Today’s beach walk was from Torrey Pines State Park to Moonlight Beach State Park. In Encinitas. I grabbed a bus back to my car.

Torrey Pines

Del Mar

Solana Beach

Cardiff

Encinitas

Today’s Meetup outing was a walk up the beach from La Jolla Shores to Torrey Pines State Park. We met at 1:00 and returned just before sunset (4:45).

I drove to Coronado after breakfast for two Meetup events.

The first was a walking tour from the Ferry Landing to the Hotel del Coronado. We walked through residential streets and saw some interesting old houses before following the beach to the hotel.

Then we toured the grounds and part of the hotel.

We walked back on Orange Avenue, the original trolley route to the hotel.

After a late lunch and a visit to the library to recharge my phone, I met the second Meetup group to tour the hotel and enjoy the Christmas music and light show.

Old Town to Ocean Beach

Today I parked at the Morena/Linda Vista trolley station and walked the bike trail along the San Diego River to Ocean Beach.

Overall this walk was nicer than last week’s route. It parallels Highway 8 (south) and Sea World Drive (north), but has unobstructed views of the river. I suspect the trees which are prevalent further up the river cannot tolerate the salt water.

The trail ends at Dog Beach in Ocean Beach. The view of the OB Pier from here makes how long it is more apparent. At 1,971 feet, it is the longest concrete pier on the West Coast. (The wooden Oceanside Pier is 3 feet longer.)

I crossed the new Mission Bay Drive bridge and returned on the north side of the river.

I have company from out of town and today we visited some San Diego highlights.

We had breakfast in Ocean Beach then walked to the pier and along the shore.

Sunset Cliffs.

San Diego Zoo

Old Town to Qualcomm Way

Today I walked a part of the San Diego River Trail. I went through the most densely populated section of the Trail which is not very scenic.

One stretch of the Trail is up Hotel Circle North, a frontage road along Highway 8. Another low point was the Highway 163 underpass.

The rest of the trail is said to be more enjoyable. We shall see.

My group hike was canceled so I took the ferry to Coronado to see the Hotel del Coronado and walk down the Silver Strand.

Unfortunately, I hadn’t checked the Coronado weather and it started raining not long after I passed the Hotel Del Coronado.

So, I turned around and headed back to the ferry landing. But, it cleared up some, so I walked to North Island, the Naval Base on Coronado.

By this time, it had cleared up enough (and I had dried off enough) that I decided to go for it and headed down the beach to the Silver Strand and Chula Vista.

The National City pier caught my eye and I settled on a new end point for my walk. I ended up near the Tijuana River Estuary where I called it a day and headed for home.

Fresh clam dinner – just not for me. A close look at the first two pictures reveals a clam the gull is dropping on the beach. After several drops the clam popped open and the gull had dinner.

I started the day with breakfast in Ocean Beach. The tide was high this morning.

Then I was off to Cabrillo National Monument to hike the trails.

First, I walked the coast trail.

Point Loma was critical to the defense of San Diego during World War II. Battery Ashburn is visible from the coast trail.

Then, I walked the short trails around the lighthouse.

Next, I walked the Bayside Trail.

Finally, since the tide was out, I went back down to visit the tide pools.

Today I joined a meetup group for an eight-mile urban walk across seven bridges and into a canyon. We started and ended in Balboa Park.

1. Rose Garden Bridge

A pedestrian bridge on the east side of Balboa Park that leads to a rose garden to the south and cactus garden to the north.

2. Laurel Street bridge

Waterman Memorial

Waldo Waterman was an early aviation pioneer.

3. First Avenue Bridge

Maple Canyon

4 . Quince Street Bridge

5. Spruce Street Bridge

6. Vermont Street Bridge

Hillcrest

7. Georgia Street Historical Bridge

The Star of India sailed today to commemorate her 160th anniversary. Three ships: the San Salvador, the Californian and the Bill of Rights joined her in a companion sail.

The Star of India, built in 1863 on the Isle of Man, is the world’s oldest active sailing ship and the flagship of the San Diego Martine Museum. She circumnavigated the world 21 times and ended her career hauling Alaskan salmon to California.

The San Salvador was the first recorded European vessel to sail the coast of Southern California. This replica was built at Spanish Landing and completed in 2015.

The Californian was built at Spanish Landing in the 1980’s to sail in the Tall Ship Regatta for the Los Angeles Olympics. In 2003 it was designated the official tall ship of California.

The Bill of Rights was built in 1971 and is replica of an 1850s Grand Banks schooner and is not owned or operated by the Maritime Museum.

The Hōkūle’a, a double hulled, deep-sea voyaging canoe also sailed with us.

She was built in Honolulu and launched March 8, 1975 and San Diego is the final US stop on it’s Moananuiākea voyage – a 43,000 mile, 47 month trip circumnavigating the Pacific Ocean.

It was a beautiful day to be out on the water.

As we returned to dock, the setting sun made everything a bit more magical.

I was in Rancho Mirage yesterday to celebrate my step-mother’s birthday. The party was great and the food and cake were delicious.

On the drive in, I spotted a billboard advertising the Palm Springs Modernism Week. I decided that was an adventure I had to say yes to, and signed up for the “Rat Pack Playground: Modernist Homes” walking tour.

The Alexander Estate is familiarly known as The House of Tomorrow (from a Look magazine article) and as the Elvis Honeymoon Hideaway.

The setting is beautiful and the houses are amazing!

We also saw some of the local flora and fauna.

This afternoon I visited the Northwest Museum of Art and Culture for an exhibit of work by three generations of the Wyeth family.

N. C. Wyeth

Henriette Wyeth Hurd

Andrew Wyeth

Jamie Wyeth

We walked around Lake Harriet after breakfast at a local diner.

I spent the afternoon exploring downtown Minneapolis.

I was walking back to Nicollet Mall and was captivated by the ING/Voya Building.

Then I realized how close I was to the Mississippi River.

Eventually I made it to Nicolette Mall. Twelve blocks of Nicolette Avenue turned into a pedestrian mall with a mix of office buildings, shops, restaurants, and public art.

The Westminster Presbyterian church has Bluegrass evening prayer services in June and July.

I took Loring Greenway to the Basilica of St Mary.

The last stop was the Sculpture Garden.

Sunset at Lake of the Isles near the AirBnB

The Grand Rounds Byway is 50 miles of open space surrounding Minneapolis. Today’s walks took me to these byway districts: Chain of Lakes, Minnehaha and Downtown Riverfront.

Chain of Lakes

The day started with a walk around two lakes near my AirBnB: Bde Maka Ska (formerly Lake Calhoun) and Lake of the Isles.

Flora and fauna around the lakes.

Minnehaha

After breakfast, I headed to Minnehaha Park.

I followed Minnehaha Creek to the Mississippi River.

Then I made quick stops at Lake Nokomis and Lake Hiawatha.

Downtown Waterfront

After lunch my friend Tom took me on a walking tour of the Downtown Waterfront. We started at St Anthony Main with buildings from the late 1800s. The area is home to Pillsbury A-Mill, the largest flour mill for 40 years; and Water Power Park.

Stone Arch Bridge was built by railroad magnate James J Hill (his house was on the St Paul tour).

We crossed the bridge to the Mill District (“Mill City”), which has been home to sawmills, flour mills and textile mills. It is currently home to Mill City Museum, Mill Ruins Park, North Star Woolen Mill building, the Guthrie Theater and Gold Medal Park.

First Bridge Park is the site of the first permanent span of the Mississippi River. Pilings and suspension anchors from previous bridges are on display under Hennepin Bridge.

We crossed the Hennepin Bridge to Nicollet Island and then the Merriam Street Bridge back to St Anthony Main. We stopped at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church (originally a Universalist church). We ended our tour at Kramarczuk’s Sausage Company, an East European deli and restaurant established in 1954.

Sunrise over Minnewashta Lake.

This afternoon I visited the local car museum.

The museum is divided into three sections. The first depicts Spencer, Iowa in the 1960s. The murals are the work of one artist.

The storefronts display period memorabilia.

The second section includes a drive-in theater.

The last section depicts Arnolds Park.

Flew from Virginia to Sioux Falls, South Dakota where I visited Falls Park and the Farmer’s Market.

The drive to Arnolds Park, Iowa took me through lower Minnesota on Highway 90 (which runs through Spokane).

The day started with a tour of my friend’s new new home and neighborhood.

After lunch, we walked in old Wilmington and along the Riverwalk.

We drove down to Carolina Beach to sit on the beach and attend Boardwalk Blast.