Island Bike Tour

I realized that a great way to see Coronado Island was by bicycle. There was a rental shop just below our room and the hourly rental rate was very reasonable. I couldn't resist! The rental shop staff was super cool and gave me a suggested tour route that would take me passed the Coronado Yacht Club and the golf course, under the Coronado Bridge, along San Diego Bay, and then along Coronado Beach. Sounds fun to me!

Dingy Beach and the mooring field

Like Key West, Coronado is great for recreational cycling because it is flat as a pancake. The streets are pretty quiet and there are many bike paths. The morning was absolutely beautiful, sunny with a foggy haze. What a great morning I had!

Beautiful San Diego Skyline

As I was overlooking San Diego Bay, I was chatting with Greg on the phone. I was telling him that I could see many Naval ships being built around the bay, and that I could see a very large carrier ahead of me, which I thought was cool. As we were talking, I heard this low rumble behind me. I turned my head to see this! I stopped mid-sentence, and exclaimed, "Holy ****!" I know it looks small in this photo, but it really was huge!

Can you see all the sailors lined up along the decks? Isn't that awesome! My uncle (ret. Navy) says this is called "Standing Quarter," and is a duty that is performed anytime a ship enter or leave a port. He also said that most sailors hate it, but they know it is all part of being on a ship.

Bon Voyage! Have fun sailing the seas!

Coronado Island Escape

One of the benefits of us living in California while Greg works at a Marine Base, is that he sometimes gets sent to work on Coronado Island. I usually don't accompany him on his work trips, but this one I couldn't pass up. Three days on a resort island? No brainer!

We were able to find a very charming hotel right across the street from the Hotel Del Coronado and Coronado Beach for the less than the government rate. Sweet! El Cordova Hotel is boutique hotel that is located within an historic courtyard building. Our room had fantastic views of Orange Ave. (the main street of Coronado) and of the fountain outside the hotel. I spent a lot of time sitting by our window (which I opened) and just watched life on the street. Our two days in Coronado were in the mid-70's so it was like being on a beach vacation.

Sadly, this was working vacation for Greg so he had to leave early our first morning. I spent the rest of the day walking the beach and checking out the shops on Orange Ave. Here are some photos from my day.

Isn't this seatree cool?

Dolphins playing in the surf.

I hate to toot my own horn, but this is a rare close up shot of a Brandt's Cormorant. It was just standing, all by its lonesome. It let me get within a yard of him. I think it absolutely gorgeous with its blue eyes. It's unique because it will dive down along underwater rock walls, and pick fish and sealife off the wall.

Once Greg returned, we had a super delicious dinner at Miguel's Cocina which was located within the courtyard of our hotel building. We highly recommend this restaurant for its food and for its atmosphere. It has a fun, fiesta-like patio that we really enjoyed.

Ya, I Live in California

Ya, I live in California. I have for 6 months.

I know this to be true because today I did something very California-ish.

I sat and watched a live police chase on television for TWO HOURS this afternoon.

A criminal stole a U-Haul and spent over two hours driving around LA County. The news media covered the whole thing. It ended with an empty fuel tank. When the criminal ran from the truck, I jumped up and cheered as the police tackled her. As if it were a sporting event. Sad.

Ya, I live in California. I still don't have a surf board yet. I'm working on it.

Salton Sea

A very interesting place to visit in Southern California is the Salton Sea. The Salton Sea is located way out in the Colorado Desert, just southeast of Palm Springs. It is considered the "Crown Jewel of avian bio-diversity," and is the largest lake in California (by volume.) It gets it's name from the salt flats on which it sits, and has a greater salinity than the Pacific Ocean, but less than the Great Salt Lake.

It is such a strange place because it just seems so out of place. And it is....

The Salton Sea is not a natural lake. It was created in the 1905 when water from the Colorado River overflowed into the Imperial Valley. Then the water didn't leave. Now the lake is being fed from agricultural run off. Sadly, the lake is shrinking and is estimated to loose over 16 ft. over the next year or two. Not good news for the birds, or Southern California.


I got to enjoy the Salton Sea with the Big Morongo Canyon Preserve birding group to which I belong. There were so many birds! It was a fun day with friends. Here are some photos of the Salton Sea.

Know what these are? Hundreds (if not thousands) of Snow Geese. They winter around the Salton Sea.

Oceanside, CA

Black Rock Canyon

Weather here in the high desert area is fantastic in the fall and winter. The days are in the mid-60's, which makes for some great hiking weather.

One Sunday afternoon, Greg and I ventured to Black Rock Canyon for some sunny hiking. Black Rock is located less than ten minutes behind our house, and is, actually, part of Joshua Tree National Park.

We took the Hi-View Nature Trail that lead us back into a beautiful canyon. I can't believe we are only a few minutes from our house!

This photo is from another day I went hiking by myself. I love the mountains behind me!

Elephant Seals

One of the highlights of our Pacific Coast Highway tour was seeing the elephant seals at Point Piedras Blancas. AWESOME!! There is a visitors park along the highway, that allows you viewing access to the beached elephant seals. You can't go down and walk around in them (you wouldn't want to anyway, cause they bite,) but you can stand right above them. They are such funny creatures. So fascinating!

Self hugs are soooo good!

Someone woke up on the wrong side of the beach!

Pacific Coast Highway

Not much to say, but a lot to see about our trip down the Pacific Coast Highway. I will say, STUNNING! Everyone should put this drive on their Life List. The drive is great because there are so many established places to pull over and take in the magnificent scenery. The Big Sur area was just breathtaking. We WILL be back to this area, no doubt about it.

Monterey

After we had a fun time climbing up and down the rocks at Pinnacle NM, we wandered our way up to Monterey. It was pitch dark when we found our hotel just outside of town, but I could hear the crash of the Pacific Ocean in the distance. I could NOT wait for the morning!

Friday morning, we got an early start to make our way down the coast of California. We knew our tour of Monterey was going to be a quickie. If you have ever been to Monterey, you know that there is TONS to do there. The Monterey Aquarium (supposedly the best aquarium on the West Coast) just in itself takes a whole day, not to mention Cannery Row, whale-watching in the bay or taking a tour of the famous golf courses (Spyglass and Pebble Beach are nearby.) You could spend a whole week here and do something different everyday.


We just took a preview tour and spent an hour strolling down the extensive public bayside park and trail. Wow! How amazingly beautiful! I hope the residents know how good they got it! I want to live here! :)

I couldn't resist climbing out on the rocks!

This is actually Pacific Grove, CA. What beautiful, terrifying waves! See that fishing trawler in the background? I literally cried seeing it go out to sea. Just five weeks before, I was cruising by Monterey Bay on Ursa Major. I wanted to go back so bad, I was almost physically reaching for that trawler leaving.

Point Pinos Lighthouse- Pacific Grove, CA
It is the oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the West Coast.

Pinnacles National Monument

All sugar-buzzed from our Aebleskiver breakfast, we jumped in the car and headed north to Pinnacles National Monument. Along the way, we surprisingly passed miles and miles of vineyards. Pinot Noir vineyards, in fact. We had no idea vineyards were so far south (Santa Ynez valley compared to Napa Valley.) Santa Ynez valley is the same area where the movie Sideways was set (if anybody has seen that).


Pinnacle National Monument was WAY cool. We had enough time to hike the Gopher Canyon Trail, which was a nice looped hike to a dammed up lake and back. Amazing views, with some of the most humongous rocks I have ever seen.

Watch your head!

We had a fun afternoon climbing rocks and wandering into little caves. We can't wait to return for an extended stay.

Check out this cool tree! It looks like it's been painted red, but it naturally grows this way. It is a type of Manzanita tree (from the Spanish transliteration "little apple.")