Day 15 of 33

Attention All Readers - All 2 and sometimes 3 of you!

This is an extra special blog post. You will be treated to a bicycle tour of San Diego, without ever having to set foot on a pedal! I cannot stress enough the pain, frustration, embarrassment, and physical and mental anguish you are avoiding by only looking at the pleasant pictures. Of course, it is at the expense of a previously happy and healthy 25 year old man, but everything comes at a cost.


Today, was my day off, and I wanted to finally get to a beach. I mapped out the way to Mission Beach, hopped on my bike, and left. One of the few smart things I did today was to stop and purchase sunscreen and water on my way (Mom), so at least I was prepared. The path too me past Old Town, which you may remember I visited last wee. On my way, I found a handy sign along the highway that said "Bike Path to Ocean Beach" which seemed much more promising than my current course, so I made a quick decision to alter my route.

The path took a course between the San Diego River and Highway 8. I found it an odd mix of smelly between the fumes and the... well.. smelly swamp. In fact, it rather reminded me of home! What could be more New Jersey than highways and swamps?

I eventually made it to Ocean Beach. I was actually at a beach in warm, sunny, southern California. You know what? It was f'ing cold! Fortunately, that has never stopped me before. I spent a good half hour karate chopping waves and reaffirming my inability to body surf, and decided it was time to move on.

The time was only about noon, so I did not feel like heading back already. I thought maybe I could explore some of the coastline. So I took off again, without a specific destination in sight (mistake #1). My first stop was just down the road at a large fishing pier. There was a cafe/fishing shop at the end, where I decided to grab a bite (Mistake #2, and really?!). I got their version of Jalapeno Poppers, which they call "Sinkers" (Really, counting the mistakes is going to get tiring). I can attest that the "Sinkers" certainly sunk in quickly.

I kept pedaling down the coast of Point Loma, and discovered the Sunset Cliffs Park. The park ran along the water and consisted of beautifully colored strata of rock, quickly dissolving into the ocean.

I kept going along the coast until I hit a huge hill. I really did not want to go up, so instead I tried following some little dirt paths, hoping they would be easier. After 10 minutes or so, I found myself walking through high dead brush with prickles, with a canyon on one side of me, and facing a sign that said "US Government Property. Trespassing is strictly Forbidden". Well, as you know, I have quite a track record for making bad choices, but this time I chose to head back and tackle the hill instead.

I reached the top of the hill and discovered the beautiful campus of Point Loma Nazarene University. This campus was simply unfair. 1) It was situated atop a mountain with amazing ocean views in San Diego. 2) All the buildings were constructed in beautiful Spanish revival archiecture and 3) They were RENOVATING to make it even BETTER! Aren't there rules about how nice a University is allowed to look? Isn't there a quota of a certain number of ugly buildings which must be present on a campus? Or were these all lies told to me by Rutgers?

I continued on, uphill no less, and found myself in the midst of a Naval Base. To quaify, it is hard to walk 10 feet without finding yourself in Navy property in San Diego, but this one was particularly large. Nobody seemed intent on stopping me, so I continued on. Do you think this is where they train dolphins to blow up Submarines?

I wanted to make it to the end of Point Loma, so I plowed forward. Eventually I hit Cabrillo National Monument and Tidepool Park. The signs said I owed $3, but the ranger waved me through. I think he either thought I was active military (because who else would go that far on bicycle) or just plain took pity on me (because who else would go that far on bicycle). I first took the alluring path down to the tide pools. Paths downhll always sign like sirens at first, but you find their dangers after. More on this later.

I think the tide was high, so I did not find much in the way of tide pools. However, there was a great hike along the cliff's edge, with water splashing up against the side.

The time had come to head back up the mountain. I put the bike into the lowest gear and settled in. I had run out of water and I found myself scaling a mountain in the desert under the mid-day sun. I heard a screech above me and found birds of prey were circling overhead, anticipating my demise. Mind you - do not take it for granted that I survived this occasion just because I am writing this now. It's possible that I could have put certain precautions in place to complete my blog posts should I fall.

Anyway, I did survive. I headed over to the Cabrillo National Monument Visitors Center, seeing it as my oasis for water and civilization. I did find water, and after drinking 10-12 gallons, I sat down for a video on whales. I found it boring. I left the movie early, but luckily got outside just in time to see an ACTUAL whale swimming by. Can you see it spouting off?

By the way, this is something something Cabrillo, who the monument was named after. He was one of the early Spanish explorers. He did not settle in San Diego (no gold), but did land and give it it's first name of San Miguel.

For the first time, I actually turned around. You see, there's no other way off Point Loma. I rolled back down to Sea Level and found myself in a very familiar situation. I was at Shoreline Park, which has a number of marinas. I am almost positive I found the marina where my uncle Perc used to harbor his schooner. I started going door to door (hatch to hatch?) looking for him.

Speaking of fond memories, check this out! I spotted this ship from far away and chased it for a mile or two to get a good photo. I hope you appreciate it. I'm almost positive that this is the ship that first inspired my passion for pirates, long before Pirates of the Caribbean and all the "Pirate Fads". At that time, we were racing against it. Now, it appeared to be doing Pirate-themed cruises around the harbor, so I guess they sold out. I still really want to go on a pirate cruise, though...

I headed back to the downtown. On the way, I passed the San Diego airport and I took a picture, since I missed it before. This is the only city I know of that actually has its airport in its downtown. Can you imagine riding a bicycle past EWR?

I continued along the coastline into downtown. I came across a Nautical Museum for historical ships, as well as a new exhibit on "Urban Trees", which was basically just a bunch of statues.

In the two pictures below, I give you two different perspectives on San Diego Bay. The first was taken atop the mountain at Point Loma, looking down on Coronado Island and Downtown. The second was taken from downtown, and the ridge way in the distance is where the first picture was taken. Remember - ONE DAY - ONE BICYCLE.








I kept on trucking down the harbor of the city and ran right into the USS Midway, an Aircraft Carrier turned into a museum. I did not shell out to go on, but it seemed from the number of chairs strewn about, that much of it had been converted into various cafes. I don't know about you, but to me that seems like a pretty cool place to eat.

Finally I turned up the main drag to try and get home. I had been reduced to about .5 MPH. The downtown area seemed more or less like most other cities, except that it had rather wide streets. This helped me considerably since I had a hard time keeping my bicycle pointed straight ahead.

I crept back through Balboa Park, a familiar picture subject on this blog, and finally made it back home. In total, I estimate that I rode between 25-30 miles today. Imagine riding a bicycle from Metro Park to Times Square, and then add in canyons.

Now I plan to remain immobile for the rest of the week.