*LOEWS CORONADO BAY RESORT |
It's another warm sunny morning in California. I decide to head
out for a ride on my newly tuned-up bicycle. I started at our
apartment which is near the Coronado Ferry Landing and continued on
the Bayshore Bikeway down the Silver Strand Boulevard. I made a
stop at Loews Coronado Bay Resort to enjoy a cup of coffee with a
pleasant bayview and then treked over to the Pacific Ocean for a
short beach walk. At this point I was about three miles from
Imperial Beach—still not sure how far I was going to bike.
I checked with the doorman at Loews about possibly continuing
my bike ride to Imperial Beach and then taking the loop around the
bay—ending up in downtown San Diego. He said someone he knew biked
the 25 mile loop all the time and recommended it. I decided to
continue.
SAN DIEGO BAY VIEW FROM PATH |
SAN DIEGO BAY VIEW FROM PATH |
Once on the San Diego side, the bike path turned into a bike lane—shared with motorized vehicles and the sounds of Freeway 5. I am pretty much a bike-path-only kind of biker, so this definitely placed me out of my comfort zone. It was reasonably well-marked, even though there were a number of turns. Also, because the route follows the bay it would be difficult to go totally off in the wrong direction.
I found a very interesting stop on Bay Boulevard called Artesanos Gamez, Inc. It is a rather large building filled with hundreds of items produced in Mexico. I especially liked the bright multi-colored pots and some of the small wooden chests that would be perfect at the side of our bed. It is a wholesale company that is open to the public. No one ever came out to help me, so I'm not sure about the pricing but it was a much appreciated break.
I continued on and took the detour into the very beautiful Chula Vista Park. There were a couple of restaurants near the park which I passed on and regretted soon afterwards because I was starting to get hungry. The industrial area ahead did not look very promising for food. After a few more miles, I came across the Waterfront Grill at Pier32. This time I stopped and leisurely enjoyed my lunch sitting on the outside deck with a harbor view.
HARBOR DRIVE - BIKE LANE |
Once I arrived at the Convention Center, the bike trail started again. I boarded the 3 p.m. ferry back to Coronado. It was a good experience and one that I had been trying to get up the courage to do for awhile, so I felt good about my accomplishment. I allowed a full day for the trip and I was glad to travel at my leisure and stop along the way—traits of a Vintage Traveler.
I just returned home—Ron said he wants to go out for Happy Hour. We'd better head out quickly, because if I sit down on the living room chair I might not move again until morning.
FINAL STRETCH --BIKE TRAIL |
*Photo from Loews photo collection
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