Travel Tips

Having been to Spain in the spring of 1998, we had no plans to do any travelling in the fall. But, the major Canadian airlines were having a seat sale war, so we decided to take advantage.

Our best bet, we thought, was San Diego, because it came the closest to Mexico (for some reason, the special rates didn't go to Mexico). Once our destination airport was established, we had to find reasonable accomodation. With all due respect to our American friends, the exchange rate wasn't in our favour, it was just too expensive to stay in SD.

A web search uncovered to <a href="http://www.rosaritohtl.com/" target="new">Rosarito Beach Hotel,</a> a very short distance from San Diego, and the rates seemed to indicate that we were in a "dead spot" in the tourist season, after summer, but before winter. The only problem was that our flight left from Vancouver on a Saturday, and returned the following Saturday. The resort special went from Monday to Thursday, so we had three nights for which we had to make other arrangements.

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Beware of hotels close to the airport!

We arrived in SD at about midnight, without a room booked, so we used the hotel information booth at the airport to find one. The room was okay, but it was very close to the airport. If you look in the upper right part of the photo, you'll see a small commuter plane flying over the hotel. I wish I got a shot of a larger jet, it would have made for a much more dramatic photo.

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Zo Ann enjoying a Corona, after our arduous journe

After we spent one night in the "under the air lanes" hotel, we spent Sunday sight-seeing, and finding another hotel. We ended up at a Holiday Inn Express in Chula Vista (I think), that was much closer to the border with Mexico. We could see the lights of Tijuana at night.

Monday morning, bright and early, we took the San Diego LRT to the border (a wonderful transit system, by the way). Walking across the border was a snap, we didn't have to show any papers or anything.

The transport to our hotel got mixed up, and we ended up taking a taxi to Rosarito. It was a short ride (about 20 min), and not too expensive.

Once there, we sat on the pier, having a drink while waiting for our room to be ready.

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The deserted pool area

The pool area was just about deserted the whole time we were there. Zo Ann had her pick of lounges.

Our room was in the tower in the background.

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Pat having a solitary swim

I don't think any one was ever in the pool the same time we were.

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Breakfast at the Rosarito Beach Hotel

The original buildings of the hotel date back to the 1920's, and much of the ambience has been preserved. The grounds had some nice gardens, and a museum dedicated to the making of the Titanic movie. It was shot just a few miles down the road.

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Titanic Museum in Rosarito Beach Hotel

We took this photo through the glass doors of the Titanic Museum, at Rosarito Beach Hotel. It contains artifacts from the making of the Titanic movie, not to be confused with artifacts of the sinking of the real Titanic, which happened a continent away.

The museum was not open while we were there, so we had to be content with looking through the doors.

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Zo Ann and her amigos

There was also a marketplace on the property of the hotel. These guys would have looked nice in our garden, but we probably wouldn't have been able to carry them across the border.