Hotel del Coronado
Day four of our vacation began on beautiful Coronado Island, home to the famous Hotel del Coronado, whose red-shingled roof and Victorian architecture make it stand out from just about everything on the island.
You might also know the Hotel del from season four, episode 14 and 15 of Baywatch. It’s when Summer’s hotel room is haunted by the ghost of a wealthy businessman who mistakes her for his lost love from a doomed love affair back in 1943 (thank you IMDB).
It was a great two-part episode that was supposed to be scary, but really just demonstrated that the actors on that show were only there for their looks, certainly not their skills. But I digress.
The hotel is huge! But before I get into the hotel itself, let me tell you how great parking is. We went around 9 a.m. and there was plenty of free parking along the beach. It’s definietly worth it to drive in.
Back to the hotel. It’s open to the public and you can walk around it, which we did for a while, and strolled past the shops that were open. I got a $3.50 coffee at the only place that sold coffee in the hotel and I could have gotten a better cup for a lot less anywhere else.
The floor mat The Wizard of Oz house
When were done moseying around, we went on a mini walking tour of the town led by our trusty Frommer’s guide. We saw the house where L. Frank Baum spent most of his time writing “The Wizard of Oz,” and few other pretty houses that I cannot remember the names of.
When our feet got tired, we hopped on the Coronado Ferry for a quick ride across the bay to the city. A $7 roundtrip gets you a great view of San Diego and Coroando. It was an inexpensive way to spent a nice half hour on the water.
The view of San Diego from the bay
When we arrived back at the dock our stomachs were growling so we headed to Mexican Take Out. If you were to judge it on appearance, you would say it’s shady, but when you walk inside (which only consists of a window to place your order) you’re overwhelmed by the choices of Mexican goodness.
I ordered a vegetarian burrito for $8, but I was able to get two very fulfilling meals out of it. We ate on the bench outside in the warm sunshine and just enjoyed a delicious meal.
Torrey Pines
We left Coronado Island after lunch and then hit the beach in La Jolla for a while to work on our California tans. While sunbathing, we decided to venture up to Torrey Pines to catch the sunset that night.
You have to pay $10 to park at Torrey Pines, but it’s well worth it, especially if you plan to hike any of the trails. We walked along one or two, but we weren’t really dressed for hiking. They had some serious hills you could climb, so instead, we opted to watch other people climb them while we waited to capture another sunset.
If I go back there, I would spend some more time at Torrey Pines and make a day out of it. Once the sun went down, we grabbed a drink at Jose’s in La Jolla in another attempt to stay up a little later, but again, I was in bed super early looking forward to our breakfast date and our day in Balboa Park and the Cabrillo National Monument.
Torrey Pines sunset
