Hidden Coastline

Well our intention this morning was to drive up the coast to La Jolla and experience the beaches. Unfortunately it's a little different here.. all of the buildings are right on the coast. Unless you stop at a specific beach and walk the boardwalk you don't see anything.

We stopped at Mission Beach and walked the boardwalk with the Pacific Ocean on our left and million dollar condos on our right. The beach had nice sand but a lot of erosion from the heavy rain storm a couple weeks ago. We enjoyed the ocean air and then went back to the car.

Next our plan was to visit La Jolla. We wound our way through beautiful neighborhoods filled with Bouganvilla and gorgeous gardens but no ocean was in sight. We found one road that ended in a dead end and we could look out over the cliffs across the sparking blue ocean. Much of La Jolla seems to be built on cliffs. Finally we found a gorgeous neighborhood that overlooked the ocean. There were picnic tables and walkways to the water. Not really a beach, but plenty of rocks to sit on. The waves were pretty good and we watched several surfers. We sat on a huge rock and watched the waves break against the rocks and enjoyed the sun. We never did find the beautiful beaches, but we enjoyed the coastline.

It was finally time to head back to camp so we wound our way through the Santee Lakes area and back to I8E. Back at camp we hung out and talked about our trip. San Diego is definitely a place we would come back to!

(Pictures top to bottom: La Jolla Cove, Mission Beach Boardwalk, Mission Beach)

Relaxing on the Bay

Another gorgeous morning. Today is a relaxing day as we've been walking all over the city for two days. So we strolled down the walkway along the bay. This took us through Embacadero which runs along the harbor on the east side of the bay. Soon we found ourselves in the Old Seaport Village which we didn't know was there. Meandering along the bay you would never imagine this lovely oasis was once a landfill. Yes, this village of beautiful shops, great restaurants, and entertainment was once a landfill over Punta de los Muertos (Point of the Dead) wher in 1782 the Spanish expedition buried those who had died of scurvy. We stopped at a restaurant right on the water for a Bloody Mary.

Continuing on down the Embarcadero we came to the USS Midway which is now a museum ship at Navy Pier. The USS Midway was a Naval aircraft carrier, the lead ship of her class, and the first to be commissioned after the end of World War II. As we past by we noticed there was a cute little cafe out on the Fantail.

We can see our destination now - Harbor Cruises. We signed up for the full 2 hour tour which will cover the north and south ends of the bay. We first sailed north toward Point Loma and past the submarine base. There were 2 subs docked as we went by. It was great as I had never seen a sub up close. The north cruise is called the Sea Lion adventure. It takes you past the Sea Lions laying on the barges in the middle of the bay. Guess what they were sleeping! The sun is warm and the water and sky are the same summer blue. There's hardly a cloud in the sky as the breeze blows gently across the stern. We have this all to ourselves.

As we turned to head south there was a Navy frigate coming into the harbor. It followed us down the bay. Next we passed the USS Nimitz which is a supercarrier and was docked right next to the USS Ronald Regan. They had just returned from duty and some repairs were being done. They are huge vessels and you couldn't believe the amount of security boats and floating barriers surrounding them. Further south was the island of Coronado which looks like a tropical paradise from the bay with it's palm trees and colored buildings. Sailing further south we go under the majestic Coronado Bridge. The span reaches a height of 200 feet to allow the ships from the Naval Station to pass underneath. It had the longest box girder in the world until it was surpassed by a bridge in China in 2008. On our left as we turn towards the dock is the Seal Training Compound (Navy not animal!) and the beautiful Sand Diego skyline in front of us. This was a great tour and really relaxing as there were only 30 of us on board.

Leaving the cruise we caught our favorite transportation, the trolley, and headed across the bridge this time to Coronado Island. We got off and walked a couple blocks to the historic Del Coronado Hotel. The hotel with it's iconic red turrets piercing the azure blue sky radiates the gracious splendor of the victorian age. It was built in 1888. The hotel is where the movie Some Like It Hot was filmed. It was also where Prince Edward met the American divorcee Wallis Simpson for whom he abdicated his throne in 1936. After their marriage they came back to the hotel each year on their anniversary for 30 years. We walked around the hotel and grounds enjoying the magnificent gardens and victorian decor. Heading toward the beach we found an ice cream shop and then sat on a bench to watch the sunset.

This was a perfect ending to our San Diego tour...

Talk With The Animals

We are off to Balboa Park and the San Diego Zoo! Normally we are not zoo people but we have heard so much about this one we had to go. We hopped on the trolley which dropped us in the center of the gorgeous, 1200 acre, Balboa Park. This is the nations largest urban park and home to 15 different museums as well as the zoo. You can't believe that this was a desert, there are trees and plants here from all over the world thanks to a lady named Kate Sessions. It's truly a botanical masterpiece.

Down the walkway lined with blooming fragile white Ornamental Pear Trees to Reflection Pond on our right and the entrance to the Latticed Botanical House on our left. The Bontanical Building is filled with trees and flowing plants, but you can't miss the displays of extraordinary orchids of every color. We followed the path back out to the main promenade, past fountains and arrived at the zoo entrance.

The zoo admission for one day was pretty good compared to some of the parks we have been to. $37 and that includes the tour bus and skyfari gondola which you can take all day. We were told to take the bus to learn the layout of the zoo first. It takes all day to see the zoo and then we probably wouldn't see it all! As the bus went down the Fern Canyon Trail you realized this was a botanical garden with a zoo enfolded into it. We arrived in the Urban Jungle area where we saw a baby Giraffe on the left and Hippos on the right.

After the tour we got off in the Outback to see the Koala's. There was a mother with a baby Koala and we were really lucky they weren't sleeping (like the rest)! Walking down the Big Cat Trail we saw Chetahs and Lepoards. We were standing at the walkway in front of the Leopard's cage when a very strange thing happened. On the road just below us a little girl was running in circles playing with her father. The cat spotted her from the back of the cage and ran aggressively from the back to the front, jumped up, and put it's paws right up on the fence and watched her. This was pure predator in action. Beautiful but scary.

Our next stop was the Polar Bears but unfortunately they were "off site" and would not be back until March. We were disappointed, but everyone needs a vacation.... We hopped on the bus and drove through Elephant Odyssey and Africa Rocks. The Painted African Dogs were very strange looking. They look like Hyenas with big ears and have gray and yellow spots.

Walking down the parkway past blooming Bird of Paradise and red Bougainvilla to Panda Canyon. It's early afternoon now and believe it or not it's nap time for the animals. We walked through Panda Canyon and Shin Lu was napping on a limb. We missed the viewing of the new mother and baby which was early this morning. Across the street was a very unusual Panda. It was a Red Panda and absolutely adorable. It to was sleeping and I couldn't get a good picture myself so I found one on line. I think he was my favorite. Unlike the black and white pandas he has a long bushy tail.

Unfortunately the park closes as 5pm today so we decided to walk through the Eagle Trail seeing Condors and South American Eagles. We took the Skyfari Gondola across the top of the zoo seeing Gorillas on our way.

It's now 4PM and we wanted to catch the Model Railroad Museum. This is the largest operating model railroad in North America. There is over 28,000 sq. ft of scale model railroad layouts. Ken loved the way they landscaped the displays and put down the different levels of track. It is an amazing exhibit, even if your not a big train buff.

There are 15 different gardens here and we just didn't have enough time to see it all. This is a great place for picnics and spending several more days if you have the time.

Unfortunately it was getting dark and we were wondering how to find a cab when lo and behold a trolley came into the plaza! Although it was well after pickup time he did stop and deposited us at our next stop... Little Italy. Once a predominent fishing village Little Italy is an active neighborhood lined with restaurants, cafes, bakeries, and shops. India St. runs through the heart of Little Italy and we found a couple of chairs on the plaza and watched people for a while. There are some 60 restaurants on this area so it was Italian night for us. We walked past many but settled on Mona Lisa. Unfortunately it was mediocre at best and we don't recommend it. To make up for this we stopped at a bakery and got a couple goodies to take back to the hotel.

We are tired after our fun day and need to rest up for tomorrow. Today was fantastic and we loved the park and the zoo!

Camping At The Hilton!

We packed up the coach, put it in storage, and headed up I8 W. We'll go through three mountain passes today taking us up to about 4000 feet. These aren't the high jagged peaks but are more rounded. Some look more like large hills. The highway twists and climbs as we pass through Devils Canyon. There are loose piles of boulders every where. There are juniper trees growing out of the crevases between the rocks. The landscape is amazing as larger rocks sit on top of smaller ones in many precarious positions. They truly demonstrate natures balancing act. As we come down out of the mountains we wind our way in and out of valleys with big ranches sprinkled all over the lush green hills.

We arrive at the Hilton Bayfront right on the San Diego Bay. This is the newest Hilton in San Diego. It's very nice and we are on the 21st floor with a view of the Bay and Gas Lamp Area. Once settle we got our boarding pass for the Old Town Trolley and headed out. We walked the block to the Gas Lamp District and grabbed lunch at a little outdoor place called the Toscana Cafe. We highly recommend it. We have a 3 day plan and we hope to see as much as we can.

After lunch we hopped on the trolley and rode the whole route (about 2 hours) to get our bearings. The trolley winds it's way over the magnificent Coronado Bridge and through the town of Coronado which is across the bay. The landmark Hotel Del Coronado is located here. The last stop was in the Old Town section. This area has lots of spanish and mexican markets and restaurants. The Guadalajara restaurant was recommended for its 30 ounce Margarita! We had to try it out. Then we walked (or stumbled...) through Old Town. We found a little patio and sat and watched people for a while. The last trolley left at 4PM and it's well after that so we took the local train back to the hotel.

It was a great day and we really like this city. It's beautiful and the weather and temperature is perfect. San Diego is very easy to get around between the Trolley, Double Decker Buses, and local trains. Most places you hear about never meet the expectations, so far San Diego has more than met ours.