Balboa Park was first constructed in 1915 for the World Exposition, and the buildings were kept and later restored to pristine condition. As they were restoring the buildings they found that some of the construction was nothing more than heavy paper mache. Today the buildings house museums, including the Museum of Man and many art museums, and a beautiful botanical garden. After touring the grounds to enjoy the sculptures, we sat and had a cup of coffee.
This is where they hold outdoor concerts, and on Sundays you can listen for free. They were beginning the preparations of decorating for Christmas.
To the left is Rodin's sculpture, The Prodigal Son.
To the right is Rembrandt's, Saint Bartholomew
Nothing like the serenity of a garden
Seating to enjoy the sun and a cup of coffee
It was a short day because I was not feeling quite up to par. Mark did drive me through some more neighborhoods -- Mission Valley, where he lives, and here I saw many small houses in the Arts and Crafts style. Next to him is the Hillcrest neighborhood (which I believe he said was also adjacent to Balboa Park and the San Diego Zoo). Most of these structures were condos of some sort, looking like lofts, or old work buildings turned residential. I believe he said that Cyndi Lauper had a residence somewhere within that neighborhood. But it did not matter which neighborhood we went into, the homeless were definitely visible. I opted to go home early to rest. The next day we had tickets for a harbor cruise, and I really wanted to enjoy that.
Wednesday was a great day. We started the day with breakfast, then we had tickets for a back-to-back cruise along San Diego's shoreline. The first hour cruise was fascinating.
The skyline of San Diego while on the harbor cruise.
What was so fascinating about the first hour was all the Navy ships that were docked being repaired. The tour guide explained what was being done to the ships, and he also explained that if anyone ever crossed the line they were shot at, no questions asked.
This is one scene of the cranes and ships with the line (see in red) that are being repaired. He also said this is where they build some of the ships. I was amazed at the number of cranes in the area. (Sure would like to own one of those cranes, they make a small fortune for their owner!) Altogether there had to be at least 20 ships being repaired, maybe more.
Also in dock was the Mercy hospital ship.
After the first hour, we went on the second hour cruise which cruised the northern part of Coronado island. I did not think this was so interesting as it only showed many of the Navy buildings where people work. But, the first hour was so good. I would do it again, and while we were on the cruise Mark said the next time his sister visits from Illinois, they had to do the cruise. I think he was even impressed.
In the same vicinity was the Midway (pictured above), which we could have taken a tour of, but did not (need to leave something to do for a return trip!). Next to the Midway is a very famous kiss. Next to the kiss is a restaurant named the Fish Market, which features "just caught" fish. Time to eat! Very good.
We were going to go to Coronado Island and tour Hotel del Coronado, but put it aside for another day.
We headed to the San Diego Zoo the next day a bit earlier than our usual 10 a.m. He said it could get busy and he wanted us to have a good parking spot so he picked me up at 9:30.
Welcome to the world renowned San Diego Zoo
My specific wish was to see the panda bears, and I did. I also learned this is a very easy zoo to tour. It is built on a hill, so in the middle of it, there is an escalator! How cool is that. Then, they had a tram or open-air bus to take you to parts of the zoo. Sure, you could walk all over, but we opted to do a bit of both. There are four stations where you could visit the animals at one, and then move to another station. When we wanted to visit the polar bears at one end of the park, that is when we used the modes of transportation. I have always heard so much about this zoo that it was top on my list of to-sees. It was worth every penny.
The polar bear!
Giraffes having lunch
Love, love the birds
And, of course, the Panda Bears. From what I understood, they are on loan to us from China and then will go back to China at some later date. I saw two while I was there, but this is the best shot of all the pictures I took.
The gorillas were fascinating. I believe they said there were three brothers living in this natural habitat behind glass windows. When we arrived, they were eating (the picture to the left), and once finished with I am sure was a snack to them, they decided enough was enough and they started walking back to their inside lodgings. They were fascinating to watch.
There were so many animals to see -- from birds to monkeys to antelopes and bears. It met my expectations, and I got to see the Panda Bear! I was happy.
After 6 hours of walking we were exhausted, and Mark dropped me off at my hotel to ready for tomorrow. On the list tomorrow included the Hotel del Coronado, the Gas Light district, Old Town, and another museum I wanted to check out.
I know I said that I would only post this blog Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, but because I missed the entire week last week, I thought I would finish my tour of San Diego tomorrow, and then start anew on Monday. So come back tomorrow for the finishing touches.
Until then...have a great day...
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