A Morning on San Diego Harbor

We parked once, along the Embarcadero, and let the rest of the morning be a walk. The kids had been promised a ship they could stand on, so the USS Midway came first: wind on the flight deck, a long ramp, and the odd quiet of the hangar before the tour groups stacked up. Breakfast tacos from a window on the way were eaten on a bench facing the bay. Some days the whole plan is food, then a view, then one decision.

Harbor boats leave from the same stretch of waterfront. We chose a short narrated cruise rather than a whale trip. Ninety minutes is the right length when someone is six and someone is nine. The commentary pointed out Navy piers, the working shipyards, and the place where the bridge’s concrete legs step into the water. From the open deck the downtown towers look close enough to count. The kids counted sea lions on the docks until the numbers stopped being numbers.

The Coronado Bridge is the photograph everyone already has, and it was still the one we kept. Later, driving it, the high span lifts you over the bay and the ships look briefly like toys. We did not cross only for the picture. Orange Avenue slows the day down, and the beach at the end of the island was the reset after a morning of railings and ramps.

Notes we will not skip next time: buy Midway tickets before you are standing in the sun. The ferry and the cruise are different boats. The ferry is a crossing. The cruise is the loop that stays on the water and comes back to the same pier. Strollers are fine on the promenade and a nuisance on the ship’s ladders, so we left ours in the car. The Navy Pier garage is the least dramatic place to leave a car if you are stacking the museum and a boat.