good-times-rollin

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 !

Monday, January 3, 2022

Cabrillo National Monument and Lunch

San Diego Metro KOA

Chula Vista, CA

January 3, 2022

Cabrillo National Monument

The Point Loma Lighthouse was built in 1854. It was one of the first eight lighthouses built on the Pacific Coast. For many years it was the highest coastal light in the country. A new lighthouse was built at a lower elevation in 1891 because fog and low clouds often made the lights difficult to see. In 1913, the old lighthouse became the site of Cabrillo National Monument and in 1932, it became "historical landmark #51" when registered by the state's Parks and Recreation Department. Cabrillo NM was placed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. As many times as we have visited SD, this is still one of my favorite destinations.

The Bayside Trail, starting at the Lighthouse and winding it's way down towards SD Bay, is a self-guided tour with lots of detailed signs describing the vegetation, habitat, and weather.

The views are spectacular as far as the eye can see.

The Coronado Bridge and SD skyline with the Laguna Mountains in the background...

A searchlight shelter and power plant were built on the site in 1919 and used during WWI and WWII. The buildings still stand with signage explaining.

Carol and Ronnie reading about the Power Plant. This was their first time to do the trail.

I love it when the Navy ships come by. Joe, having been in the Navy back in the mid-sixties, was in and out of this port on the USS Ranger (CVA-61) and enjoy this view of the harbor.

When I'm not taking in all this...

This is Coronado Island. The Hotel Del Coronado is on the right side and our puppies play at the beach on the left side closer to the Navy Base entrance.

...the little things catch my eye.

Also, it's pretty cool to note that Shaw's agave has historically only grown in extreme Southern California with the largest populations in the U.S. on the Point Loma Peninsula.

It is here they take advantage of buffered temperatures and fog moisture.

After a stop at the visitor center for post cards, it was off to lunch.

About half way between Cabrillo and home is Point Loma Seafood. It all started as a fresh seafood market back in the 60s. In the beginning, the market began preparing hot food for their employees and eventually these hot lunches became available to the public. They still continue the traditions of selling fresh fish and fish processing for the sport fisherman which includes filleting, packaging, and customized smoking. Today it was Alaskan fried cod, fries and slaw with a glass (or two) of Kelly's famous lemonade. The restaurant which has been remodeled to accommodate more business (in the exact same place where it all started) is located on the bay.

The food is yummy and the view is awesome. But the best part of today was sharing it with friends. I don't know why, but I'm getting a bit more mushy in my older age. Anyhow, it was a wonderful beginning to January...stay tuned !

Until next time...