We've been in California for 10 days, are now back in San Diego, and will leave later this afternoon on a flight home to Honolulu.  This has been a truly great trip, for I finally got to Paso Robles and drank their Petite Sirah.  Plus we saw a lot of San Diego. Our drive from Paso Robles to first Encinitas, where Linda lives, and, finally, the Marriott Marquis in San Diego.  Goodbye Allegretto Hotel and Paso Robles. After a few miles, a look at how far we had left. San Diego is 346 miles from Paso Robles.  We stopped by at a Subway to fill gas.  My lunch. Linda and her parrot, followed by habitat for three guinea pigs. We had a sushi and beer dinner.  Linda's two sons on the right, with her mother in the middle. Sushi. Back at the Marriott Marquis.  Room 1900 is a suite. Night view. A standard free breakfast in the M Club. Day view, with the Coronado Bridge in the left background. We then spent the evening feasting on pizza, hamburger, french fries and...

The Shinkansen takes around 3 hours to get from Sendai to Shin-Hakodate.  A car, perhaps 8.5 hours.  Our cruise ship leaves Sendai at 3PM and is expected to arrive in the Port of Hakodate at 7AM, or 16 hours later.  Our ship would need to cruise at 22 MPH.  The Riviera's top speed is 23 MPH. The largest cruise ship today is the Icon of the Seas.  She has a top speed of 28 MPH.  The Titanic could just about reach that speed. The Oceania Riviera was supposed to depart at 3PM, but instead left at 2:50.  So this is the only photo I took. Sendai is a special place for me.  I have stayed at the Sendai Westin at least ten times.  Photo to the left, sunset from the Executive Club.  The room price now is around $350/night.  I remember a few months after the 11March2011 Great Tohoku cataclysm, with the Fukushima damaged nuclear reactors only 50 miles away, I only paid $45/night. 2012 :  In April, 13 months after the Great Tohoku disaster...