome the Air Force guys home from overseas missions. (I think I got that right).

Back over to the mainland and into Balboa Park - where the zoo is. The park is massive and really lovely. You could easily spend a day just in this park. There is a trolley bus that just drives around the park.

It was established in 1883 by the first woman graduate of Berkeley University - Kate Sessions. She saw how sad and lifeless the park was and said to the powers that be to give her 32 acres and she'd plant 100 trees for 10 years and so the park was created.

There are heaps of museums in here and a central area.

There's a dog park. The Spreckels Organ Pavilion, which he also requested - a huge pavilion where they have an organ and it plays every Sunday.

There's an old playhouse where they used to do performances and when a plane would approach (it's on the flight oath), a guy would get the message and hit a red button. The show would stop, plane flies over, hits green button, show goes on. This could happen at any time, mid-song, any time. It went out of business when people began to go to theatres that weren't on. The flight path...

Past palm canyon, across the bridge that Roosevelt was the first to cross...

Into Little Italy. When Chris plays That's Amore, all the Italians shut up and sing along. They are getting off here (hoorah but it is the last stop). They get up and start walking down the aisle, Chris even points to the sign saying to remain seated but to no avail. Get off already. And the trolley is quiet.

There's a farmers' market going on, lots of activity. Then we're back to the start - Old Town and the tour is over. It was great. Chris was excellent. I get off last because the suitcase is wedged between the seats and awkward. He helps me off and we have a chat about the NSW fires, the Italians and stuff. Lovely guy and a friend of Dorothy, I'm guessing.

You could see a lot better than these photos would indicate!

Then it's a stroll through Old Town. It's great. There's market stalls and shops, candle making, a square dance in a square...

There's an old Wells Fargo office with an ATM so I get out some money while I'm there. And an old Wells Fargo Wagon...

Now I'm thinking of trying to get on the earlier train - only by 90 minutes, but when I planned the 4:06, I hadn't thought I'd be carting my suitcase around. So I go to the platform and wait ten minutes for the 2:46 to arrive. It does and the guard says I can get on because I'm only going to Anaheim. Excellent. So I get a spot where I can sit with my case and look out the window - which I only had for half the trip on the way down.

I was a bit hungry and was wanting a tuna sandwich. Had one on the way down and it was good and I just got it in my mind. Went to the cafe car and the guy in front of me got the last one! So it's coffee and a cinnamon roll instead.

We arrive in Anaheim...

..and I go out to get a taxi. There are none there. Walk around the other side, none there. Walk over the road to a Subway, none there and they have no idea where to get one. So I cross over to other side in the general direction of the street I want to head towards. Ask in the servo, they say you have to call a taxi. I have no phone and no taxi number and he doesn't want to help. So I start walking.

I had heard that Disneyland was in the middle of the 'burbs and it seems that's right. There is nothing - a couple of cabs go by but they have passengers. There is nothing for it but to keep walking. I'm looking for a hotel or something that would have cabs. There's a fine dining place coming up and I think they would at least call me a cab. Get to it and it's boarded up. Nothing there.

There's music coming from further up but it's a closed off gated area and there's no entry. There's a gentlemen's club but I think I'll walk a bit further and double back there only if necessary. Keep on walking. It's like the back end of Springdale Road where it's just factories and empty lots.

I had passed a bus stop earlier. Didn't get a bus cos I didn't know where they went or how much to pay. But there was a couple of Spanish women who were at the stop and they now had ridden the bus and got off - that's how far I had walked. One of them obviously recognised me and came to give me her ticket so I could ride the bus the rest of the way. So nice but I didn't know where to go to.

As I was debating what to do, here came another cab and it actually pulled over when I waved and it was all okay. I had been walking for just over 40 minutes - which is not a bad walk, just not when you don't know where you're going or how long you're going to be walking.

So we arrive...