Yesterday was another sunny, warm day. We rented bikes at a place about a half mile down the beach walk. These bikes were classic old cruising bikes, fat tires, single gear, wide handlebars, and coaster brakes. And I had a "girls" bike, with no top cross bar. Can't remember the last time I rode a bike like that. From the rental place we continued north along the ocean walk
trail until it ended, turned around and returned the way we came for a bit until we found a road that crossed over to the bike trail along the bay. We ended up riding about 15 miles, most of it on the bike trails around Mission Bay. There were a couple of short stretches where we needed to take to the roads to connect up with another trail, but there were bike lanes on those roads. It was a great day for riding and we stopped briefly a couple of times to take photos. Because it was Sunday morning, there were impressive numbers of people out getting their
exercise and enjoying the beautiful day. There were walkers, runners, bikers, skateboarders, surfers, rowers, kayakers, sailors, water-skiers, boogie-boarders, beach volleyball players, cricket players and families playing in the sand and surf.
We rode for about two and a half hours and realized we were starving and thirsty, so we headed back to our beach house for a quick snack and drink and then rode back up the ocean trail for a couple more miles before we returned our bikes. It was a fun morning!
Brother Bob sent us this photo of Joanie, enjoying the wonderful winter weather in Michigan, so I thought I would compare it to the wonderful winter weather we are enjoying here in San Diego!
After lunch we went to Point Loma Nazarene University to look for some artwork by the father of our friend, John K. When John heard that we were coming to San Diego, he suggested we stop by this university and see if we could find his father's paintings in the Music building and the Library. This campus is on a long narrow spit of land that pushes out into the Pacific Ocean and the campus is perched on the cliffs, with buildings stair-stepping their way down to the ocean! An amazing location! Surfing 101 must be required course at this university! We found a door opened at the Cooper Music building and walked into a lobby area and there were 3 of the paintings we were looking for. There was a student receptionist who wondered if he could help us and we told him why we were there. He told us we could walk around to look for more paintings, but that some of the areas would be locked up. We ended up seeing about 10 paintings, some up close and personal, others by pressing our faces to the glass windows and looking into locked rooms. These paintings were mostly landscapes, with a few portraits, all done in oil paints. John's father had quite a talent and we would like to find out how his artwork ended up at this university. The library was locked up so we were unable to continue our search there. We were glad to have checked out this beautiful university.
We continued south on this peninsula to Cabrillo National Monument to see the lighthouse that has stood for hundreds of years and to learn the important role this area played in US history, especially around the time of WW II. The views back on San Diego were impressive, especially as the harbor was filled with Sunday Sailors, sailing boats of all types and sizes.
We needed to re-supply our meager food supply at the house and I was curious about a grocery store called Whole Foods so we used our GPS to get us to the Whole Foods store in La Jolla. This grocery chain is always mentioned when people are talking about Wegmans. Whole Foods is an organic grocery store and a bit pricer than Wegmans, but with the same focus on customer service, high quality merchandise and presentation. We did find everything we needed and
enjoyed walking up and down the aisles looking at foods and brands we had never seen before. One of the things on our list had been a box of Wheat Thins, but, of course, you cannot buy Wheat Thins at Whole Foods. You have to buy Back to Nature Crispy Wheat crackers, which will be a fine substitute! I did get a pineapple for $1.49, which is a great deal compared to the price at home.
Our Rochester friends, Jean and Dave, are also visiting San Diego this week so we met up with them for dinner last night at a fancy Mexican restaurant in Old Town. We had a great dinner and lots of laughs.
Our plan for today is to go to the zoo and do a quick tour of Balboa Park. We should get a good amount of walking in at the zoo. I'm not sure what else we might do, it all depends on how long the animals at the zoo keep our attention.
Corey flew home yesterday with his team and we are hoping all went as planned with that. It would have been nice if he could have stayed these few extra days with us, but college called!
Time for a walk or breakfast, not sure which will come first.
Hope all is well.
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