San Diego: Greatest Generation Walk, including monstrosity

I just keep hating that statue more. 

If at some points I sound less than enthusiastic in my review of the Midway Museum (which was very well done), that relates to concerns about the military-industrial complex and some of the macho domination issues that go with that, even while seeing the value of World War II and appreciating traits like courage, loyalty, and sacrifice.

So I am not against the various memorials in the area, and see a logic to their placement, even though the way things are done it seems like there is always some construction or something in the way.

I could have tried harder to get good pictures, and I admit that, but I also think it is fair to say that the execution could have been better.

Which I guess makes everything about the monstrosity make more sense. And I was not going to go any closer!

Having seen it in some commercials, I had been thinking that having it so large and in color was in questionable taste. My bigger concern was with the origin of the photo.

https://nypost.com/2012/06/17/the-true-story-behind-the-iconic-v-j-day-sailor-and-nurse-smooch/

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/11154561/Iconic-kiss-sculpture-depicts-sexual-assault-says-French-feminist-group.html

The woman did not want to be kissed. The man just grabbed her, even though he was on a date with another woman who was standing right there and he could have kissed her. People still call it romantic, even when they admit it wouldn't fly today, that back then it was okay.

In addition, even though everything about the statue makes you think of Alfred Eisenstaedt's photo "V-J Day in Times Square", to avoid copyright infringement the "artist" says it was based on a similar, non-copyrighted photo. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unconditional_Surrender_(sculpture)

I can't believe it works, I hate the tackiness of the names, either "Unconditional Surrender" or "Embracing Peace" (because there are a whole bunch of them out there), and all I see is an assault, glorified and romanticized by a patriarchal culture. Boo!

COVID: It is outside.

Accessibility: It's pretty navigable.


https://fundiegofamily.com/san-diego-fun/san-diego-attractions/san-diegos-greatest-generation-walk/

San Diego: USS Midway Museum

 My memories of the Battle of Midway previously were mainly that we had watched the Midway (1976) movie on television more than once. (Our father watched a lot of war movies.) 

The museum is a good place to learn.

One of the lessons is that this particular ship was not involved in that battle. It was named after the battle, and the became the museum after. The USS Midway does have information about its own service as well.

More of the information relates to the battle, often seen as the turning point in WWII, at least as far as the war in the Pacific went.

Naval aviators are a big part of that history, so there are many artifacts for that.

There are also some fun souvenirs.

You can also learn a lot about ship life.

The displays and the movie did a good job of giving the details of the battle and the significance, and honestly, the did a reasonable job of maintaining respect for the Japanese and not getting caught up so much in the macho thrill of victory that the many lives lost are forgotten.

There were so many lives lost.

My phrasing there may indicate that I would have been fine without going, which is probably true. I do not regret going.

There are people who are going to be much more into it, and that's okay.

COVID: There were not a lot of people masking. There is some open air, but not everything is and it can get crowded.

Accessibility: There are elevators, and a lot of the spaces are very navigable. There are some areas below the main deck that may be difficult or impossible to access. In addition, there are some strobes and loud flashes in the movie. The notifications are good for knowing what is available.

https://www.midway.org/

San Diego Zoo

I loved the San Diego Zoo.

It would be easy to compare it to SeaWorld, and give the zoo all the credit.

There are some points to that, but other comparisons may be more to the point.

I do believe it is possible for animals in captivity to have good lives, and for it to be done ethically.

One thing I appreciated from both the tour and from listening to various keepers is the affection you hear for the animals. They are invested and excited, and that seems good.

That is not enough though. The animals also need the kind of social relationships that work for them, as well as sufficient space.

I noticed that the enclosures were not only large, generally, but also had ways of escaping viewers. Despite that, we were able to see a lot.

That includes the bus tour, which was informative and gave a good view of many of the animals.

We took that first, thinking it would help give us a feel for the layout, allowing us to navigate better.

That part did not work out. The zoo is enormous, and it is not always easy to maintain a sense of direction.

This is where I may have my most important piece of advice: if you are determined to see the entire zoo, give yourself two days.

If you only have one day, pick the things the animals that you like most, or the experiences that sound the most interesting, and go with that choice.

And I do really recommend the bus tour.

A little serendipity doesn't hurt. We ended up repeating one area because we took a turnoff that led to food, and did not realize we were near an animal we wanted to see.

However, that put us at the right place and time for the only aardvark presentation, and that was really cool.

Back when we were trying to get to the Santa Ana Zoo, I remember being surprised, because why would you go there when you have the Los Angeles Zoo?

But then when we did go to the Los Angeles Zoo, we were frustrated by the size, and how hard it was to see anything, even from the tram.

San Diego handles its size really well. That doesn't mean that it can't be overwhelming, but it is still really good, and not something to take for granted.

It may not be the best place for great photos with a dinky camera (there were some people with serious lenses there).

It was a great place for looking. We saw wrestling bear cubs and young koala chewing leaves; actually, there were a lot of baby animals.

But (from one point of view) aren't they all kind of babies?

We saw some great things, and would love to see more.

COVID: Almost everything was outdoors. We were also there on a weekday, which helped with distancing, though I expect there will always be school field trips.

Accessibility: Navigation seemed to be good, though it is easy to get tired out. There are rentals available as well. There were accessible bathrooms and bus access.

I would go back. And spend another two days.

https://sandiegozoowildlifealliance.org/