Almost to the Border

There’s an outlet mall just on the border with Mexico, on the San Diego side, that we decided to check out. We really just wanted to see what’s going on down there. There are all kinds of signs warning you that if you don’t exit here, there will be NO RETURN to the US. And if you don’t have your passport with you, you are fucked. The Border Patrol was everywhere, and there were long lines of cars coming in from the Mexico side. When we left to go back, there were even bigger signs warning us NO RETURN TO US: MEXICO ONLY. As we headed back up the freeway we could see huge numbers of people walking toward the shopping area, presumably having walked over the border from Mexico. And even weirder were the yellow diamond shaped signs: you know the ones that have a picture of a deer, or a child? The ones that warn of “deer crossing” or “watch for children?” These signs had a picture of an entire family, walking with suitcases. Oy.

Gaslamp District

This area of town was first developed by William Heath Davis in the 1850s as “New Town” but his plan didn’t work out and it wasn’t until 20 years later that Alonzo Horton (who now has an upscale urban mall named after him—Horton Plaza) successfully transformed it into the city that is now San Diego. Most of the Victorian buildings are the result of Horton’s efforts to promote his city. Over time, this area became a haven for prostitution and crime; in the 1970s the area was slated to be bulldozed in the name of urban redevelopment, but was saved by a community group that made it into an historic district. Now known as the Gaslamp District, it has lots of restaurants, clubs, galleries, shops, etc. The buildings are quite remarkable and it’s possible to tell which ones were flophouses, hotels, and apartment buildings. There are several buildings being converted to luxury condos, and there seems to be a pretty good art scene going on. Pretty trendy and hip, but I couldn’t get enough of the fantastic architecture.

Old Town

Old Town is what remains of the original San Diego, the first European settlement in California. The first mission was established there in 1769 on the site of a Native American village. There’s a state park, with some original buildings, and plenty of Mexican restaurants. We’ve had some great Mexican food while we’re here, and we had another good meal in Old Town. I had what I think is the best mole sauce I’ve ever tasted. They even had an old guy with a guitar going around to the tables offering to serenade for tips. Philip was able to translate the song. It is fairly touristy, but you can still see some remnants of the original architecture of the old San Diego. Nearby is the Heritage County Park, which has some wonderful examples of Victorian homes that were saved from demolition and restored. Each of the buildings was relocated to this park and restored. They are now open to the public and are used for different purposes: one is a bed and breakfast, one offers high teas and one has shops. Also in this park is Temple Beth Israel, which was built in 1889 and was San Diego’s only synagogue until 1926. It’s a beautiful, simple building in the classic revival style. It was built as a Reform synagogue, so men and women were seated together and a balcony was installed for organ music and a choir. As coincidence would have it, one of the six prominent San Diegans who founded the congregation was Adolph Levi, the grandfather of our friend Don Levi.

High above Old Town are some of the most gorgeous homes in the city. The road winds up into the hills, where there is a beautiful park overlooking the city. Around the park are small side streets with huge homes. Some of them are Italianate villas, and some are really wonderful examples of mid-century modern architecture and Art Deco. There was one very modern home that had all glass on the side facing the view over the city.

A Brief Visit to the Gaslamp District

Although we're going back when we have more time, we made a brief stop in San Diego's Gaslamp District. It's the area with a lot of galleries, restaurants, etc. We didn't have enough time to see it all so we decided to just have lunch. We found a Mexican place that looked good and were waiting briefly for a table when a woman standing next to us with her friends asked us how long we were visiting the city. She said, "You flew here on Jet Blue, right?" It was our flight attendant--and she remembered how upset I was with the screaming toddler. She said apparently the kid had an ear infection and the parents decided to fly anyway. Great judgment. Anyway, it was very funny that she remembered us.

At this resort they have a theater and they produce plays with professional (all are members of Actors Equity) actors. Right now they're showing Oklahoma, so we decided to go. I was, frankly, very surprised at how good it was. The actors were all fantastic, the staging and music and all elements of the production were first rate. There was nothing amateurish about it. I've seen Oklahoma on Broadway and a couple of other places, and this production was every bit as good.

Harbor Cruise and Coronado

 The San Diego Harbor area is quite beautiful. It's the US Navy's second largest port (after Norfolk VA) and there many ships there: aircraft carriers, supply ships, hospital ships, Coast Guard ships, armed frigates and cruisers. We took a 2-hour harbor cruise and were able to see them pretty closely. The USS Ronald Reagan is the Navy's newest, largest and most technologically up to date aircraft carrier. It holds 5800 people and is nuclear powered. Needless to say, it's immense. There are lots of Navy facilities in the harbor, such as dry docks, ship and helicopter maintenance, even a shipbuilding dock where the USS Amelia Earhart is being built. We also saw a couple of dolphins and a whole bunch of sea lions sunning themselves on a dock.

 Later we took the ferry to Coronado Island. I wanted to see the Hotel Del Coronado, which I had seen more than 20 years ago. It was the set for the movie "Some Like it Hot," and is a gorgeous 19th century hotel. It was the first hotel west of the Mississippi to be wired for electricity--it had its own generator. It's a stunning hotel, and the beach is a perfect, white sand beach (see the movie and you'll see the beach).

Wild Animal Park

I"m way behind on this, so will try to catch up. Due to problems with the resort's internet access, I'm not able to post as regularly as I want.

The San Diego Wild Animal Park is part of the San Diego Zoo, although it's physically about 30 miles away. There are animals roaming almost freely throughout the park, and it's possible to see them close up and personal. The Lion Camp was very cool, with a family of one male, three females and several cubs lounging around and playing.

 We took a tram ride around some of the more remote sections, and were able to see some very interesting animals in an unrestricted environment. We got another scooter for Philip, so we could see the entire park and he could enjoy even the uphill paths. We were there most of the day and it was great. In some ways I enjoyed it more than the zoo--there was something about the variety of animals, the foliage, and running into animals unexpectedly that I liked.