The World Famous San Diego Zoo

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Today we visited the 'world famous' San Diego Zoo. I have always been skeptical about zoos but being that we were in the city that has one of the 'best' zoos in the world, (so we are told) we had to go.

Since we now consider ourselves 'fit' after 7 weeks on the bikes, we decided to walk the 5 miles to the zoo and the 5 miles back from the zoo. We covered the 100 acres that makes up the area of the zoo in about 5 hours. What was I saying about being 'fit'? We may be fit for riding a bicycle but our 'hiking' muscles were 'groaning' by the time we returned to our hotel at the end of the day!

We saw lots of exotic animals...at least they were 'exotic' to us...from all over the world but mostly from Africa. We were constantly reminded that these animals were being kept in the conditions that they would experience in the 'wild'...but, but, but...elephants on dirt piles over top of concrete...birds in confined spaces that if they could fly sure could not fly far...monkeys on platforms and climbing on man made ropes...Koalas sitting in artificial trees eating eucalyptus branches that were provided for them...and a polar bear with temperature controlled water walking around on concrete that was supposed to look like the Artic Tundra with no ice in sight. You get the picture...it was interesting to see animals and birds from all over the world but they sure as heck do not look like they have enough territory to 'mimic' their real environments. I personally came away still skeptical of zoos and their purpose. But we can now say that we have been to the 'World Famous San Diego Zoo'!!!

Tomorrow we are off to visit the 'USS Midway' a United States 'retired' Aircraft Carrier.

Female Monkey (one of the many that we do not remember their name nor where they are from...we do know that it is endangered)

This Is The Male Of The Same Species...And They Call This A Natural Setting!

Hippopotamus

Red Panda

Giant Panda

Cougar

African Elephant...We Saw An Asian Elephant As Well

Giraffe

A Trolley Tour of San Diego

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

We decided to get ourselves 'acclimatized' to San Diego today. What better way to do it than to take a Trolley Ride around the city. It was a 'fun' and 'informative' way to be introduced to the city and be able to draw up a plan for the next 3 days of our stay. We jumped off the trolley in Old Town San Diego (the original settlement from the 1700's) and enjoyed a couple of hours wandering the Historical State Park. We enjoyed an authentic Mexican lunch washed down by a pitcher of Mexico's finest Margaritas. We then jumped back on the Trolley and were dropped off where we began which just happens to be right below our balcony at our hotel.

Just in case anyone thinks today was 'all fun and games', think again. We are presently sitting in a Laundromat doing that necessary evil called laundry.

Tomorrow we are off to the Zoo!!!

Saloon In Old Town San Diego...No we Did Not Partake Here...But We Did Next Door

Christmas In San Diego

It Seems Like All The Pictures I Took Today Had A Common Theme...Not Sure What That Means

A Day Of Important Errands

Monday, November 17, 2014

Up and on the...no...wait...we are not doing that any more!

Our morning was not the usual scramble to get the bikes loaded and hit the road. Instead we enjoyed 2 coffees with an 'infusion' of Baileys just for good measure. What a great way to start off the day! A little time on the computer and our plan was set for the day. We located a bike shop that advertised 'boxing' and 'shipping' bikes so we went to talk to them. Sure enough, they told us to "just drop them off and we will handle the rest". We then proceeded to the Sante Fe Train Station to have our boarding passes for Saturday morning printed. We had booked the return train 'excursion' online a couple of days ago. Then it was off to the Post Office to purchase a shipping box and some tape. A couple of hours later we wheeled our bikes into the bike shop, filled out some paperwork, gave them our credit card information and walked out the door. This is the moment that it truly hit us that the cycling part of our adventure had drawn to an end. So in a few days 'we hope' that our bicycles are re-united with us in Maple Ridge.

Then it was off to the Post Office 'lugging' a 42 pound box filled with our gear. It is being shipped home or at least back to Ontario.

FYI. For those of you who have been waiting for the 'fall count' to hit 'one', you are in luck! While walking to the Post Office carrying the rather heavy and awkward box, I tripped on a curb and landed headlong on the sidewalk...no great surprise to anyone who knows me...walking is when I am most clumsy!

So it is for real. Our gear is gone. We are now 'travellers' on foot. The rest of the day was spent relaxing sittting on our tiny balcony watching the 'nightlife' below!

Congratulations On The Fly

Sunday, November 16, 2014

We were on the road by 8:00. We were concerned about todays ride as we knew once again it could be difficult to navigate the 'urban jungle'.

It was a nice quiet ride out of Encinitas, through Cardiff By The Sea, and through Solana Beach. It was a Sunday so we were not really playing with a lot of traffic. The shoulder also had a dedicated bike lane. It was primarily us and the road cyclists out for their Sunday morning rides. We were able to watch hundreds of surfers carrying their surf boards to and from the ocean and riding the waves...or whatever it is that they do...actually they spend an awful lot of time on their stomachs on their boards and very little time standing on them...now remember this coming from a guy who has no idea about enjoying the water!

As we left Del Mar we plunged down into a large valley and as per usual when you go way down you have to go way back up! Sure enough we faced a long 2.5 kilometer climb up and over a headland to get to La Jolla. It was on this climb and as we entered La Jolla that numerous road bikers slowed to talk to us as we rode along genuinely interested in what we had experienced on the road for the past 7 weeks. We were led into La Jolla by two cyclists who gave us numerous suggestions of what we should try to see and do in San Diego. Eventually they had to leave us behind because they had tickets to the Chargers game later in the day. We had been warned that the ride through La Jolla could be a 'messy' one but although complicated was not too bad. We understand that we were lucky to be riding through the area on a Sunday as most cars were not out on the roads. It was through this area that we were passed by a cyclist who a few minutes later we realized was taking our picture while on the fly. She again slowed and wanted our blog address so she could send the pictures to us. They are posted on her Flicker Account. Now I just have to figure out how to access them...for me that could be a challenge!

As we entered the Mission Beach area the riding got 'ugly' on a bike path along the ocean. There were way too many people walking and unwilling to share their space with tour cyclists. Now I know that the pedestrians have the right away on these shared paths...but but but...whatever happened to 'common courtesy' I will never know. People would look at us and just continue walking 3 and 4 abreast. We managed to slowly weave our way through he 'people Jungle' until we got to the harbour area of San Diego where we had had enough of playing 'dodgem' and walked our bikes the rest of the way to our hotel.

We are staying in the Historic Horton Grand Hotel in the Gas Lamp district of Old San Diego. It is an area of restored buildings that has an unbelievable number of restaurants as well as Petco Park where the Padres play.

We plan to spend a few days of 'downtime' in the city being 'travelers'...just 'taking in' what there is to 'take in'! Like when we finished our ride across Canada, we are a little tired. Tomorrow will be a day to figure out the 'logistics' of getting our gear, our bicycles, and ourselves back to Vancouver. Maybe we should just go throw all of it in the harbour...probably not...I know we are not finished with this touring thing yet!!!

Trip Distance = 58.50 km. Time on the Bikes = 4 hours 22 minutes. Average Speed = 13.38 km. Maximum Speed = 42.23 km. Wildlife Sightings = Steroid 'enhanced' muscles on 'wanabee' body builders all along the boardwalk areas.!!!

The blog will be back in a couple of days so please stay tuned.

Surfin USA

Surfin USA

The End Of The Biking Part Of Our Adventure

We Have Arrived!!!

Sunday, November 16, 1:14 pm....We Have Arrived

Stay Tuned. We are heading out for a celebratory refreshment...or maybe more than one!!!

3000 Kilometers and Counting...But Not Too Many More To Go

Saturday, November 15, 2014

We were out of the park and on the road by 8:00. It seemed that our neighbours last night talked for half the night...it probably was half of our night...not all campers on Friday night want to get in their tents at 8:00 and go to sleep like tour cyclists are inclined to do!

The ride today could have been a 'navigational nightmare' but it was not. It was an easy ride out of Dana Point and through Capistrano Beach. We found a bike path that was not on any of our maps and took it. It kept the 'water to our right' which has been the goal of this whole trip! We were dreading the route through San Clemente as our maps showed it would be a right/left tour through subdivisions. To our delight, we never once had to consult our maps. For the first time on this entire trip the Bike Route signs were all visible and we simply followed them through the hilly streets. It even 'popped' us out onto a bike path/old highway along the side of the expressway. Being that it was a Saturday we again rode along with hundreds of cyclists out on their road bikes. We talked to some while we rode and others while we were stopped resting. We also travelled for a while with a couple from Austria who started their ride in Anchorage Alaska and were heading for Argentina.

One of the more unique experiences we have had on this journey was riding through Camp Pendleton, a United States Marine Base. We had to produce our passports as we entered and never saw another uniform until we exited the base 15 kilometers later. We saw lots of training facilities and 3 different housing areas each the size of small towns. We also saw a 'full fledged' mall before we made our escape from the base.

The rest of the ride was along the coast and The Pacific Coast Highway...or was it the North Coast Highway...or was it Carlsbad Boulevard...you get the picture...like yesterday, this road has way too many names!

We passed 3000 kilometers for our journey today. We do not have many more to go. With a little bit of luck we will arrive at our destination in downtown San Diego tomorrow. It is hard to believe that the cycling part of our 'journey' is drawing to a close.

We are staying in the Rodeway Inn in Encinitis tonight. What few campgrounds that exist through this area are really busy and do not have Hiker/Biker sites. So the camping part of our adventure ended last night in the 'sands' of Dana Point.

Trip Distance = 65.01 km. Time on the Bikes = 4 hours 14 minutes. Average Speed = 15.34 km. Maximum Speed = 41.63 km. Wildlife Sightings = White Crowned Sparrow, Godwit, Pelicans, Great Egret.

Sue Setting The Pace On Bike Path/Old Highway

The Strand In Oceanside...Better Lunch Spot Than Normal

Kids Enjoying The Waves At Oceanside

Polar Opposites

Friday, November 14, 2014

After a conversation with a German motorcyclist on a New York to Argentina around the world Journey, we hit the road by 8:00. Today's ride was made up of two parts...and they were polar opposites. The first 30 kilometers we enjoyed a bike path. At times it was along the side of streets but most of the time it was out in the middle of the beaches. We cycled through the rest of Long Beach, through Seal Beach, and then through the long and drawn out Huntington Beach. Huntington Beach probably has the widest beach we have encountered on our entire journey. If there was a downside to this part of the ride it was the headwind that we fought.

When we got to Newport Beach things changed and not for the better. We were forced onto The Pacific Coast Highway...or was it the West Coast Highway...or was it (if you can believe it) the East Coast Highway...all of them Highway # 1. So forgive us if at times we were frustrated with the route. At one point we were riding on a 8 lane expressway. When it narrowed to a 4 lane highway in Laguna Beach, we again were forced to contend with cars flying past us at 50 miles per hour on our left and parked cars on our right. There was nowhere to ride except out in traffic. And did I mention the hills? They surprised us and we spent some time visiting 'Granny' again.

Laguna Beach reminded us of the Malibu area that we had passed through a few days ago. The 'silly' traffic was one reason but we were back into an area where multi million dollar homes were 'perched' up in the hills. We saw a sign for a new subdivision that said houses would start at 4.5 million dollars...what a bargain! The car dealerships I suspect also were a reflection of the wealth in the area. We saw dealerships selling McLaren's, Audis, Ferraris, Mercedes, Lamborghinis, and Porsches. Where the heck the common person would buy the Fords, GM's, and Toyotas we have no idea!

We are camping in Doheny State Beach Park in Dana Point. Dana Point was the surf spot that the Beach Boys immortalized in their hit song 'Surfin USA'. We are on a regular site as the Hiker/Biker Site is both 'awful' and could not be occupied until 4:00 pm. The campground is not very nice but it is on the beach and we just witnessed another of the West Coast's beautiful sunsets.

Trip Distance = 65.19 km. Time on the Bikes = 4 hours 39 minutes. Average Speed = 14.02 km. Maximum Speed = 42.83 km. Wildlife Sightings = Great Blue Heron, Great Egrets (by the hundreds), Herring Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Coots, Ground Squirrels.

Ships Lined Up To Get Into Port Long Beach

One Of The Many Oil Platforms We Saw...How To Screw Up A Beautiful View

Multi Million Dollar Houses In The Hills

Sunset at Doheny Beach State Park...At 4:45 In The Afternoon!