We started out the morning by grabbing some breakfast and jumping on the trolley for the 45 minute trip into Mission Valley for a visit to Mission San Diego de Alcala. As I have indicated in previous blogs, the California Missions fascinate me and I never miss an opportunity to incorporate my love of baseball into my love of Missions. Disembarking at the Mission San Diego stop, we walked about a half-mile up a hill to see the Mission. It is painted a brilliant white and overlooks the valley. The grounds are immaculately maintained and the restorations done to the mission have restored it to the time period of it's founding.
Mission San Diego was the first mission in California and was responsible for the eventual settling of California. This piece of history is critical in the development of the Western United States. We were lucky to get to the Mission right before the Sunday Mass, so we got a chance to see the Mission perform the duties it was originally built to perform. We toured the grounds seeing the Padres Garden, the restoration work on the convento, the church and the irrigation canal ruins. It was a beautiful trip that evoked solemnity and reflection. It was the best three dollars I spent this entire trip.
Compared to the other Missions I have been to is tough. They all exist in classes by themselves and I couldn't possibly compare them.
After the Mission, we took the trolley back into Downtown and got off at Petco Park. This was my second time going to Petco, so I was very familiar with the area and the park, which made getting around very easy. Compared to our experiences the day before at Dodger Stadium, Petco Park was a welcome relief.
The crowds on a Sunday afternoon were mainly families and college students. Our cheap seats in the upper deck weren't havens for gang members, but an older couple and a few families. The hot dog and beer I bought was, together, cheaper than just a beer at Dodger Stadium. Overall, we were very happy with our visit to Petco.
What really strikes me as appealing for Petco is the community-feel of it. I noticed this last year when I came down, but this year really stuck out for me. It just seemed like Petco was the place to be in San Diego. You didn't feel any tension or suspicion from your other fans.
The Padres broke through a scoreless tie with the Braves in the eighth with a four-run outburst to take the series finale from the Braves 4-1. Padres pitchers combined for a two-hitter.
After the game, we came back to the hotel, dropped off our baseball stuff and hustled down to the Broadway Pier. We had decided the night before to take the Coronado Ferry across San Dieg Bay and go to the world-famous Coronado Beach. The modest $8.50 round trip ticket gave us passage on the twenty-minute ferry ride. The ferry passed by the retired USS Midway and the still active USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carriers. It offered a sweeping view of the city skyline before docking in the coastal village of Cornado.
Coronado is laid out a narrow penisula that separates the Pacific Ocean from San Diego Bay. It is only about a mile wide and laid out in a grid pattern that really encourages walking and biking. Many of the residents of Coronado own golf carts because the city is laid out in such a way that would make owning one very practical.
The neighborhoods of Coronado are very interesting. It is widely known that Coronado is one of the most expensive places to live in the United States. Million dollar homes that aren't much larger than the smallest homes in Eugene were common along our walk to the beach. The wealth that was present was seriously appalling. The Lexus and Maseratis were in every driveway and every lawn was manicured to near perfection.
After walking about a mile, we finally made it to the beach. Coronado Beach is a world famous beach that stretches about two miles on either side of the famous Hotel Del Coronado. Throngs of families dominated the sand and we found ourselves jostling for the best spots on the beach with them. We set our stuff down and caught some rays, did some swimming and tried to relax. Swimming in the ocean is a little bit of a rush with the pounding waves and tough currents, but it was very fun to finally get some water in my hair and play a little bit.
After stopping for dinner in Coronado, we caught the ferry back to San Diego. We talked about maybe going out for some drinks, but we were both extremely tired and wanted to just sleep.
We head back to Oregon today, so I will post Final Thoughts then.
Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)
No comments:
Post a Comment