We spent a FANTASTIC week in the San Diego area and REALLY enjoyed it. The last Blog posting dealt with just the animals of the San Diego Zoo so this one will address some of the other things we did while in San Diego and the surrounding area.
One of the first things we did was take a 25-mile narrated trolley ride which gave us a GREAT overview of everything in the immediate area. We like to do these types of tours when we arrive somewhere new because they give us a good overview and we can decide what things we want to go back and re-visit. For the next several days we visited many AWESOME sights and, as usual, there is a link below that will show pictures of just some things we enjoyed. Among these were:
• The Embarcadero where we viewed the US Navy aircraft carrier, Midway; the ferry boat Berkley, built in 1898 and used to ferry people to safety after the 1908 San Francisco earthquake; the Star of India, a square-rigged sailing vessel that was built in 1863 and has circled the globe 27 times; the luxury yacht Medea that was built in Scotland and served during WWII; and the HMS Surprise that was built for the motion picture "Master and Commander", starring Russell Crowe. We also saw a great statue park that paid tribute to Bob Hope and an interesting 25-foot tall statue entitled Unconditional Surrender. It recreates the image of a sailor in Times Square on V-J (Victory over Japan) Day grabbing the nearest gal -- a nurse -- and planting a kiss. In our photo notice the ‘person’ holding on to the girl’s leg 

• Harbor Island, Spanish Landing and Shelter Island where we were treated to beautiful views of San Diego Bay, several military installations, including two giant Navy bases and lots of other interesting sights. Among some that we found quite impressive were the large park and multi-statue and exhibit area of the cancer survivor’s park named Cancer…There’s Hope. It was designed to disassociate cancer from death and was inspired by the creator’s successful treatment and recovery from what was thought to be terminal cancer. The park not only encourages current patients to have the will to fight but subconsciously gives healthy people the will to fight should they ever subsequently be diagnosed with the disease. It is truly a tribute for the living. We also saw some other great tributes like the Yokohama Friendship Bell and the Tuna Man’s Memorial. Another interesting sight was the USS Recruit (aka the USS Never Sail, a two-thirds scale mock-up of a real Navy ship which served as a school for thousands of recruits going through basic seamanship indoctrination. The ship's deck is an exact replica of what a Sailor could expect in the fleet. It’s quite interesting, especially when you see it sitting in the middle of a huge gravel parking area!

• Cabrillo Monument, situated on a hilltop high above San Diego Bay, commemorating the site of the Portuguese explorer, Juan Rodriquez Cabrillo, who first landed here in 1542 and named the area San Miguel; Old Town, site of the first town which was later moved down to the waterfront; Little Italy, home to thousands of Italian immigrants who settled in the area and were responsible for the tuna industry in the Americas; The Gas Lamp Quarter, home to the historic area of present-day San Diego including the Stingaree District with its shadier past of gambling, prostitution and other sordid forms of vice; Balboa Park, home to 15 museums (including the Model Railroad Museum which Pat loved), gorgeous architecture, flora and fauna and the previously mentioned PSan Diego Zoo; PETCO Park, home of the San Diego Padres; and we saw lots of other GREAT sights in San Diego proper.

• Coronado, home of another huge Navy base and the beautiful old Hotel Del Coronado which was built in 1888 and is one of the world’s largest wooden structures and is an absolutely gorgeous example of elegant Victorian architecture and lifestyle.

• LaJolla, home to many beautiful homes, many famous residents and the LaJolla Gliderport where we watched engine-less parachute gliders take off, sail over the ocean and return back to the same spot. They were so beautiful and graceful. We also spent a long time at Children’s Pool, a protected cove that is home to a large harbor seal rookery. It is the middle of pupping season so there were lots of babies around. What fun, we could have stayed forever watching their antics.

• Escondido, where we spent the day at the San Diego Safari Park, sister park to the San Diego Zoo. We thought it would be somewhat anti-climatic after the Zoo but it was equally as fantastic. It encompasses 1800 acres, spread out over the valleys and canyons in areas created to replicate their natural habitats. It is mostly a research facility and also part education and part entertainment facility. They have a huge collection of 100s of animals. We were treated to many exotic and rare animals but probably the one’s that had the greatest impact were the two Southern White Rhinos. These two magnificent beasts are one pair of ONLY SEVEN that remain on Earth. It is truly frightening to stand this close to something that is SO CLOSE to final extinction. Sad…

• Huntington Beach and Newport Beach, two of the crown gems of the California coastline steeped in surfing tradition.

• Long Beach, home to the Queen Mary, one of the most famous ocean liners in history. The ship is huge and the tour was several hours in length and very informative.

• Oceanside, which is home to The Flower Fields, which are fifty acres of ranunculus flowers, blooming in every conceivable color. We also visited Mission San Luis Rey which is the largest of California’s 21 missions and also Mission San Juan Capistrano which is home to the famous swallows who return every March.

This is only a partial listing of the MANY awesome things that we did in the San Diego area but now it’s on to Los Angeles. Hollywood awaits us!!


Here is the link for the pictures that accompany this Post:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0Sbs27hoxZMoW

As usual, we would love to hear from you at:
PFerraro1@cfl.rr.com

Until next time, stay safe and take care,
Pat & Judy