Cabrillo National Monument............

Cabrillo National Monument....a tribute to Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, who was the first European to set foot on the west coast of the U.S. He sailed from Spain, 50 years after Columbus "discovered America". There is a statue on the point to commemorate him. For more information, click here.

This park is located on Point Loma, a few minutes from downtown San Diego. The views of the city and the harbor from here were spectacular. Besides exhibits and informational films, some of the highlights of the park include the tidepools, the lighthouse, and the whale overlook. There is some hiking available too, along the Bayside Trail.

We checked the tide charts so we could plan our trip to the tide pools around low tide. On the day we visited, that was our first stop. We walked down to the tide pool area from the parking lot, and enjoyed the views of the ocean on our way. Unfortunately, we did not see too much in the pools. Also, I will admit, we are very very spoiled from our tide pooling experience on the Oregon Coast last summer. The coastline and ocean views were really nice!

heading down to the tide pools

just down there 

do you see the woman with the stroller?? yikes!

nice view

we are spoiled from the tide pools in Oregon

oh good, my shoes are still dry

The tide pool area is separate from the rest of the park, so we drove back up to the Visitor Center, from which you could access everything else the park has to offer. The views were outstanding. It was a bit foggy when we began our day, but as the sun burned off the fog, we had much better views. 

of course you can take our picture together!

view of downtown San Diego

lots of Navy ships heading into the harbor

Cabrillo Monument

I've always been intrigued by the life of people in earlier times, or in special locations. Lighthouses fall into that category. Its hard to imagine a couple, or a young family, living such a solitary life back in the day, with such an important job 24/7/365. 

Lighthouse

want to check it out?

the little museum

bet that's bright

nice garden...and I like that bench too

let's see how the rooms looked

living room with all the handmade quilts and warm things

kitchen

After exploring the lighthouse, we headed down the nearby Bayside Trail, which starts out as a road. It descends 300 feet along the coast, and is a really scenic hike along the water's edge. I think its about 2.5 miles round trip. We were amazed at  how busy San Diego Harbor is, with boat and air traffic. The Coast Guard is here, and the Navy, so there are many ships heading in and out of the Harbor. As we were walking down the hills, I was thinking to myself that the way back would not be fun, but actually it wasn't bad at all. We took our pictures on the way down, so going up we were just walking, no photo stops. Perhaps I was too distracted with the views to realize we were going up for about a mile.....haahhaha.

Tom is always interested in the towers 

view of Cabrillo Monument and the harbor

aircraft carrier coming into the harbor

lots of commercial ships out there too

oh I hope not!

don't see that often when we are hiking

hey lizzy

the day has brightened and the view is much clearer now

the sailboats look like toys compared to the big vessels out there

looking down the side of the hill to see surfer joe

good fencing....and the path is very wide so no worries

another view of Cabrillo Monument from down below

lots of water and air traffic here

It was a little hot (for me) after the hike, and so we really enjoyed hanging out at the Whale Overlook, looking to see if we could spot any migrators. No such luck, but it was really nice standing under the overlook structure in the shade with the cool ocean breeze cooling us off. 

another view of the harbor

watching for grey whales migrating?

the weather is just perfect here...a lovely breeze too

the ocean looks so calm today

ready to go see the Cabrillo Monument?

Our last stop in the Park was the Cabrillo Monument. The views from here, and from the Visitor Center, were really great. San Diego Harbor is quite a busy place!

another view of the sailboats in the harbor

Cabrillo Monument

the views are much better now....the fog has lifted

the lighthouse behind me

Driving from the point, there are many Navy or Coast Guard buildings, as well as this giant cemetery. It reminded me of a smaller version of Gettysburg. These souls overlook downtown San Diego and the harbor. Sobering and grateful....thinking about the price of freedom. 

lots of headstones here....looks like Gettysburg

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