Thursday, January 6, 2022

A Little Shopping and Some Birding

San Diego Metro KOA

Chula Vista, CA

January 6, 2022

 Tuesday, I realized I had forgotten to pack my beach hat and walking the beach is definitely on the list of favorite things to do.  To fix the problem, Joe and I headed out to Seaport Village to a great little hat shop.  



I know it is a great little hat shop because there is a hat I bought there still sitting on the shelf in our closet in Tucson.  









Oh well, a girl can't have too many hats ! Seaport Village is less than 10 miles from the KOA and a nice place to spend a couple of hours. There are lots of other small speciality shops, but the best part is the walk along the bay.


One of the oldest and most iconic historical neighborhoods in San Diego is Little Italy.  

It all began as a "humble" fishing community populated by Italian immigrants back in the 1920s and has grown into a chic, pedestrian-friendly neighborhood.  Boutiques, music venues, bars and restaurants line the street today.  And on Wednesdays and Saturdays, the big attraction is the Little Italy Mercato...year round...rain or shine. The Saturday Market fills six city blocks (Date Street is closed to traffic).  Produce, flowers, meats, eggs, oils and breads are among the many items sold by local vendors.  We chose to go Wednesday which is about a third the size of Saturday's event.  

Date Street is closed for both days.

 












Our bag was mostly empty except for a loaf of rosemary sourdough bread and sun-dried garlic spread.  There were lots of vendors with root plant produce...beets, turnips, carrots, etc. 













And as always, the  bundles of flowers locally grown were beautiful.




I'm not a big city girl, but I love to visit the city and walking the streets in Little Italy is totally a fun time.  It has skyscrapers, outside bars and restaurants, store windows full of color and charm, and history.   

Fancy umbrellas on a balcony...don't forget to look up!

























Trees are planted along the sidewalks approximately 10 walking strides apart.


Today was birding day.  We chose Bayside Birding and Walking Trail which connects to the Bayshore Biking Trail and together make for a decent walk.  We chose to begin our walk in Imperial Beach which is less the 10 miles from the KOA. 




  


































During the past century, 70% of the Bay's salt marsh was either dredged or filed for development.  Restoration in San Diego Bay began in 2011. Tidal flows were restored bringing back lost habitat for a wide variety of fish, birds, other animals and plants. 

There wasn't any info on what these were.  What is your guess?












Most of what is the Bayshore Bikeway was originally known as The Coronado Beltway Railroad. 


It was constructed in 1888 to bring passengers and supplies to the Coronado Beach Company Development.  


The Beltway supplied materials for the construction of Fort Emory (1942). 

Until next time, bottoms up ! 























HAPPY TRAILS !

16 comments:

  1. We too enjoy Seaport Village, but it sure seems like it is a 'work in progress' lately. Anxious to see the finished product.
    I'm not good at identifying birds, but sure enjoy the walking south of IB along the waterfront. boo-koo birds to be seen there!

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    1. Identifying birds is hard sometimes…I have spent hours and hours trying to identify one bird or another. Now I just enjoy the birds and the photography and not so much the identifying! My favorite in todays photos are the curved-bill curlews…that’s one I always remember. So south of IB I saw Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge and Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve…are these the places we need to go Jeff?

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    2. I think you would enjoy it, there's a VC in IB along with well marked trails. But I like to go to the ocean side, parking at the end of Seacoast Drive. You can follow the berm all the way to the Tijuana River

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  2. Such great pictures! Keep them coming.

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  3. Love your bird photos and the description of the market.

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    1. Thank you Janna. I was disappointed in the bird photos. The lighting was off and the birds are so camouflaged or hidden in the shadows that it was hard to capture a good picture. It was a beautiful day though and the fresh air was wonderful!

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    2. Mom, How can you forget the most important thing like a hat? All that unnecessary stress on my Pop to go find you hat. Good Lord. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

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    3. You make us laugh Jamie! And what a nice surprise to see a comment from you! We love you! ❤️

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  4. So many wonderful memories of Seaport Village. It was a destination spot for us for years. The Upstart Crow had the best Chai Lattes and always a couple books my sons and borrowed daughter had to have. I hope it's still there! Love the hat store too - lots of fun choices :-) You found a great variety of seeing and doing in San Diego. We haven't stayed there yet in our travels and I need to remedy that!

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    1. A must stop Jodee! We have had several visits here thru the years. One of our favorites! I do not remember seeing the Upstart Crow, but there is a section under construction/ renovation.

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  5. I sure miss the time along the bay/ocean. I'm sorry now that I didn't get on making reservations to head to Mission Bay. Next year, for sure!! Looks like lovely weather and lots of fun. Let us know if you find out what that nest/home thing in the water is.

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    1. We haven’t been to SD since 2019. It’s definitely a nice change of scenery for a few weeks and close to home for an easy trip.

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