We arrived back at our RV Park at 5pm Tuesday, after a whirlwind trip to San Diego that saw Paulette and I visit 2 Quilt Stores(Paulette), Coronado Island and the Coronado Del Mar Hotel(just me), the Mission San Diego de Alcala(both of us) and the Mission San Luis Rey(just me)!!
No cellphones or texting while driving – how about taking pictures?
We left the RV Park at 8:30am after dropping Molly and Rylie off at Toni’s – the park dog-sitter. The muttzo’s seemed quite happy and were running around the house and backyard checking things out when we left. Toni was going to take them to the dog park right after we left.
The distinctive architecture of the Coronado Del Mar viewed from the beach
Our first stop of the day was the Country Loft Quilt Shop in La Mesa which is part of San Diego. I dropped Paulette off at 10:30am and we agreed I would come back to pick her up in about 2 hours. I headed for the Coronado Bridge, about 15 minutes away, and once over that monstrous structure, I drove thru the beautiful shop-lined main street to the Coronado Del Mar Hotel – what an impressive sight!
The terrace with hotel rooms facing the beach and ocean
I pulled into the parking lot of the hotel and saw a sign that said $15 for the first 2 hours, so I quickly backed out with my big diesel truck, being careful not to hit any of the Mercedes, Porsches and Beemers. I found a metered spot on the street right outside the hotel for .25 cents for an hour – that’s more like it!
I spent a good hour walking all around the grounds of the hotel, down to the long sandy beach and through the hotel main lobby, downstairs shops, restaurants and around the huge swimming pool. It is quite a place and the inside reminded me a bit of the Empress Hotel in Victoria with all it’s dark, carved wood and carpeting.
The main lobby of the Coronado Del Mar
As a National Historic Landmark, the Hotel del Coronado has a rich and colorful heritage that sets it apart from neighboring Coronado hotels. When it was built, the hotel was the largest structure outside of New York City to be electrically lighted and Thomas Edison himself supervised the installation of his incandescent lamp invention.
How much a night to rent this little beach front casita?
Eleven U.S. Presidents have visited The Del, starting with Benjamin Harrison in 1891. One of the resort's most famous visitors was England's Prince of Wales in 1920. He would later become King Edward VIII, only to give up his throne in 1936 to marry Coronado divorcee Wallis Spencer Simpson. In 1958, The Del was the backdrop for the comedy classic "Some Like It Hot," starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon.
Paulette went to a Quilt Shop and passed up this – am I ever lucky!
After spending an hour, like I actually belonged there, I walked passed the valet station to my truck parked on the street and drove back over the Coronado Bridge to pick up Paulette. I got there just after 12:30, to see her walking out with a huge shopping bag filled to the brim with material. She told me that the Country Loft has now moved into first place as her all-time favorite quilting store – by a country mile. I didn’t like the sound of that at all.
One of the largest swimming pools I’ve ever seen at a hotel
From there, Paulette and I visited the Mission San Diego de Alcala, the first of the California Missions, then another quilt shop and finally the Mission San Luis Rey, in Oceanside, but I’ll have to save all that for my next bog as this one is already a bit long.
Looking down the long, beautiful beach from the terrace
When we got back to the Sands RV Park just after 5pm, we went right to Toni’s to pick up Molly and Rylie. They were extremely excited to see us and Toni said they had been very, very good puppies all day.
Another look at the Coronado Del Mar Hotel
I don’t know for sure how good they were, but wow, were they ever tired – just exhausted. As soon as we got to the RV, they both hopped up on the couch, fell asleep and didn’t move again until 10pm. I took them outside before bedtime and then they went to bed and slept all night. They must have had a very busy day with Toni and spent a lot of time running at the dog park!
Have a great Wednesday, and thanks again for visiting!
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