We called our friends Francine and France and invited them to go sightseeing with us. We agreed to meet at San Diego's Presidio Park, overlooking Mission Bay, Old Town and the Pacific Ocean.
The park is located on the edge of the hillside above Old Town. The site of the original mission, and various encampments. There are a few links at the end of all this in case you'd like more history. Currently, there is an old church turned into a museum, wide spreading greens and a few monuments to the history of San Diego, The people who lived here and came from far and wide. The Spanish Mission system, and the beginnings of California itself.
We walked around and viewed the property, visited the various overlooks and looked out at the city and the beach. It was informative and fun for us.
We left Presidio Park and drove to Ocean Beach. Two of the best restaurants in the area are actually part of the same complex. There is Wonderland, which has a large outdoor patio. They specialize in seafood and craft brew. Downstairs from it, is Shades, a smaller pub. The entire building is up from the street, so the view of the ocean and beach is always great.
We started at Wonderland with a couple of pints from Alesmith. Alesmith is a local brewer that features an ale dedicated to the memory of San Diego Baseball star, Tony Gwynn. I noticed it was somewhat cloudy, and I asked the poor girl waiting on us if she could guarantee us a good sunset. She didn't think so. We had some appetizers and then went downstairs to Shades.
At Shades, we sat just inside the south west corner of the room so we would have a great view if the sunset did come. I ducked outside a few times to take pictures closer to the waterline. We ended up having a great sunset. The clouds dispersed enough for the sun to be seen well, but stayed around so they could reflect it's glory. Good food, friends, and a beautiful beach sunset.
Once we had finished dinner and it was dark, we went for a walk out on the pier. We stopped and talked to people fishing out there. A young man with his family told us about the types of fish he caught, and explained that the end of the pier which is a "T", provides different sea life on each side. The north shorter branch will give you manta rays, while the longer southern branch will get you Shark. That was interesting. When we walked out there, we met a man on the southern end who was running lobster traps off the pier. He showed us, fascinated, as he brought up a cage, how he used a gauge to measure the lobsters and threw back the ones that didn't measure up.
We wore ourselves out and walked back to our cars and said goodnight. It was a very wonderful evening.
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| Serra Museum |
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| Mormon Battalion Monument |
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| Looking northwest towards La Jolla |
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| Wine press dated 1880 |
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| Interstate 8 from the presidio |
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| These bells run from The San Diego mission, past here all the way up to the bay area. Nearly 800 miles they mark the original "Kings Road" through California. |
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| Statue of Father Junipero Serra |
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| Time capsule to be opened 2069. Let me know what's in it, okay? |
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| Monument to Fr. Serra, the mission, and the Presidio. Built from the remaining bricks of the original fortress. |
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| El touristas |
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| Cloudy evening at Ocean Beach state park. |
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| South end of the beach. Just past the pier are the tide pools. |
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| The sun, undaunted, begins to show it's glory |
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| Abbott Street |
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| Francine and France |
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| Ocean Beach from the pier |
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| North from the pier |
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| South from the pier |
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| Lobster trap and visitors |
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| A local fisherman shows how to measure lobsters |
http://www.sandiegohistory.org/timeline/timeline.htm
http://www.laalmanac.com/transport/tr32.htm
http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/99summer/serra.htm
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