Link to images on video here ⬇️
We woke early again and, once ready, headed down to Fifth Avenue to look for somewhere to have breakfast. Cafe 21 was busy, always a good sign, so we thought we’d give that a try. I have never been served such a pretty breakfast before, is all I can say. I had avocado toast and the most amazing coffee called Peas of Mind. Check out the menu here…
The sun was shining so we headed west to Seaport Village, Ruocco Park and Tuna Harbor Park for a long walk. This is where we found some gems such as the national tribute to Bob Hope and the military, as well as a statue of an embracing couple called “The Kiss”. Here you can also see views of the USS Midway, a decommissioned aircraft carrier which is now a museum. We didn’t visit but we saw different military craft on the deck. This included an F-14 Tomcat that was used in the film Top Gun.
Midway’s first combat deployment came in 1965 flying strikes against North Vietnam. Midway aircraft shot down three MiGs, including the first air kill of the war. However, 17 Midway aircraft were lost to enemy fire during this cruise. In 1966 Midway was decommissioned for a four-year overhaul.
During the fall of Saigon in April 1975, Midway was a floating base for large Air Force helicopters which evacuated more than 3,000 desperate refugees during Operation Frequent Wind.
We then headed to Kansas City Barbeque for lunch. This is the cafe where many scenes from Top Gun were filmed, including when Goose sings “Great Balls of Fire”. A great revisit for us and a chance to look at some of the memorabilia from the film, as well as enjoy the food on offer.
Afterwards we headed back to Fifth Avenue where we had a few drinks in Union Kitchen and Tap and met a really nice couple called Kathy and Sancho. We have similar interests, particularly going to gigs, so we had lots to talk about. Kathy and I have arranged to keep in touch through the powers of social media.
The whole reason we ended up travelling to California this year was because we secured tickets to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers at Petco Park in San Diego. Tickets were booked even before the flights, so the trip has been based around this eventful gig. Petco Park is a huge stadium that is the home of The Padres, San Diego’s baseball team. I never imagined that we would get to this day at the stadium, but there we were enjoying this amazing band. The support was L.A. band Thundercat and also Haim, another Californian band that I have been following for a while. Both support acts were amazing, but not quite as amazing as the RHCP. They bashed out such classics as Californication, By the Way, All Around the World, and Zephyr Song , as well as Black Summer which is from their latest album, Unlimited Love. This will certainly be a night to remember.
jctraveller 
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