Ocean Beach & Area

Ah, the summer sights of beach cruisers...

Day 2 we took a cab to the closest beach which happened to be this one.
Arriving @ the beach area...

And spotted one of the 1st brilliant ones who sat smoking beside the sign that advised otherwise...

And Bubba here who seemed to have lost his Harley...but he had a candy bar...

The view from our breakfast spot...

And up the street...

And a neat old Volvo...

And some of the houses nearby...

And many volleyball games + this dude...

A delightful sight for my winter eyes...

And who can't enjoy watching how much fun kiddos have at the beach...

And what trip to the beach is complete w/o a pic of the sand & shells...

Or a few pics of surfers...

ha...and a pic of this guy & his pooch...

And we took the time to read the war memorials...this was one of my favourites...

And this dog enjoyed a different view for the non-canines...

Which means he missed seeing this little "I-DO-IT-MINESELF" guy and his matching Dad...

And as we headed for a stroll out the pier, I had to stop & admire these little spots behind us up on the cliffs...

And the kiddos looking for critters & treasures in the tide pools...

And the views of the beach...

As well as some fashionettes...

And fishermen...

And surfers...

And every moment to help me forget what winter & snow look/feel like...

Then we headed off for a wander thru the shops...

Which included quite a variety, like antiques...

Rows of palm trees...

Unique, blue sidewalk squares...

Old cars/vans...

Candy stores... And colourful flowers...

The Marina

I was reminded that I was meant to live by water...
So I thoroughly enjoyed my view for a week...

And watching all the activity...or lack thereof in the marina.

Quite a few people in this one row came & spent the weekend on their boats...

And then there was this guy who cruised around on his paddleboard daily.

I enjoyed the glassy waters each morning...

Which seemed to be soon followed by a variety of colours each evening...

This evening was my favourite...and coincidentally my last evening in SD.

Loved it!

The hotel & sunsets...

My balcony provided a nice observation deck each eve to watch the sunset...
And to appreciate colours, lights & shadows in the marina...

Which were quite rosy this evening as you can see.

The first day we arrived was the warmest, so we headed directly to the pool...

Which was kept super clean and quite quiet.

As I headed around the marina to take pics, I was appreciating the blues...

And of course another bright, SD sunset.

Old Town, San Diego

We got to spend two evenings in Old Town which is often referred to as the birthplace of California. This Mexican village seemed like a popular spot to visit that was full of markets...
Old shops like this Tinsmith's... And this old General Store...

And spanish steps...

And the city hall & courthouse beside Wells Fargo...

Which was just up the street from the Boot & Shoe...

Which was located next to the Pottery Shop.

Along the edge of the park/common area were numerous wonderful smelling restaurants...

And more shops and stairs with lot of colourful tiles.

We spent some time before and after supper browsing these stores & markets like these...

And stopping to admire the flowers particularily the Birds of Paradise...

And window boxes that reminded me of Europe (possibly because I'm getting impatient for a trip across the ocean)...

I was quite enjoying these shops when our buzzer went for our table at the restaurant next door...

So we headed back out of the shops under more boxes & banners.

The mexican food was sooooo good and this taco salad was no exception.

After supper, we browsed some more as you can see...

But a few things made us pause, like the blossoms on this tree...

And more flowers, neat looking restaurants, et all...

As well as this old hotel...

That had these shuttered windows...

Numerous old, well furnished rooms...

And a restaurant in the back courtyard.

We passed back thru some of the open markets, while we headed back to see if we could hail a cab...

Which was a slow walk since we kept noticing things like these ladies @ one restaurant we passed...(they seemed so delighted that we were all staring & watching them work) ;) ...

I loved this store & name...

But I did not enjoy the fog rolling off this patio area & store...it was a cigar shop and it was literally a blue fog that you couldn't see thru...

So I kept my distance & still got a headache just walking by...but right at the next street, we spotted a cab & called it a day.

Day 1