Life on the Ocean - Day's 17 to 21
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| Pelican on the rocks |
Up bright and early for the flight to San Diego via Phoenix. We were warned that we needed to be at the Airport with time to spare because of the queues for security. Just as well as we had a bit of a wait, about an hour. We still had time for a good breakfast before boarding. Alamo car return really slick again and our Sonata was gone in no time. I thought it was a Honda but apparently it's a Hyundai, nice car anyway.
Amazing desert scenery as we flew towards Phoenix, there isn't much water around in Arizona. We had a lunch break at Phoenix Airport of about an hour then another queue to check in. American Airlines like to put you in your place. They call you for boarding in a strict hierarchy. Needless to say we were the lowest of the low Category 3 Economy -
and now finally all those insignificant twerps who do not fly with us very often and are left handed. Anyway it was a nice flight and there was still room for our cabin baggage in the bulging overhead lockers. A Journalist from San Diego joined our row of three. He was editor of a Mountain Bike Magazine so we had a good chat. He was a correspondent in Chechnya during the trouble with Russia and it clearly had a profound effect on him. He told us about his surfing exploits and told us to watch out for Stingrays if we went in the sea - ooerrr! You need to shuffle in rather than step as you enter the freezing water.
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| Mission - Our local Ocean Beach |
There was a strong cold wind off the Sea every day so we did not venture in! (that's our excuse anyway).
We found our bags at San Diego OK. Always a bit worried on domestic flights that some bounder will walk off with them. Just a Twenty minute transfer by Shuttle to Bahia Resort in Mission Bay. The driver was either hard of hearing or just ignoring us so we did not get any info from him.Not sure if we picked the right location to stay in San Diego but overall it worked out pretty well.
Initially, the locality was a bit rough around the edges near Belmont Park but was fine once we pedalled a short distance along the coastal prom.
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| Riverboat Cruise Boat |
Our arrival was on a busy Saturday and it was a bit of a culture shock. We picked up a couple of bikes for the duration, TW changed her steed twice, she likes the bike to match her outfit and also they need to have a comfy saddle and an upright riding position.
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TW's velocipede
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| Brockton Villa in La Jolla |
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| Pedal power heading North |
She ended up on a Yellow Coaster with back-pedal brakes that she took up in the Hotel lift every night. There was certainly a relaxed atmosphere in San Diego which was just what we needed after a couple of weeks of heavy touristing. Our Hotel had its own Riverboat that does short cruises to a sister property on the other side of the Bay so we had to give that a try. Paddling across the lagoon was exceedingly pleasant initially but bitterly cold once the sun went down.
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| Not too shabby in La Jolla |
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| Beside the Sea |
The main reason we booked Bahia was for the Kitchen in the room. We soon discovered the excellent Ralph's Supermarket in Pacific Beach so our Fridge was well stocked. We still managed a couple of Evening meals out though. The Restaurant at the Bahia was good and we really liked
World Famous located right on the prom towards Pacific Beach. A great place to watch the sun go down.
Our favourite pedalling route took us North up to La Jolla (pronounced La Hoyer). Amazing wild life on the coast and some really, really swish properties to cycle past.
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| Westbourne St. |
Pelicans are a favourite, they look a bit scrunched up and out of proportion when sitting on land but are as graceful as Concorde in the air. Loads of breeding Cormorants by the shore as well so there was a distinct fishy pong. Not comfortable at all with the tourists getting close to the seals or sea lions for selfie's etc. Leave them alone! By the way, how o you tell a Sea Lion from a Seal? Well, Sea Lions have little sticky-out ears whereas Seals do not. Also Sea Lions have front flippers that allow them almost to walk on all fours. Seals seem to skid along on their tummies.
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| Get off my beach! |
We had a coffee stop at Brockton Villa, right by the Cove. Lovely place, it was lunchtime but they gave us a great seat on the terrace. TW ordered a Cobbler that took some time to arrive. We were not worried at all as we had a nice seat for Dolphin spotting in the Bay. When the bill arrived the Cobbler was missing from it. We told the Waiter that the bill was wrong but he said it was correct, you had to wait too long! Happy customer became delighted customer. Very strange Contemporary Art Museum Building just to the South, it looks like a warehouse from the outside with no windows towards the sea. Inside might be interesting but not to us. We did have a foray South towards downtown but we were frustrated by closed cycle paths and the rain. The Ocean Beach just South of the San Diego River was a big contrast to smart La Jolla. We enjoyed the nice flat cycle around Mission Bay, I had a pedal there most mornings before my Porridge.
Return to the Alamo
One of the few things we did not pre-book was the final day transfer to LAX.
Our choice boiled down to Train or Hire Car. We had been told at home that the trains did not run to timetable and it would be risky if we needed to catch NZ2.
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| The Beach at Torrey Pines |
So it was back to Alamo for a 24 hour car rental. The plan was to make full use of the motor and have a bit of drive North to Cardiff by the Sea and Torrey Pines.
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| TW on the beach - no more snake signs |
The traffic was awful so we only made it as far as Torrey Pines, a State Park Nature Reserve.
We were a bit underwhelmed by it after the National Parks but we had a good circular walk through the scrubland to the sea and back along the beach. As soon as I saw the first sign telling us to beware of Rattlesnakes I knew it would not a relaxed stroll in the Park for TW. She hates snakes but they seem to like her. Luckily they were shaking their tails elsewhere. We turned for home and back into the traffic. We had a very expensive coffee at La Jolla Shores Hotel on the way, nice view though.
Where we stayed -
http://www.bahiahotel.com/ Mission Beach San Diego
Amazing desert scenery as we flew towards Phoenix, there isn't much water around in Arizona. We had a lunch break at Phoenix Airport of about an hour then another queue to check in. American Airlines like to put you in your place. They call you for boarding in a strict hierarchy. Needless to say we were the lowest of the low Category 3 Economy - and now finally all those insignificant twerps who do not fly with us very often and are left handed. Anyway it was a nice flight and there was still room for our cabin baggage in the bulging overhead lockers. A Journalist from San Diego joined our row of three. He was editor of a Mountain Bike Magazine so we had a good chat. He was a correspondent in Chechnya during the trouble with Russia and it clearly had a profound effect on him. He told us about his surfing exploits and told us to watch out for Stingrays if we went in the sea - ooerrr! You need to shuffle in rather than step as you enter the freezing water.
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