Day 3 (February 17, 2019): Point Loma, Old Town and Balboa Park

Saturday night brought a long and deep rest.  That, along with whatever was in the Thai soup last night, really zapped me out of the man-flu zone.  We were up and away by 8:45 and headed to an International House of Pancakes (IHOP, for short) for breakfast.  Wow, do Americans ever eat large portions.  And do they ever eat out in droves! 

Filled with IHOP’s four different flavours of pancake syrup, we made our initial goal conquering Point Loma.  On a map, Point Loma looks like an elephant’s trunk guarding the entrance to San Diego Bay.  It’s a fascinating peninsula to drive, as the Navy dominates most of it.  Besides the plethora of naval installations, the trees, rugged coastline, and veterans’ cemeteries all make for a fascinating drive out to the tip, where the Cabrillo National Monument is located.  As it is the Presidents’ Day weekend in the USA, the line-up of vehicles to access the National Monument was long.  But once in, there was lots of space to move about.

The monument to Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, a lighthouse from the 1800s, and numerous trails make Point Loma an amazing place to spend part of a day.  And the views of San Diego are unparalleled.

From Point Loma, we made our way to Old Town San Diego State Historic Park – a large pedestrian zone of restored buildings from the wild west days, as well as huge trees, a plaza, shops and restaurants.  Why is Old Town so important?  Well, back in 1821, the Mexican government held power in San Diego.  Back then, any settlement with at least 500 people was allowed to become a “pueblo”;  hence, Old Town became the first official Mexican settlement in California.  We thoroughly enjoyed the restored buildings and just lazily walking through the park.

It was about 2PM when we had had our fill of Old Town, and that’s when we remembered reading in our Lonely Planet book that San Diego boasts the largest outdoor pipe organ in the world – and that it is featured in a public organ recital every Sunday at 2PM!  The organ is located in Balboa Park, San Diego’s equivalent of New York’s Central Park.  The park in itself is a place where you could lose yourself for days, as it is packed with amazing museums and gardens.  (Our limited time didn’t permit us to visit any of them, unfortunately.)  In any case, we found the park, a parking space (scarce as hens’ teeth), and the Spreckels Organ Pavilion just in time to hear the last few pieces in today’s organ recital, as well as a duet by an opera singer and his daughter.  It was amazing! 

By mid-afternoon, we were hungry and spent.  So we decided to do a late lunch / early dinner and then call it a night.  Yes, we’ve been around the block, I guess, when it comes to world travel.  But we certainly don’t have extravagant tastes in food to make us happy.  In fact, for years and years, we have had a simple recipe for dining out on our short American visits:  squeeze in a meal at each of Olive Garden, Applebee’s, and Red Lobster.  Period.  This was Olive Garden day, and as we always do, we loved every bite.

We made it back to the hotel in time for a glass of wine and a nibbly at the evening manager’s reception, and that was our day!

Cabrillo National Monument at Point Loma.

The headland at Point Loma.


Statue to Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, a native of Portugal who is known for exploring the West Coast of North America on behalf of the Spanish Empire.  He was the first to discover San Diego Bay.


The Old Point Loma Lighthouse from 1855, at the mouth of San Diego Bay.


At Point Loma, with the wild Pacific below us.

Point Loma is the site of several large military graveyards.  The markers  are placed with remarkable precision.




Downtown San Diego in the background, seeming to sit under an old pine tree.


An aloe plant at Point Loma, attracting a hummungbird.


Old Town is a neighborhood of San Diego comprising 230 acres . It is the oldest settled area in San Diego and is the site of the first European settlement in present-day California.








Indigenous Mexican art celebrates the skeleton and uses it as a regular motif. The craft stores at Old Town were filled with it.


The Junípero Serra Museum in Presidio Park (adjacent to Old Town) features displays about the city's founding.


The wine press at the Junipero Serra Museum.






Worl'd largest outdoor pipe organ in Balboa Park


We were fortunate enough to catch the tail-end of the weekly Sunday afternoon recital!


The view of Imperial Beach Pier and North Coronodo Island (Mexico) from our hotel room:  four very different lighting, cloud and sky effects over a 45-minute period!  Note how the island disappears and reappears!