San Diego: The Sunset Cliffs Area

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• Description : Slight morning mist was still hangi...(more)ng in the air when we headed out for our first round of golf in the San Diego area. We headed about half an hour inland from Solana Beach to a golf course called Twin Oaks in the town of San Marcos. Surprisingly, I managed to not bury my ball in the water, but eeked out a semi-respectable score, considering it was my first round of golf this year. Early in the afternoon we started our discoveries and headed south towards San Diego. Our first stop was at Ocean Beach, a beachfront neighbourhood of San Diego just south of the San Diego River. One of the local landmarks is the Ocean Beach Municipal Pier, the longest concrete pier on the on the West Coast which stretches over 600 m (almost 2000 feet) into the ocean. We continued our coastal drive, and as we drove further south on Sunset Cliff Boulevard, the area got more affluent and the housing stock improved. We turned inland onto Catalina Boulevard to reach our main destination for the day: the Cabrillo National Monument. Located at the tip of the Point Loma peninsula, this 160 acre preserve marks the location of the landing of the first European explorers led by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo in 1542. A 14 foot (4 m) tall statue of Cabrillo was dedicated in 1913 and looks out over the sea from its elevated position. The view from the platform across the Bay of San Diego over the city is simply gorgeous. An extensive visitor centre sells books and information about San Diego, and also presents films and lectures about Cabrillos voyage. Interpretive stations explain the history and the geographical features of area. A few hundred metres away is the Old Point Loma Lighthouse which used to stand guard over San Diego bay between 1855 and 1891 when a new lighthouse closer to the waters edge was commissioned. Since Point Loma has played an important role in the history of San Diego, there are various military installations to see. These include gun batteries as well as bunkers and an old military radio station. San Diego played a critical role as the main West Coast naval base in World War II, and today is the site of one of the largest naval fleets in the world. As the sun started to slip lower on the horizon we made our way into the city and stopped in the Hillcrest neighbourhood, the centre of San Diegos gay and lesbian community. Hillcrest features a number of cool restaurants and funky boutiques, and its most famous landmark is the neon Hillcrest sign that spans University Avenue since 1940. (less)