We wanted to get an early start on the morning since we had a lot to do so we headed out and braved the morning rush hour. Arthur did an amazing job not getting frazzled by the traffic on the 4-5 lane freeways. In all actuality driving around San Diego was not as bad as I had expected. We discussed how it seemed similar to driving in Kansas City. It wasn't until I sat down to write this I looked at the population. Kansas City has about 500,000 residents. San Diego is three times that size at 1.4 million. It is actually the 8th largest city in America-- just ahead of Dallas. Now given our choice I think I would choose to drive around San Diego in a heartbeat instead of Dallas. Maybe because we were centrally located or didn't drive at peak times for the most part but it was never overwhelming (at least for the copilot).
Our morning hike was at Torrey Pines State Reserve. Since we were early we found a parking spot along the beach and were able to walk into the park rather than paying the $20 entrance fee-- another win for internet research. Torrey Pines is home to the rare torrey pine tree which is only found in the area or on the Channel Island. The area is a wild, scrubby landscape with sandstone cliffs overlooking the ocean below. We enjoyed the expansive views from the cliffs looking up and down the shoreline for miles watching the waves rolling in. We then descended down to the beach below the cliffs and sat on a rock and pondered our lives for awhile. On the return hike we walked past the Torrey Golf Course which will host US Open in 2021. During WWII the golf course area and part of the park were part of a US Army anti-aircraft camp built to protect the West Coast. We discussed how almost everywhere we had visited in San Diego there was some military history at some point. During our hike we were often looking overhead as military helicopters or fighter jets were doing training formations. It seemed like there was always something to watch.
After our hike it was time for brunch so we headed into the town of La Jolla to Richard Walker's Pancake House. This place was a little swankier than the average pancake or waffle joint with stain glass windows and string instrumental music playing in the background. We shared a Mediterranean omelet and apple Dutch baby pancake-- both were incredible light and fluffy. Arthur also enjoyed a fine cup of coffee with fancy creamer-- he may never be the same again. Arthur was also excited to get a call to schedule a job interview while we were having breakfast. Since we only had a parking space for 2 hours we had to do a quick tour of La Jolla and which we could have spent more time. We checked out the National Geographic art gallery and marveled at the photography. We felt pretty knowledgeable when we saw a photo by Jim Richardson and were able to chat with the sales lady about him being from Kansas and that we had been to his gallery in Lindsborg. After taking in amazing images from around the world we headed down to the water. The protected cove makes a great place for seals which are always a blast to watch. There were also a variety of sea birds hanging out on the rocks. I also enjoyed all the different types of flowers blooming near the water.
We continued along the coastline to the south toe Cabrillo National Monument on Point Loma separating the bay from the Pacific. Cabrillo the first Spanish explorer to come up the Pacific Coast and San Diego was his first landing in the area that would become the US. At the park there was also an old lighthouse as well as some bunkers left from WWII to protect the entrance to the San Diego harbor. Grey whales also migrate just a few miles off the coast. While we didn't see any migrating while we were there we enjoyed the stories about some of the men on watch during WWII shooting at the whales because they were mistaken for a submarine-- that would be an embarrassing day at work. Probably the highlight of this stop was watching one of the active aircraft carriers stationed in San Diego leave the harbor and head out to the Pacific right off the point we were sitting. It ended up that the trails closed earlier than the park so we couldn't get our last 2 mile hike in so we decided to go back to Sunset Cliffs to walk along the water front but then also explore the neighborhoods and homes with their magnificent landscaping. Once again, it is amazing the enjoyment we get by simply walking and looking at things and wondering what life would be like to live here.
For dinner we headed back to Liberty Station Market for a miniature food tour. We ordered the Very Good Grilled Cheese at Venissimo Cheese with was an alpine cheese with mustard, an array of tacos for a Taco Tuesday, topped off with scoop of birthday cake and coffee ice cream from MooTime Creamery. Either we are getting old or haven't adjusted to the time zone or just wear ourselves out we decided to call it a night and head back to our place about 6:30pm.
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