Where We Be
Talk about dinner with a view! The San Diego skyline was already bathed in glowing sunset when a full rainbow appeared.
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Coronado Island & San Diego
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Coronado Island is one of those places where
you don't have to do a whole lot of anything to
have a good time. There's Coronado Beach,
there's the ferry to and from San Diego, there's
the glorious view of the skyline across the bay,
and there are fine restaurants galore. Oh yeah,
and there's the near perfect weather. What
more do you really need?
We stayed at Coronado Island Inn two blocks
away from Ferry Landing and the fantastic bay
view. We saw lots of fit people strolling arm in
arm, or walking their small dogs, or enjoying a
simple bike ride. It seemed like everyone had a
smile on their face, and who could blame them?
Later, we took a stroll over to Coronado Beach,
sometimes called “the best beach in the U.S.”
It's a really nice one anyway, with a wide stretch
of sand, rolling waves, distant headlands in one
direction, and grande dame Hotel del Coronado
in the other. We especially enjoyed watching a
dozen dogs chase tennis balls into the surf; the
sand was so hard the balls actually bounced!
Embarcadero Marina Park with its fantastic trees also borders the bay. It's a great place for a stroll.
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Sea Port Village with its quaint shops and restaurants is a bustling tourist spot bordering San Diego Bay
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Next day we hopped on the ferry and made the short journey across the bay to downtown San Diego
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We opted instead for the sizzling fajitas on the lovely patio of nearby Miguel's
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The interior of the hotel is elegant -- and the prices steep
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Beach view, complete with gorgeous sand castle, from the verandah of the Hotel del Coronado
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In the other direction you have the Grande Dame of Coronado hotels -- the Hotel del Coronado
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In one direction you've got distant headlands and rolling waves -- not to mention one fun stretch where dogs are allowed off-leash to chase tennis balls and frisbees into the surf
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The stroll across the island to Coronado Beach -- through the quaint center of town and past immaculate Victorian-style homes -- was a pleasure in itself
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Candela's offers delightful views over the bay. Heat lamps and glass walls keep you toasty while you enjoy dinner.
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From here you can take the Coronado Ferry to downtown San Diego ($4.25 each way)
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Ferry Landing is one of Coronado Island's premier attractions. It's located right on the bay overlooking downtown San Diego.
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Coronado Beach with its mile-long stretch of golden sand was awarded "America's Best Beach 2012" by Dr. Beach
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A lot of interrupted dinners ensued as people reached for their cameras and raced outside to take pictures
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Our Coronado Island Inn was located just a few blocks away
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San Diego is a port city with plenty of naval presence -- including both active aircraft carriers and historic ones like the USS Midway (now a museum) shown at right
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Our main focus was taking the trolley to see Tijuana, but on the way back we took the time to see a few sights along the waterfront, including the popular Gaslamp District
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Sundown along San Diego Bay near the Convention Center -- what a magical place
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A full moon was rising by the time we took the ferry back to Coronado Island
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