Tuesday 28th February – San Diego

We weren’t washed away in the night then!  But the creek looked totally different this morning now that the water level has subsided somewhat:

Same section of river as yesterday's pic.... looking a little calmer!

Despite being a pricey site the wi-fi here is rubbish. This led to the disappointment this morning of a failed connection right at the moment my four-year-old nephew was about to open his birthday present from us! Not impressed, I thought we wouldn’t have to miss these things with modern day technology?!?

We had considered getting public transport into San Diego but as we didn’t have a campsite to leave the RV at anyway, we drove in instead, past swollen rivers and flooded fields (right).  First stop was the Cabrillo National Monument on Loma Point.  Using our national parks pass we saved $10 and got amazing panoramic views of the whole of San Diego, Coronado Island and the Pacific Ocean.  Our first proper views of the West coast, we’ve finally made it East to West!

The Pacific Ocean

Amazing views of the San Diego skyline.  Below: Cabrillo's statue and map of his journey from Mexico

The monument heralds Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo who was officially the first European to set foot on the West Coast of America in 1542 when he sailed into the harbour and landed at this very spot.  For Simon there was plenty of military activity, as there is a massive naval base in San Diego.  This is where Navy SEALS are trained and there were helicopters, powerboats, jet planes and freighters galore all around us (right).  For me there was the promise of the gray whale migration.  According to the leaflet the best time of year to see whales off this stretch of coast is January to February.  Was the 28^th February cutting it too fine?!  The Gray whales make the longest migration of any mammal on Earth, a 10,000 mile round trip from the Arctic to the warmer waters of Mexico for the winter, to mate or give birth before heading back up North again.  Well I hope the coastline wasn’t swarming with whales yesterday, because none swam past today! We got our hopes up a couple of times, thinking we saw a plume of spray from a whale’s blowhole…. Only to see that it as spray caused by a low flying helicopter!  We spent over an hour at the monument, enjoying the views.

On both sides of the road to Loma point there is an enormous military cemetery for service men and women who served recently as well as during the World Wars.  Quite a sight.

Every single white speck on the left and right side of the road is a gravestone

We drove around the harbour’s edge getting lovely views of the city:

I had mistakenly let Simon spot the huge shape of the USS Midway carrier moored in the bay and we made a bee-line there in the hope that he may get a couple of hours to wander the decks.  I had offered to let him go solo and in turn I could wander into the City for some non-military sightseeing!  But the old problem of parking returned - $20 for a couple of hours was too expensive and really there weren’t enough hours left in the day to do the visit justice so sadly for Simon the USS Midway fell by the wayside.

Onwards to Coronado island and far better luck as far as accessibility goes!  We landed the two nearest parking meter spots to the Hotel Del Coronado….. for 75 cents in total! We strolled through the main lobby (right) around the over-priced shops and out to the beach.  

View of Hotel De Coronado from the beach

This hotel is famous for being hailed as an architectural masterpiece when it opened in 1888 as the largest resort hotel in the world, attracting wealthy clientele for months at a time and hosting famous names such as Charlie Chaplin, Kevin Costner and Madonna as well as numerous Presidents!  It remains the second largest wooden structure in the whole of the United States and was designated a National Historical Landmark in 1977 (a good year). On such a lovely sunny day it would have been amiss not to partake in a couple of iced drinks on the veranda:

We needed to head out of San Diego to make some ground towards Joshua Tree Park for tomorrow and to find somewhere cheap/free to stay, so we hit the road before sundown.  Back along Interstate 8 which wasn’t as scary as yesterday thankfully, before turning into the wilderness.  In the dark the windy highway with rocks and trees on either side got a little tricky so we didn’t drive as far as we’d hoped, settling for a dry camping spot next to Lake Cuyamaca.  I think there’s a view out there, but I guess we’ll have to wait until daylight to appreciate it! With no one else in sight, we needn’t worry about noise from the generator as we made a hasty dinner and put the heating on for a bit before turning in for the night.