Coronado Island

Some have described the island as the model of perfection, others Pleasantville, still others as one of the most beautiful places in the world. There is a richness there, and one that I cannot yet understand.

We left Vegas on a high, natural of course, but stemming from the experiences of the day before; the cigar on the strip, camping on the banks of Lake Mead, waking up to beautiful unhindered sunlight streaming through the top of my tent; all of these experiences inspired me to walk to the banks of Lake Mead, a phenomenon among man-made lakes. This one is in fact a reservoir formed by the backup of the Colorado River behind the Hoover Dam. The water is used for irrigation and many other purposes, of which I think drinking is the least of them. Thus, the lake consists of overflow; beautiful blue water covering the typical stones and sand of the desert. It is an irony and a paradox. Walking out, one can see the mineral rim reaching high on the surrounding rocky hills, representing the highest point reached by the waters of the reservoir. There is a great deal of green scrub brush surrounding the lake as well, whereas the surrounding hills display mainly stones and sand. Fascinating, as the entire reality of the lake is a paradox. Much like Vegas, it is a fantasyland - a lake in the middle of the desert. However the beauty is captivating enough that you are willing to suspend reality, and the water feels real enough. Like so much of what we experienced in those couple of days, we had to open our understanding of what is, and what is possible, to be able to fully comprehend what we experienced.

Coronado, as it turned out, was no exception. Pulling myself away from the lake, we departed, and time flew. A great conversation with Mike Rudz, who will join us on November 2 in New Zealand with his sister and our good friend Carrie, certainly provided some inspiration on the drive in. Another inspiring element was the crazy weather that seemed to change at every stop, literally dropping 20 or 30 degrees as we moved from the Mojave Desert to San Bernardino, then rising another 10 pleasant degrees as we reached San Diego, then crossed the Bay Bridge into the promised land.

Have you ever heard of lawn bowling? coffee carts? yachts? All can be found on the island, along with the most beautiful public library I have ever seen, and some of the most pleasant people I have ever met. Our host, Roberto Reyes or "Berto" as we learned to affectionately call him, lives literally in a former slave residence of closet-like dimensions at 835 1/2 J Avenue. It sounds like something out of a movie, and to a certain degree it was. Thanks to Tim Danaher, who first got us into touch with Berto, this became the home base for our many misadventures on the island and throughout San Diego.

We met Berto at the coffee cart with Susan Blair, who is one of the most eclectic and interesting people I have ever met. Love her completely. We sat and enjoyed the setting sun, and planned out the happenings of the following days. The first night on Coronado was a Wednesday, meaning that the Island Beer Club, meeting down the alley was in session. Thus we headed down and mingled, myself eventually meeting a gentleman by the name of Mark Blumenthal, who happened to know (and phone) a man by the name of Pete Lucas, a renowned sports official from northern Illinois, as well as knew Larry Young, one of few northern Illinois officials who has made it to the Major Leagues. Young was an MLB umpire until he retired a couple years back. An interesting connection to have made on the other side of the country, as I had before only ever met Larry Young at a Special Olympics event in Byron, Illinois. The world is small.

From there, Berto parted to study for a midterm exam and Daniel and I explored the island. It is a beautiful place, and on the first night we reached the eastern side, which includes a beautiful view of the San Diego skyline, and pares down to a strip no more than 100 yards wide, such that one can get from the bay side to the ocean side in a matter of 5 minutes walking. The island is flanked by two military bases: the US Naval Air Station on the west and the US Naval Amphibious "Amphib" Base on the east. Though largely dominated by these military installations, the island still has space for the "Del" Hotel as it is called by the locals. Its full name is "Hotel del Coronado" and is by far one of the nicest establishments I have ever seen in the hotel industry. On this note then, after wandering past the marina and the pool where Tim Danaher used to lifeguard on the bay side, we headed to the ocean side and caught our first glimpse of the lights of Tijuana. I was caught up again with thoughts of how to reconcile the unfortunate situation between the US and Mexico right now, for the lights alone signal a culture and an inherent richness very different from our own. We have so much to gain from one another, and yet we are separated by a border, by violence, but mostly by fear and misunderstanding. I was once again inspired, and look forward to see what I can do to help improve the situation, for I know this will be a part of what the future will bring.

Coronado is connected to the mainland, both by the Bay Bridge and the Strand. The first is a highflying feat of engineering, from which one can see the aircraft carriers docked at port on one side of the bridge, and the frigates and other military vessels on the other side. In truth, the Bay itself is vastly impressive. As a kid from Rockford, Illinois, the majesty of almost everything I have seen in California has simply blown me away. I understand why many come here and never go back. But I also believe that in the Midwest we are able to appreciate much more the simpler nuances of life, whereas a Californian, as he is constantly inundated with the unabashed beauty of nature and the wonders of what man can create, requires a much more profound experience to be impressed.

Thus we crossed this bridge many times during our stay on Coronado, going anywhere from the Jesuit University of San Diego, to Cabrillo National Monument (from which the entire San Diego bay area is visible), to Little Italy, where we enjoyed the local Italian fare and attended mass at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary at noon. We are meshing days together here, but the experience was so rich, it is hard to recall exactly how things went down. Every moment was filled with something new. We went to La Jolla where we walked the beach for what seemed like hours, and then took our first swim in the ocean.

The second day of our stay consisted of catching up on postcards, blogging, and pictures in the library, and then Berto took us to eat calamari sandwiches at a renowned seafood market and outdoor restaurant (ah the glories of California!). From there we toured Cabrillo National Monument, overlooking the entire San Diego bay area, and then the majestic (Jesuit) University of San Diego where tuition runs $50,000/year. This is probably not all that much anymore compared to some schools, but I believe mine was about half of that at Iowa State University. From there we headed back and relaxed for the evening.

Third day we got up late and then headed to mass at the Our Lady of the Rosary in Little Italy. A delightful liturgy in which the priest, with no homily and very few flourishes, conducted one of the most memorable Catholic masses I have yet been a part of. Afterward we wandered the neighborhood looking for some attractive Italian food, and at last happened upon a place where beer and pizza were the specialties. So I ordered a Stella Artois and Daniel a Coke, and we enjoyed two slices each on the back patio, meanwhile a pint-sized chihuahua roamed the territory and a homeless guy had lunch with the owner of two parrots. It was a strange experience, but hey the pizza was very good!

From there we went back to Coronado, stopped in and saw Sasha at the public library and offered some inspiration based upon our own experiences with travel up to this point, and then grabbed our "swim trunks" (athletic shorts) and headed to La Jolla.

The name is an interesting phenomenon, for I first thought that it was misspelled, but was readily assured that the name had been spelled as such for a long time. The title of my photograph album for our time in Coronado is labeled "The Jewel of California" which in Spanish could be translated "La joya de California" written joya. However here is a thread from Wordreference that gives a bit of background on this phenomenon and others (in Spanish) http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=1161670.

In any case, the beach was beautiful and we wandered for a good hour away from the main spot where many swimmers and surfers had taken up their time for diversion. A very enjoyable walk with the sun on our backs, being pale, we both burned quite nicely of course. After trying to get in where the seaweed quite literally filled the water, we decided that the majority of swimmers must know something after all, and returned to where they were, where we found much less seaweed. We swam, and then headed to the Cove in La Jolla, where a great deal of sea lions congregate and people come from all over to swim among them. I would think that it is a great place for sharks to congregate as well, and since it was late in the day and the water seemed very cold, we decided to remain on the shore, take pictures, and enjoy the scenery.

From here we went back to Berto's friend's place on Coronado and enjoyed an evening of hanging out. In the morning we went for breakfast at Hash House a Go-Go, and then toured Balboa Park with Berto and Sasha, which ultimately culminated in a nice couple glasses of sangría at the Prado, a beautiful Spanish colonial style structure in the center of the park. That night then, we got in touch with the brother-in-law of John O'Brien and headed onward for our next adventure in Ventura, CA. Thanks to Berto, Susan, Sasha, Berto's neighbor Larry and all others we met on Coronado, it was an honor and a pleasure and we look forward to seeing you again soon!