We took a taxi from the airport and a hop, skip and a jump, we were at the harbor. We immediately saw four "food trucks" parked on the curb, next to all places, The Cheesecake Factory. Just might have to make the journey back there during our stay to sample all five!
We also passed by the USS Midway, which is now a museum. We have an event scheduled there that won't be missed. I took this picture from our room of it from the 18th floor.
Even though this wasn't a super carrier, I was expecting it to be bigger. It was commissioned in 1945, so it served on the tale end of WWII, through the cold war til 1992. It just blows me away to think those pilots had to first find it, approach it, then stick there landing on the thing they called home out in the middle of the ocean!
Since we got here in the middle of the day, we were not about to waste it. Room wasn't ready,so it was off to a nearby restaurant called Sally's. It was right next to the pier. No way were we gonna eat inside! There is a nice concrete board walk along side the pier. Lots of tourists strolling by, along with the skateboarders, bicycle cabbies and segway tours.
Back at the hotel, the spousal unit made an inquiry with the concierge desk about the Hotel Del Coronado. Its located on the beach side of an island in the bay. Access is by taxi over this huge bay bridge, or by ferry. We chose to go by Taxi to get the "lay of the land". Glad we did!
Our taxi driver was a young guy from Russia, who is now a citizen, who first settled in Rochester NY. I asked him why the move to San Diego? His reply, " tired of the cold!".
As we were crossing that huge bridge, we got some interesting information from our taxi tour guide. The bridge is so high so that all the naval vessels can pass under. He told us to look at the hills on the left. That was Tijuana Mexico, that close! I asked him if he had to go back across empty, or could he nick up a rider along the way. He services the City of San Diego, and there is a $1,000 fine if he is caught picking up a fare in Coronado. Of course there are lots of strategies around that, but why risk it?
He dropped us off at the front entrance of the Hotel Del Coronado. Total fare was around $25. What a grand place this is. All the wood moldings and trim were amazing. We read the history about it along the historical wall.
The gift shops do a great job promoting the movie star history that evolved. Marilyn Monroe filmed a movie here, and their was a lot of Judy Garland items for sale.
As we made our way toward the front of the hotel, we passed a lady reading a book just outside of her first floor room. It was a bungalow setting with beach view access. I could just imagine the "stars" that have occupied these rooms during the 40's, 50's and 60's.
The beach and beautiful blue water was in sight! There is a convenient concrete boardwalk along the sand's edge. The hotel staff had begun taking down all the beach cabana setups. They do more than just chair and umbrella setups.
You know me, I'm immediately taking in the lay of the land. No naked women, no thongs, and no surfer dudes! We saw a group of body boarders catch a wave or two. There were quite a few lifeguard towers along the beach. California takes beach safety very serious.
Off came the shoes and socks! We made our way across the powdery sand to waters edge. This is not the surgery white sand of the gulf coast. The beach area is outlined with rocky edges. A lot of work must go into maintaining this beach for the citizens, hotel guests and tourists. Red flags were up, I'm guessing they mean the same as those along the Florida panhandle. The first wave caught us by surprise, OMG was that water cold!
You could see ocean going vessels in the distance. It wasn't long before someone spotted porpoises in the distance. They entertained us for quite a while! A future visit here will include a whole day on this beach.
We eventually made it back to the front of the hotel. We decided to take a taxi to the bayside and take the ferry. You pay $4.25 each way for the ferry ride, which comes and goes every 30 minutes. We landed in front of the convention center, and began our walk back to the hotel, taking the boardwalk along the pier. Business must have been slow, as we were asked to take a ride in lots of bycyle taxi's along the way. I tried to imagine who the people were as we walked by all of the yachts in the harbor. I wondered what itr would be like to take a short trip on one of these, with your own personal chef, preparing what ever came to mind, with the freshest of ingredients. I then chuckled to myself! We do that at home every weekend in our neighborhood!
We eventually made it back to the room. Plans were made for more adventures, stay tuned......
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