Dean & Ginny's excellent adventures... Main Adventure Page
San Diego & Hawaii -- 5/06
Dean found a military flight from the Jacksonville Naval
Station to San Diego, and there was space available--in military parlance,
"Space A". We spent three
days in San Diego, eight days in Hawaii (on Oahu), and three days again in
San Diego before heading home--a Dean and Ginny "Space
A" adventure.
We
stayed on picturesque Coronado Island for three days. We had a
delightful breakfast at a local restaurant's sidewalk cafe. Then we walked
around the quaint neighborhood which includes the famous Del Coronado
Hotel--people in the know just call it "The Del." It's
been the backdrop for movies including Marilyn Monroe's "Some Like it
Hot." The fat-limbed dragon tree, in the foreground of the
photo to the left, was planted more than 100 years ago and is recognizable
in the aforementioned movie. 
The
weather was windy, gray, and damp while we were there--the cold California
Current is just offshore. (The Humboldt Current, that Dean learned
about when he was growing up in California, is in the Southern
Hemisphere.)
Despite the weather, caterers were setting up for an outside event on the lawn overlooking the ocean. We guessed that residents have adjusted to their environment. The Del has also installed clear windbreaks to protect their guests.
We
enjoyed strolling through the well-kept neighborhood. The inviting
gardens graced the insides and outsides of the walls and
fences. Gardeners for these homes probably live somewhere off
the island. 
We rented a car and drove to Point Loma, a high ridge that
juts into the ocean. The photo to the right, taken from our room, shows a
cruise ship leaving port. We drove over a high bridge to the
mainland and headed north and then west. On top of the ridge is an old lighthouse
that's now part of Cabrillo National Park. The current lighthouse is
at beach level. The photo below
was taken from the top of the ridge.
As we hiked down the trail on the east side of the
ridge (where the cruise ship was), we could hear seals barking, although we never did see them.
They were probably on the rocks below the cliffs.
The old lighthouse is interesting, because it's integrated into the keeper's building. The rooms are furnished with period furniture and accessories.>>
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We drove down the west side of the Pt. Loma ridge (the side where the new lighthouse is) to see these layered cliffs that are being eroded by the ocean. A field of colorful ice plants decorated the level areas above the cliffs.
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And
on the third day, space became available to Hawaii--Oahu, to be
specific. 
While we've stopped on Hawaii before, it was
normally on the way to or from somewhere else. This time we took the
time to absorb some of our 50th state's ambiance.
We rented a car and took our own tour to include the
deserted beach (shown looking both ways) on one of the military
installations. 
We stopped at a formation that's similar to,
but larger than, Blowing Rocks
in Jupiter, FL. When the surf is right, the waves shoot up the
narrow holes in the overhanging rock formations.
The colors of the water run from turquoise or aqua in the shallows to dark blue in the deeper areas. Beautiful.
We stopped at beaches all around the island and talked to some shore divers--they just walk into the surf and swim to the interesting reefs. We might try that next time...
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You can usually swim in the pool at the base of the waterfall, but the hard rains during the night caused too much mud and current--no swimming on this day.
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We
visited botanical gardens, arboretums, and waterfalls. The
peacock to the left greeted us as we entered Waimea Falls
Park. It had been a theme park, but now it's run by the
Audubon Society. Here are a couple of articles detailing the
deal: www.hawaiinews.com/archives/environment/000121.shtml |
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I bet you'd never guess that the pink flower below with its stamens lined up like a matchbook is a banana! I had no idea.
We loved the various heliconia flowers--the two photos to the right show some of the variation. Some of the flowers looked like they were made of wax or silk. The native Hawaiian goose, below right, is called a nene. Dean knew the name because it's found in crossword puzzles.
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We toured the USS Missouri in Pearl Harbor. Off the bow, the low swayed-roof building is the viewing platform for USS Arizona memorial in the water below. The rusted, but picturesque, control tower to the right looks like it hasn't been used since World War II.
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