San Diego

The last of the day's sun splashed red-brown across the mountains to the north of Palm Springs and the windmills turned lazily in a slight evening breeze. We neared the end of a wearying journey back from San Diego which now lay far to the south. If one were to look up 'pleasant' in a thesaurus, it would probably list as synonyms both 'San Diego' and 'Coronado' although this is perhaps to understate their attractions.

We have been before and wanted to return but our visit of today was rather formless until our arrival and the limitations of a pressing temperature guided our movements. One hundred and fifty miles of third world driving on second world roads. There is neither caution nor courtesy in American driving - certainly not in California - and that state's fiscal predicament has left the roads in need of care. Stimulus money, with the logic of some perverse mind, can be spent only on building what is not needed whilst necessary repairs go undone. It is surprising that neither panic nor paralysis has gripped California. Perhaps the debt is simply too large to grasp. The recession is visible in many ways but a parody of conspicuous consumerism has replaced the genuine original. This region, waiting it appears for seismological ruin may first succumb to severe financial tremors as a social edifice built on foundations of an ill-advised mix of self-belief and complacency slides not into the Pacific à la '2012' but into another kind of turmoil.

For now though, the very beautiful city of San Diego sits demurely by the ocean and charms its visitors. I thought it strange at a time of such constraint that the tolls should have been removed from the Coronado Bridge. Perhaps it is simply uneconomical to collect them. I had had grand plans but as the temperature climbed mercilessly above 30/90 it was clear that extensive walking would result only in hospitalisation. We went on the USS Midway Museum. The aircraft exhibits are excellent but staying unprotected in the sun long enough to photograph them was hazardous. The conditions inadvertently added a little atmosphere to the visit. Not long before decommissioning in San Diego, Midway was the air operations flagship in Desert Storm. Today, the deck threw heat into our faces. The Gulf knows much higher temperatures; it is impossible to imagine working on a carrier in such conditions, in protective clothing and in combat.

There is so much to see in and around San Diego and so little covered and photographed today that we are likely to convert part of our April holiday to a further visit. With a little luck the Padres will be at home in opening week.