Field Trips - San Diego Tour Guide Weekend

We had a super-busy weekend, showing old friends (not literally old - well, ®ob is over 40 though...) around the San Diego area. We had previously visited the three places we took them to on Saturday and Sunday - Maritime Museum, Cabrillo National Monument tidepools and lighthouse and hiking at Torrey Pines State Park. Since I've already written about most of these, and also because my normal clunky copy isn't spilling out of me, this will be even more of a pictorial than the normal post.

Maritime Museum of San Diego:

Ferry Berkely and submarine Dolphin

one of many very cool miniature models, this of the USS Oregon (1893)

Meals on Wheels:
We took another tour of San Diego Bay on the harbor pilot boat (1914), the additonal $3 fee is so very worth it for the ≈45 minute tour of the bay.
From the Pilot, we viewed the USS Nimitz (CVN-68), USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70), along with the Ronald Reagan (CVN-76 - not pictured):
All three supercarriers are stationed at NAS North Island.

A few sea lions napping on a navigation buoy:
The Stars & Stripes (ex-America's Cup contender) coming back into port
And the museum's own Star of India, which we'd briefly explore later in the day:

ahoy from the Pilot

Back on shore I discovered a very cool small sailboat that I never knew existed:
A 1930s-era Mini Star. I've always loved the clean, classic lines of a Star-class sailboat. This 100 year-old class has been raced in the Olympics since the 1930s. The mini star sitting on the dock is about 2/3 the size (16' vs 22.5') and was a popular boat for junior sailing programs in the 1930s-60s. This particular boat, Rascal, is the last surviving Starlet.

Lots of photos of cool gauges, Cyrillic typography and the like were snapped aboard the Soviet B-30 sub.
And, very quickly, through the Star of India:
Off to Point Loma and the Cabrillo National Monument.

push harder, Celeste!

grandmas will NOT approve of this pic

historic Point Loma lighthouse (1855)

When we were done exploring on Saturday, a quick trip to Wahoo's was made in order to fill up on some great burritos.
Sunday was overcast with a stiff breeze out of the south. But no matter, the trails and vistas at Torrey Pines State Park are beautiful any time. Plus, after a day in the sun, the clouds were good for our fair-skinned friends.
Celeste took many photos of one of her Webkinzzz:
She's doing a great job with photography and understands that sometimes you just have to get dirty in order to get the shot. And dirty she certainly gets:
We're so fortunate to have a girl that enjoys exploring nature.
®ob and Peg left Monday morning, impressed with what the area had to offer and promising to return soon. They're headed north up Hwy 1 along the coast to SF and then the redwoods. I hope ®ob's new 16GB memory card will hold the thousands of pix he's going to take...

Field Trip - Cabrillo Natl Monument / Point Loma San Diego PT. 2

After we did our tidepooling at Cabrillo National Monument, we drove up the hill to the visitor's center, lighthouse and historic military sites.

Klaus the van was our dining room on wheels. Nice view of the harbor!

San Diego Bay & Naval Air Station North Island

Can you spot the two submarines in this pic?

Visitor's center, built in 1966

Statue of Cabrillo, donated by the Portugese government and delviered by its navy, 1988

We checked out the museum, learning the history of the area and Cabrillo's arrival. As I mentioned in part I, Point Loma has been an important strategic point for San Diego.

Between 1918 and 1943, the Army built searchlight bunkers, fire control stations and gun batteries. The largest guns were located just west of the park entrance, where two 16-inch guns could fire 2,300-pound shells nearly 30 miles out to sea. The militay also painted the Old Point Loma Lighthouse olive green and used it as a command post and radio station.

Celeste and Allie inside a coastal artillery control station

Exterior of control station, nicely camouflaged into cliffs

Old military thing, not sure what it is/was. Pearl Station perhaps?

Point Loma has a couple of lighthouses, with the Old Point Loma Lighthouse (1855) restored and open to the public.

Celeste checking out a fresnel lens in the museum

Old Point Loma Lighthouse

Original lamp, now residing in what was the assitant's house

Old Point Loma Lighthouse was in service from 1855 until 1891. While the lighthouse's location seems ideal, 422' above sea level, fog and low clouds often obscured the light. The next lighthouse was built much closer to the water and is located on what is now a Coast Guard station and sadly not open to the public. The old lighthouse was faithfully restored to it's 1855 appearance a few years ago and is decorated in period furnishings.

All in all, another great day exploring our new area.

Field Trip - Cabrillo Natl Monument / Point Loma San Diego PT. 1

Another weekend, another field trip. We headed south again today to visit the Cabrillo National Monument in San Diego. Since I'm tired, this posting will be split up into two with the second half coming later in the week.

Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo was the first European to set foot on the west coast of what is now the United States. On September 28th, 1542, Cabrillo's flotilla entered a harbor that he described as "a closed and very good port."

The National Monument is out on San Diego's Point Loma which shelters San Diego Bay from the Pacific Ocean. A sandstone rampart jutting out into the sea, Point Loma has been of stragetgic importance to the San Diego area since the US government first designated the peninsula a military reserve back in 1852.

Point Loma - bottom left corner. Celeste is pointing to Balboa Park, site of a previous field trip.

Our first stop was at the tidepools. While the tides were not low when we visited Sunday morning, there was still plenty to see. Dramatic views of a rugged coast and smaller tidepools with crabs, snails and other critters.

First I'll get the videos out of the way

Video one (sorry, I had the camera running vertical - that doesn't work too well in video mode!) Still the excited screams are worth it:

Video two, more screams of delight:


Video three, the wave got a bit too close for comfort for Celeste:
Video four - surfing on a rock:


Video five - We enjoyed the sound the rocks made as they clunked together when the waves receded.


Time for some stills:

San Diego's coast isn't all beach

Navigating the slick sandstone

Celeste with some feather boa kelp (yes, it's really called that)

artsy-fartsy erosion

cool yuccas

more artsy-fartsy