Thoughts on San Diego, CA

Just winding up a four day visit in San Diego. Came with my wife, who came on business. So, the visit was not to see or learn about San Diego. It was really just to be here. But wouldn't it be terrible to visit a place of significance and not see or learn some about it? I thought so.

Everybody visits places and misses the finer details that are available. We all do that. I have thought in retirement how neat it would be to go to places and visit with the old timers and find out more. Never did that, but I still think it would be neat. For a while on San Diego I was thinking I would come and go and not know much about San Diego. Oh, I experienced some of the beauty and the cool weather (Texas was over 100 degrees while we were gone, and the daytime in San Diego was not more that 67.)

So, I got to looking around to find how to leave knowing something more. I would hate to go home and somebody ask, but didn't you see.....? I found a tour! The tour took two hours, which we had available on the last day and cost us $64 but it was time and money well spent. We took the Old Town Trolley Tours.

The driver was Bill. Bill had been doing it long enough and had been educated in what he did that he could give us a lot of information. That information enables us to leave feeling we know something about San Diego. So now when we get home and the question is asked, we might be able to answer some of the questions right.

The tour first took us to Coronado Island across the Coronado Bay Bridge. Turns out that bridge has not been around very long. Used to people had to use a ferry to get back and forth. Of course the whole of the area, like all other areas, has been developed from nothing. It was interesting to hear that a Spaniard planted a flag on Point Loma for Spain. Well the first did so and named it one thing, but the second, some 10 years later assigned the name that stuck.

Who would want to miss Balboa Park? That will be one question and can provided some answers so. I am waiting for someone to ask, "Where did all the trees come from." I will respond that this woman got approval from the city to plant trees, and she did, greatly. I can tell them I saw a statute of her, to her memory, but I cannot remember the name. I can say she made a beautiful place, for sure.

Who woulda thought there would be a Little Italy in San Diego, California? There is. Of course, San Diego is a melting pot of nations, as is much of the USA these days. And now I know where the first USA flag was planted following the Mexican American war. Probably not the same flag pole, but Bill said it was the same spot, and I believe Bill.

Bill had all kinds of stories. Some might not have been true, but I expect more were. Particularly the stories of the few entrepreneurs who bought land cheap and made a mint were probably true. And the fellow by the name of Horton who had a big hand in developing New Town (as compared to Old Town) was likely true. He has several monuments around. And about how San Diego really populating following the 1906 quake of San Francisco. I imagine that was true, too.

Yes, a tour is a good way to learn more. While it would have been nice to take a little more time in certain places, this was good enough be me at the moment. Now I can go home feeling I have gotten a little more out of what was always available.