Category: family

Day two in San Diego was just as busy as Day one. Our first destination was Coronado Island. We got there relatively early so we could enjoy brunch. And enjoy it we did.

We popped into the Rhinoceros Cafe & Grille on Orange Avenue, which is Coronado’s main drag.

It may look sort of like a bowl of vomit, but it was delicious. It’s an egg concoction with tortillas, onions, peppers, cheese, and potatoes. It’s the only time I remembered to take a picture of my meal.

After brunch we strolled toward the beach, but we walked past this very grand hotel (circa late-1800s ) to get there.

No idea what the story is behind that strange little vehicle.

I also don’t know why the sand sparkles. I mean, I know it contains tiny particles of the mineral mica, but I don’t know why the mica is there. It’s weird. Cool, but unusual.

That shot of the hotel only captures a portion of the enormous complex. It’s referred to by locals as the Hotel Del.

The hotel was huge, but then so was the beach.

Shannon told us we’d be surprised by the differences in the sand on the various beaches. And she was right. I’d never walked in golden sand before.

Contrary to what these pics show, San Diego isn’t always clear and sunny. It is, after all, a beach town. And it is subject to Wet Coast weather whims, one of which is known as a marine layer.

Shannon posted this pic on a previous trip to Coronado. I’m just glad the weather was nice for us.

Before leaving the island, Shannon took us to this cute little park where we got a great view of the city.

From there, it was off to Cabrillo National Monument.

Jeez, I am starting to feel like a tour guide.

I guess I should tell you the significance of the place. That’s where, “in 1542, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo stepped into history as the first European to set foot on what is now the West Coast of the United States.” That’s verbatim from the NPS Cabrillo web site. There’s a lighthouse. And since it sits high atop a hill, there’s a great view.

Annelies, I am still using our national park pass, purchased for our last vacation, which is good through the end of August!

I guess I should also say that Cabrillo is pronounced like “kuh-brie-yo.”

Something funny happened while we were visiting Cabrillo. Well, it’s funny now. Might not be so amusing after I see my cell phone bill. The tide pools, which we HAD to check out, are on the southwestern edge of the peninsula. On our way there from the visitor center, I got a text message from my carrier saying, “Welcome to Mexico. Yadda, yadda, yadda.”

Oh, and, “Pay $5.00 for roaming, please. Plus some awful amount per minute.” I just ignored it ’cause I knew I wouldn’t be calling anyone. That’s right about when our son decided to start texting me.

View Larger Map

We were kind of close to Mexico. And at that point, there was nothing but water between us and that southern nation. But we were still on American soil. They need to turn the wattage on their cell phone towers down. I’m just sayin’.

Here are a few more shots from Cabrillo…

I love Shannon, but hate standing beside her in pictures. She’s all cute and petite. And I’m just big. I’m not that big, but next to her I look like a giant. Or would that be a giantess?

Anyway, for that picture, I squatted a bit and she stood on tiptoe so we could even things out. That worked for the height issue. I’ll have to figure out some other trick to address the width thing before our next visit.

As for the Creepy Man shot… had any women been walking past, from that position beside the path, he could have looked right up their skirts. Which is why I dubbed the image “Creepy Man.”

I’ll have to do a Wordle for this page to see if “Creepy Man” shows up.

Having that third person along means lots more pictures of me.

Sorry.

Just before we left the area, three pelicans did a fly-by. They are smaller than the pelicans at La Jolla. But I don’t know much about pelicans, so I don’t know why.

So much for sounding like an informative tour guide!

Wanna see more pics (and these same ones over again)? Check out Flickr. There are two different sets.. One for Coronado and the other for Cabrillo.

In my next post, you’ll learn how we ended Day Two. Hopefully you’ll be able to stand the anticipation and contain your excitement until then.

After we left La Jolla, we headed south to see Shannon’s favorite beach.

One of the coolest things about this visit, for me, was getting to see her hangouts and meet some of her friends. Now I’ll have visual images of this stuff when talking to her.

Like when she says, “I went to the beach.”

“Which one?” I’ll ask.

“PB,” she’ll most likely reply. No one in San Diego (aka SD) uses “beach” on a regular basis. They shorten it to “B.” So PB = Pacific Beach.

Anyway… PB is her favorite beach, and for good reason. It’s less crowded than others. Where she enters is actually north of the main part of PB at the end of Tourmaline Road.

That’s where the surfers congregate. There’s a bathroom mere feet from the sand, which is always handy. It’s quiet. There’s a parking lot right there, too.

I took this shot as we were walking south on the beach. You can see there are lots more people down that way.

It was actually sort of chilly on the beach. So we didn’t linger long.

I couldn’t resist a few surfer shots, VERY California, right?

That board is so big, another little boy had to help this guy carry it down to the water.

How cool would it be to learn to surf at that age? Something I always wished I would have done.

I can only imagine how much a house like that costs!

After our brief stop at PB, we headed back into the city. We drove through MB (Mission Beach) along the way.

Our next stop was the Gaslamp Quarter. It’s a historic part of town, which is now full of bars, shops, and restaurants. The SD convention center is nearby, too.

As with everything else in SD to that point, the Gaslamp Quarter was quite colorful.

It’s also an interesting mix of old and new.

We stopped for drinks and nibbles at an unremarkable place called The Hoppy Pig, people-watched a bit, then moseyed on our way.

You see the name of the bar in that picture?

It presented a very unique opportunity for me.

How many girls do you know who can say they had their picture taken in SD beside a big Dick?

None, I bet.

There are a few more pics from the Gaslamp Quarter at Flickr.

But here’s my favorite…

That’s a real dog. When I saw this lady heading down the sidewalk toward us in all her colorful splendor, nuzzling that cute little puppy, I just HAD to have a picture. She was quite happy to pose for me, too.

We drove back to North Park and hung out at Shannon’s house for a bit. I wasn’t feeling well, so I stayed at the house while the others went out for dinner.

And that ends days one.

It’s easy to see why someone would visit there and then never leave, eh?

Hubby and I are already looking forward to our next visit.

Picking up where I left off in my last post…

After we dropped Shannon’s clothes at the house, we went to the beach. There are several beaches by the way. The first one she elected to show us was La Jolla Cove. That’s pronounced like “la HOY uh” and NOT “la holla.”

La Jolla, which happens to be the furthest beach, is only 15 miles from Shannon’s house.

Her favorite beach, which is Pacific Beach, is only about 12 miles away. Mission Beach is 10.5 miles. Ocean Beach, her least favorite, is only 10 miles away. The beach on Coronado Island is just eight miles away.

Sick, right?

There’s the Hubby. Wondering what he’s looking at? Well, I’ll tell you. I thought it was a tide pool. But he said it was just seaweed and stuff.

We LOVE tide pools.

I could try and explain a tide pool, but I don’t feel like getting all scientific. So I’ll just provide this link and then tell you that they are essentially pools of water visible at low tide that are filled with critters.

It’s fun looking at the various critters. We could have stayed for hours, but we were parked in a two-hour spot and still had lots to see.

There’s not much of a beach, relative to East Coast beaches anyway. But what is there is awesome. The town of La Jolla (link leads to someone else’s photo) is perched atop a rocky cove that has tide pools AND seals, sea lions, pelicans, cormorants, a wide variety of seagulls, and people.

La Jolla is a beach town, but it’s an upscale beach town.

Most folks don’t swim without wetsuits. Not for long periods (more than a few minutes). Water temperatures range between 66 and 72°F at peak, which is around the first week of September.

Shannon has never been in the water past her ankles since moving to San Diego.

Following are my favorite shots from La Jolla…

Shannon took that last picture. Hubby said to her, “I’m so glad you’re here.” That’s because he’s usually the one taking pictures of me, often standing beside odd stuff.

There are more pics. But rather than post them all here, I uploaded them to Flickr. If you’d like to see them, you’ll have to visit my Flickr site.

Is one of my favorites your favorite, too? Or would you choose one of the others? The weather was great for picture taking!

We’re back from our visit with Shannon.

Mike and I had great fun hanging out with Shannon and exploring her world.

San Diego is gorgeous. The weather is perfect. It’s easy to see why many folks who visit never return home.

That palm tree view is what greeted us every morning. That’s the sidewalk from Shannon’s cottage leading toward Kansas Street.

The blue sky is typical, once the early morning marine layer burns off. I don’t think it was ever gray after about 9:00 AM. Oh, and the temps never once climbed out of the 70s. Saturday evening I had to wear a jacket to walk to the neighborhood yogurt shop. Really.

Even if it is far away from us, San Diego is the perfect place for Shannon. Our visit was far too short. I’ll have more pics to share soon.