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| America's southwest corner, at Border Field State Park |
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| Approaching Avalon Harbor |
After
a night and morning on board the R/M/S QUEEN MARY, we boarded a Catalina Express
high speed catamaran ferry to Santa Catalina Island (often called Catalina
Island, or simply Catalina). One of
California’s Channel Islands, Catalina is located approximately 23 miles off
the mainland. After a smooth one hour ferry
ride, we arrived at Avalon harbor where
we spent two days.
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| Downtown Avalon |
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| The former Wrigley Mansion in Avalon |
Allison
and I toured the town and its environs on foot, enjoying colorful waterfront views
and hiking inland among Catalina’s rugged hills. One morning I dove in Avalon’s underwater park, exploring its dense kelp forest and viewing marine life and several
wrecks with Mark Guccione from Catalina Scuba Luv. The excellent and popular dive park is
adjacent to the Catalina Casino, and easily accessed via a broad set of stairs
leading into the water.
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| Kelp forest in Avalon Underwater Park |
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| Look Ma, no claws! A spiny lobster in the Avalon Underwater Park |
We
spent much of our final day on Catalina at the lovely Descanso Beach Club,
basking in bright sunshine on its restaurant deck and enjoying the active
beachfront. Although Catalina is plagued
by thick fog on many mornings, we had delightful clear sunny weather for our
entire stay.
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| Hanging out at the Descanso Beach Club |
After
returning from Catalina we spent two nights in Orange County with my brother
Marc and his wife Mieko, a visit detailed in a separate posting. From Orange County, we then traveled south to
the San Diego area.
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| Beach at Border Field State Park; Tijuana in background |
Our
first stop near San Diego was to America’s extreme southwest corner, one goal of our journey detailed in America Out of the Box. The southwest corner is
where America’s border with Mexico meets the Pacific Ocean. On the American side lies Border Field State Park, with a beautiful long sandy beach and many acres of wild salt pan and
marsh. On the Mexican side is Tijuana,
with a large bull ring and its own lively beach.
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| Shoreline border fence between Mexico and the United States |
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| Welcome to "Friendship Park"; please stay on the path! |
Although
Border Field State Park has much natural beauty, Allison and I found the border
itself somewhat surreal and sad. Two
sets of daunting fences deter illegal entry into the United States; one of them
extends well into the ocean surf.
Numerous Border Patrol agents kept a watchful eye on us and all others
in the park throughout our visit. The Orwellian
“Friendship Park” at the southwest corner, home to a historic nineteenth
century border monument, is bisected by layers of steel grating and we were
warned to stay on the short path leading to the monument; it was certainly an
odd symbol of the friendship between two countries. Viewing the happy Mexican beachgoers in
Tijuana, sometimes only feet away, we could not help but think that their side
of the border looked much more inviting.
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| Pool and beach at the Hotel del Coronado |
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| Lobby of the Hotel del Coronado |
Having
visited this geographic goal, we traveled slightly north to the lovely town of Coronado outside San Diego. There we
checked into the venerable Hotel del Coronado, a large waterfront complex
celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2013. The well-maintained landmark hotel has hosted
many famous and important guests and events over the years. We stayed in a comfortable room in the hotel’s
original Victorian building, which features extensive decorative woodwork
throughout its lobby and public areas.
The
next morning I made two dives in nearby La Jolla Cove while Allison enjoyed the
hotel’s beach and pool. The very
memorable dives, guided by Kyle McBurnie of SD Expeditions, were a highlight of
the trip for me. In the cove’s kelp
forest we encountered many seven gill and soup fin sharks as well as sea lions,
sheepshead, garibaldi (California’s bright orange state fish), large crabs and other
marine life.
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| Giant panda at San Diego Zoo |
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| Zebra at San Diego Zoo |
Before
returning to Los Angeles, we could not resist visiting the renowned San Diego Zoo. Arranged in a large parklike
setting, the zoo houses its animals in compounds which reproduce their natural
habitat. We saw pandas lounging in
bamboo thickets, elephants and zebras in veldt-like expanses, hippopotami in a
large pool, big cats such as lions and black panthers, and also more unusual
animals such as meerkats and capybaras (to name only a few of the mammals). In addition to the animals on display, we also
observed zookeepers caring for the animals; for example, we saw one elephant
getting a manicure (or was it a pedicure?)!
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| A "pachy-pedi" at the San Diego Zoo |
In
Catalina and San Diego, Allison and I explored new territory and visited both
popular tourist attractions and also unusual “out of the box” destinations. Because our time there was short, we could
only scratch the surface of their many hidden treasures. But we are very pleased to have become
familiar with these delightful corners of America!
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| The Hotel del Coronado at night |
