Category Archives: Top Gun

November 27, 2009 · 2:10 am

SoCal: Tuition Protests & Tom Cruise

On campus at UCLA I got a taste of some of protests against the University of California tuition increases. We passed many of the buildings involved in the sit-ins some of which had signs posted in the windows.
(“Freeze The Fees”)
Back in San Diego we toured the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum. This massive ship houses 25 restored naval aircrafts and scores of flight simulators. The self guided audio tour takes you through the life of a naval sea man inside the ship.
To anyone familiar with the movie Top Gun seeing the sights and sounds of San Diego will bring back some familiar memories. With most of the scenes of the movie filmed in this region it is easy to be taken back into the 1986 movie. Walking through the deck of the aircraft carrier it is to see yourself on the silver screen with “Maverick” and “Goose!”
(USS Midway flight deck)

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Filed under LA, protests, Top Gun, tuition increase, UCLA, USS Midway

August 1, 2009 · 5:53 pm

San Diego: Day 1 & 2

With my family making a big move from Snellville, GA (“Where Everybody’s Somebody”) to southern California, I had to personally check out where they will be residing.

In this economy you have to save money where everywhere you can. So I decided to use a student ticket to get to San Diego on the AirtranU program. You fly at a very reduced price if you don’t mind flying standby. After getting to the airport at 8am trying to get a flight to San Diego that was severely overbooked, I ended up on a flight to Los Angelos.
Arriving at LAX International Airport I stepped foot for the first time in California. My Cali adventure got underway by splitting a rent-a-car with another traveller from my flight. Also on her way to San Diego she missed her flight so we both went to LA. With the GPS in the windshield, windows down, and radio up, we took our little PT Cruiser south of LA into the heart of southern California.
With my new friend, a probation officer from Lawerenceville, GA at the wheel we travelled through some scenic California neighborhoods. Any fans of MTV reality shows would love this drive through the Hills, Laguna Beach, and Newport Beach. The picturesque Spanish style homes made this drive quite enjoyable.
My first full day of San Diego started off with a walk down the harbor in the downtown region. We then embarked on a double-decker bus tour of the city with a great view from the front of the bus.
We toured through most of the highlights of the city including the historic Gaslamp Quarter Historic District, the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum, and Balboa Park. Balboa Park, one of the country’s largest city parks, houses a number of museums, restaurants, gardens, and the San Diego Zoo. I look forward to spending the next few days exploring the park and some of the other aspects of San Diego.

(Statue in Balboa Park)
For any fans of Top Gun, I was challenged to find the place that the bar scene from the movie was shot at (Shout out to my boss, Eric Johnson! Thanks EJ!). They actually had pretty good BBQ too.

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Filed under Balboa Park, Bars, LAX, Los Angelos, Movie Filming, San Diego, Top Gun