Cabrillo National Monument
Sunday | 13 February 2000 | San Diego, California:
We had a quiet morning. I woke early and started a loaf of bread and crawled
back onto bed. We had a leisurely breakfast. DT did RV maintenance and I did
laundry. Then we headed out to be tourists! First we drove out to Point Loma
to the
Cabrillo National Monument.
DT at Cabrillo National Monument
Old Point Loma Lighthouse
Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, a Portuguese sailor, set out on his epic
voyage of exploration 50 years after Columbus landed in America. Commanding
three vessels, he sailed north from Mexico into unknown waters. He was to claim
land for the King of Spain, discover a route to Asia and the Spice Islands,
search the uncharted coast for a mythical passage that connected the Pacific and
Atlantic oceans and search for gold. He came upon the port of San Diego in
September of 1542. This monument commemorates the first European “discovery†of
San Diego. The lighthouse opened in 1855 and served the port until 1891, when a
new lighthouse was built because the fog was usually below the old lighthouse!
The lighthouse keeper lived in the house with his family. Later, we drove out to
Coronado, over the very scary bridge, to see the Victorian homes and the old
Coronado Hotel. Beautiful! Back to Goldie for a run and grocery shopping and
then downtown with Debbie and Mark.
We walked around a shopping area – Horton Plaza – and then had a lovely
dinner at Fio – an Italian restaurant in the Gaslamp District. We had grilled
artichokes, mushrooms with goat cheese, ravioli with black olive pesto, saffron
risotto with squid and many other gourmet treats. Tomorrow DT and I will visit
the World Famous San Diego Zoo – guests again of Mark and Debbie! We can’t thank
them enough for their generosity – not to mention they gave up their entire
weekend for us. Look for more photos tomorrow and, hopefully, a photo of the
baby panda – Gua Mei.
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