San Diego is the star of coastal Southern California - sunny, warm, hip, with great beaches, excellent seafood, and a strong hispanic influence. It had been on our "must see" list for a long time. When Gelina had to travel to there for work, so Dave got to tag along and we were able to take a short vacation there as well. We had a great time. Being California and all, we had to rent a convertible and tour around town and take the Pacific Highway up to La Jolla. We also went over to Coronado, saw the zoo, and did some visiting with G's cousins. Not nearly enough time to do everything we wanted. Got to go back. |
 We stayed for part of the trip at the Marriott by the marina - very cool panoramic views of the bay. |
 The ersatz lighthouse at Seaport Village just a few blocks from the Marriott. |
 The San Diego Pier Cafe has good seafood and it's hard to beat the view. |
 Gelina and one of the restored adobe buildings from the founding days of California. |
 Across San Diego Bay to Coronado island - a panorama of the Pacific ocean at Point Loma. The views from there were truly incredible. |
|
 Cabrillo National Monument at the end of the Coronado marks the landing of the Spanish in 1542. The Old Point Loma Lighthouse is in the background. |
 |
 Gelina playing with the Fresnel lens that used to focus the lighthouse's beam. |
 Because of problems with fog blocking the light, the new lighthouse at Point Loma was built at the base of the cliffs. |
 San Diego Bay from the Cabrillo National Monument ranger station. The ocean just goes on forever. |
 Another view of the old lighthouse from one of the walking trails. |
 The tide polls at the base of Point Loma. We got there at high tide, so there wasn't much to see. |
 The waves had worn away large parts of the cliffs, but left this boulder just sitting there. |
 The Hotel del Coronado is a classic resort hotel. We toured the grounds, walked the beach, and had a bite to eat there. |
 One of the 2 very cool pools at Hotel del. Got to stay there next time. |
 Coronado is covered in flowers. Here's a field of some with a naval ship in the background. |
 Very pretty astramaris. |
 A flock of flamingos at the San Diego Zoo. |
 The polar bears with one of the towers from Balboa park in the background. |
 This little, hairy pig came over to say "hi." |
 What's an 800-pound gorilla eat? Anything he wants. This big guy was combing the grass for seeds. |
 One of the hippos comes up for a breath of air. |
 Sleepy, funny, long-eared pigs. |
 This is the female panda panda talking a rare stroll. |
 The male panda has a between-nap snack.See more exciting panda action on the Panda Cam. |