March
16 – 20. We are staying in San Diego for
5 nights. There is a lot to see and do
in San Diego. We are not planning on
going to the zoo or the safari park that San Diego is so famous for. This trip we are going to spend more time in
the museums.
We are staying at San Diego RV Resort in La Mesa. It is located next to the highway and on the
other side of the park are the trolley tracks.
And across the highway there is construction of what looks like
condos. So the noise level is very high
during the day and at night it is just the highway noise. Most of the guests in this park are permanent
residents. So they mostly stay in their
trailers or have gone to work. We did not
see any one in this park. We were given
a list of sites to choose from and we picked one that was long and spacious
with no neighbors on either side (for now).
This place does not have a comfortable feel to it and we are here for 5
nights. We will just have to make the
most of it.
After we settled into our site, we had dinner at Fiesta de Reyes in Old Town San Diego. This is one of our favorite ‘first night’ stops when we land in San Diego. This restaurant is outside on a festive patio inside a shopping plaza with lots of colorful shops to check out. It is fun and the food is delicious!
Balboa Park is our main destination for this trip to San Diego. This is the site of the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition (celebrating the completion of the Panama Canal). It was used again for the 1935 American Exposition. The remaining ornate, beautiful buildings now house museums, visitor center, research centers, restaurants, etc. We visited three museums; Museum of Natural History, Museum of Photography, and Museum of Art.
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| This bejeweled enameled egg holds a miniature replica of Balboa Park’s beloved carousel. Each hand-carved animal depicts one of the actual 56 animals that revolve on the real carousel. The egg took 18 years to create. |
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| We had a delicious lunch on the patio at our favorite restaurant; PRADO. |
Julian is about 50 miles north east of San Diego. It is a historic gold mining frontier town with pioneer store fronts. Their cold winter climate is ideal for growing apples. In October 10,000 apple pies are baked here. Tourists flock here for the fall colors and the famous Apple Festival. We always take a day and visit this town whenever we are in the area.
CORONADO
Coronado
celebrates its 125th anniversary.
A small beach community with an island feel was incorporated in
1890. It’s landmark is the Hotel del Coronado,
a Victorian beach hotel that opened in 1888.
We spent the day in Coronado checking out the shops and having a nice
lunch on the deck of one of the many restaurants at the famous hotel.
SAN DIEGO
BOTANICAL GARDENS
This botanical
garden was originally a farm. It later
became the private residence of Ruth Baird Larabee who was an avid plant
collector and naturalist. In 1957 she
donated the land to the County of San Diego as a park and wildlife
sanctuary. It stared out as a quail park
then a garden. After many improvements
it became the San Diego Botanic Garden in 2009.
It sits on 37 acres with about 24 different gardens including a children’s
interactive garden. There are hiking
trails and lookouts. It is a lush
beautiful garden that is peaceful and relaxing.
We spent a wonderful day there. But we did not see any quail. Visit http://www.sdbgarden.org/
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The spongy bark of the cork oak tree
produces cork for wine bottles and flooring. This oak grows in the mountains of
Portugal and Spain. The bark can be harvested every 15 years without
damaging the trees.
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Giant Timber
Bamboo
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This bamboo grew here for 30 years.
About 2008 it started to flower and seed. Like many bamboos after a
few years it declined and so was cut down in 2013. This species is one of
the two largest bamboos, growing over 100 feet tall. Native to India,
Burma, and Thailand. It is used for construction, furniture, food and
crafts.
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