I went to National City, an incorporated town that's part of the San Diego metroplex, to visit the Sweetwater Marsh National Wildlife Refuge. I arrived at 9 am and expected to stay only an hour or so. Unfortunately, the refuge doesn't open until 10 am, and you can't drive or walk into it. A tram is the only way in, at a cost of $16, and the programs start at 11 am and occur each hour. This was not what I wanted, so I drove around the town a bit.
National City, which I had not heard of before, has about 60,000 people of many different races and ethnic groups. I saw signs of Korean, Viet Namese and Philpino populations, but there are lots of others, although more than half the population is Hispanic. One Catholic church caught my eye for its unique design. There were also some interesting murals on building walls.
I then drove around the downtown area of San Diego, checking out their interesting architecture, including PetCo Field where the Padres play baseball.
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| Convention Center |
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| PetCo Field. |
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| Central Library |
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| Residential Towers |
Next, I headed over to Coronado, a strip of land that's actually connected to the mainland well south of town, but requires a bridge to access from downtown. Despite a large Navy facility, Coronado is one of the nicest residential areas one might want, There are numerous parks with walking/biking paths, access to San Diego Bay and the Pacific Ocean, many great pubs and restaurants and a wide variety of home styles with lush landscaping. It definitely offers a tranquil atmosphere and the feeling of "island time". I thoroughly enjoyed my "Rotten Burger" at Ricky Rotten's Restaurant.
Here are a few of the homes I liked. Actually, I had too many favorites to post here.
Of course, the Hotel Del Coronado is the iconic place for visitors to stay. It opened in 1888 as the world's largest resort hotel and has been offering luxurious accommodations ever since. It is still the second largest wooden building in the U.S. The hotel has been featured in numerous books and movies, and has hosted many celebrities, including presidents and royalty.
I spent most of the morning at two parks, one very large, the other a small neighborhood park. Both offered good views of downtown across the bay, as well as beautiful plants and some waterfowl that were new to me.
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| Agave |
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| Bird of Paradise |
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| Least Sandpiper |
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| Park Art |
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| Lesser Scaup |
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| Surf Scoters |
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| Bufflehead |
I decided a return trip at night would be necessary to get more views of the downtown.
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