San Diego, Part 2

We decided to go to the Cabrillo National Monument on Point Loma the next day. Point Loma is in San Diego, about 30 miles south of Escondido, so we waited until about 9:00 to avoid the rush hour traffic – San Diego traffic has gotten really bad over the last 15 years.

The Cabrillo National Monument is a great park. It’s a peninsula on the north side of San Diego Bay. The park is named after Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo who arrived there in 1542 from Mexico. A lighthouse was built in 1855, and although not active, it has been refurbished and a small museum has been added. Point Loma was used by the military during both world wars, but during World War II it was heavily fortified to guard against an attack on the bay by the Japanese. There are a lot of reinforced bunkers all around the point from that period, along with some historical exhibits. The park also has a gift store, offices, a small theater and some exhibits near the parking lot.

Most of the park is protected coastal scrub, but there are a couple trails. We went on the short trail that winds past the exhibits and around the lighthouse.
The lighthouse is open to the public and has the original late 1900’s décor. When we got there it was crowded, so we didn’t go inside (it’s a cramped building). There is a longer trail, about 1.5 miles that descends to the ocean and back. We were going to go out to lunch after the park, and although it’s not a long trail, it’s up and down dusty hills, so we passed on it this time.

We left the park and drove to the Bali Hai restaurant on Shelter Island, not too far away. The Bali Hai is a Tiki themed restaurant that was built in 1953. The restaurant was so popular at the time, that many other businesses and hotels in the area developed a Tiki / Polynesian theme. We ate on the second story next to a window with a great view of the San Diego Bay. The prices are extremely reasonable and the food is high quality. We had drinks with lunch, so we walked around a bit on Shelter Island a bit before driving back to Escondido.

It had been a busy day, and we wanted to get back before the dreaded rush hour traffic started building up. We drove to Escondido, picked up some dinner and then returned to the hotel. We thought about going back to the Wild Animal Park, but we were tired and it was hot and humid, so we decided to call it a day.

The next day we had donuts and coffee at the hotel and went on our way around 9:30. Deane wanted to check some more of the postcards at the antique store, and we stopped by Carlsbad again. Unfortunately, the store was closed, so we left and continued on our way. Traffic wasn’t bad, and we ended up in Torrance near the Mitsuwa Marketplace around 11:15. We decided to stop there for lunch. We had curry and rice, and looked around a bit more to stretch our legs. After that, we got back on the road and drive the rest of the way home.