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| WAVE Journey |
| Women's Adventures, Vacations, Experiences ~ Your Journey Starts Here! |
Discovering That San Diego Is Small But World Class ~
Article & photos by Lucy Komisar
Article & photos by Lucy Komisar
A Woman's Directory For Travel and Life.
WAVE Journey is your one-stop online resource for women-oriented businesses and
services around the world.
WAVE Journey is for every woman to enjoy. If you love to travel, cook, read or revel in outdoor activities
this website is for you. If you are looking to connect with other like-minded women or if you are
interested in finding businesses or services that cater to women, WAVE Journey is your number one online
resource.
WAVE Journey is your one-stop online resource for women-oriented businesses and
services around the world.
WAVE Journey is for every woman to enjoy. If you love to travel, cook, read or revel in outdoor activities
this website is for you. If you are looking to connect with other like-minded women or if you are
interested in finding businesses or services that cater to women, WAVE Journey is your number one online
resource.
FDR stayed there in 1935 when he was in San Diego for the California Pacific
International Exposition. He flew the presidential flag, which made the hotel
the official White House. Billy Wilder's 1958 comic farce "Some Like it Hot,"
with Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon was shot there. So was
Steve Martin's "My Blue Heaven." Author L. Frank Baum wrote the follow-ups
to his "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" there.
International Exposition. He flew the presidential flag, which made the hotel
the official White House. Billy Wilder's 1958 comic farce "Some Like it Hot,"
with Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon was shot there. So was
Steve Martin's "My Blue Heaven." Author L. Frank Baum wrote the follow-ups
to his "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" there.
It's the Hotel del Coronado, "the
Del" as everyone calls it, which sits
on 28 beachfront acres on Glorieta
Bay and the Pacific Ocean on the
Coronado Peninsula –minutes
across the Bay Bridge to downtown.
An appropriately fanciful site, its
iconic red shingled domes and
turrets reminded me of a Victorian
castle or a stage set or maybe the
topper on a wedding cake. And
since it opened in 1888, the largest
Del" as everyone calls it, which sits
on 28 beachfront acres on Glorieta
Bay and the Pacific Ocean on the
Coronado Peninsula –minutes
across the Bay Bridge to downtown.
An appropriately fanciful site, its
iconic red shingled domes and
turrets reminded me of a Victorian
castle or a stage set or maybe the
topper on a wedding cake. And
since it opened in 1888, the largest
resort hotel in the world, it has been the place to stay or visit when you
come to San Diego, a world class city of just 1.2 million people.
The Del is not just a place to stay, it's a destination, a designated National
Historic Landmark. There was no structural steel when the Del was built,
and it is one of the few "stick" buildings standing in the country and one of
the rare wooden Victorian beach resorts in existence.
It's got a lot of history. It was a grand place for people with grand incomes.
It started as a fishing and hunting resort but also offered refined
entertainments such as music. The hotel had a rail spur for the private cars
of the wealthy who came from the East. In the "Roaring 20s," it was a party
hotel for movie people like Charlie Chaplin. It also attracted the Price of
Wales and Charles Lindbergh. During World War II, since Coronado was the
headquarters for the Pacific fleet, part of the hotel was used for Naval
housing. Every U.S. President since Lyndon Johnson (and a few before) has
stayed there.
come to San Diego, a world class city of just 1.2 million people.
The Del is not just a place to stay, it's a destination, a designated National
Historic Landmark. There was no structural steel when the Del was built,
and it is one of the few "stick" buildings standing in the country and one of
the rare wooden Victorian beach resorts in existence.
It's got a lot of history. It was a grand place for people with grand incomes.
It started as a fishing and hunting resort but also offered refined
entertainments such as music. The hotel had a rail spur for the private cars
of the wealthy who came from the East. In the "Roaring 20s," it was a party
hotel for movie people like Charlie Chaplin. It also attracted the Price of
Wales and Charles Lindbergh. During World War II, since Coronado was the
headquarters for the Pacific fleet, part of the hotel was used for Naval
housing. Every U.S. President since Lyndon Johnson (and a few before) has
stayed there.
The Queen Anne sprawling revival
four-story white clapboard structure is
surrounded by verandas and intimate
terraces set off by palm trees.
Indoors, the main lobby walls are of
dark wood, with a huge crystal
chandelier and maroon patterned
carpet. Wandering downstairs from
the lobby, I heard good jazz playing
in the corridor and window-shopped
the fancy glasses, furs, and
four-story white clapboard structure is
surrounded by verandas and intimate
terraces set off by palm trees.
Indoors, the main lobby walls are of
dark wood, with a huge crystal
chandelier and maroon patterned
carpet. Wandering downstairs from
the lobby, I heard good jazz playing
in the corridor and window-shopped
the fancy glasses, furs, and
swimwear. Upstairs, the bedroom was coolly elegant. Those gauzy drapes
hide a balcony.
hide a balcony.
Exploring the grounds, we went
outside for a drink on the terrace. In
the March evening chill, I was glad of
the heat lamps. Other people hung
out at the inviting pine paneled bar.
But by morning, the sun was warm
and shining again. We had a
sumptuous breakfast buffet outside
under an awning. There's no à la
carte breakfast, though we could
have gotten croissants at the bakery
and taken them to have with coffee or
outside for a drink on the terrace. In
the March evening chill, I was glad of
the heat lamps. Other people hung
out at the inviting pine paneled bar.
But by morning, the sun was warm
and shining again. We had a
sumptuous breakfast buffet outside
under an awning. There's no à la
carte breakfast, though we could
have gotten croissants at the bakery
and taken them to have with coffee or
tea at the bar a few steps away.
Then, it was just a 15-minute drive to the renowned San Diego Zoo. It's a
huge complex and rightly draws people from all over the world. The best way
to see the zoo from the ground is with a 35-minute guided double-decker bus
tour that covers 70 percent of the park.
Then, it was just a 15-minute drive to the renowned San Diego Zoo. It's a
huge complex and rightly draws people from all over the world. The best way
to see the zoo from the ground is with a 35-minute guided double-decker bus
tour that covers 70 percent of the park.
The zoo is divided into sectors that
feature the local plants and animals:
Asian Passage, Africa Rocks, Urban
Jungle Lost Forest, Polar Rim and my
favorites Panda Canyon and Elephant
Odyssey. Our guide explained, "We
put species together so they can
interact and get "social enrichment"!
These sectors are not just jumbles of
cages and fenced off pens but real
imitations of the original habitats with
forests, thick foliage and piles of
boulders and rocks, like this home of
feature the local plants and animals:
Asian Passage, Africa Rocks, Urban
Jungle Lost Forest, Polar Rim and my
favorites Panda Canyon and Elephant
Odyssey. Our guide explained, "We
put species together so they can
interact and get "social enrichment"!
These sectors are not just jumbles of
cages and fenced off pens but real
imitations of the original habitats with
forests, thick foliage and piles of
boulders and rocks, like this home of
the peccary.
In "Africa" we saw the river hippos. The guide kept up a running commentary.
She said, "They stay in the water because their sensitive skin gets sunburned
if they stay out too long!" We gazed at the curious okapis with striped
haunches that look like a cross between a horse and a zebra and were
discovered only in the 1900s. About the meercats from Africa, she explained,
"Everyone in the group gets a job, looking for predators, food, even
babysitters."
In "Africa" we saw the river hippos. The guide kept up a running commentary.
She said, "They stay in the water because their sensitive skin gets sunburned
if they stay out too long!" We gazed at the curious okapis with striped
haunches that look like a cross between a horse and a zebra and were
discovered only in the 1900s. About the meercats from Africa, she explained,
"Everyone in the group gets a job, looking for predators, food, even
babysitters."
The Elephant Odyssey, she said, is a
living museum, what southern
California may have looked like 12,000
years ago. You can tell African from
Asian elephants, because the Africans'
ears are larger.
In the Polar Rim were Polar bears,
which our guide said were the largest
land predators in the world. And
zebras' stripes, we learned, were a
kind of camouflage. Also, if you're a lion,
living museum, what southern
California may have looked like 12,000
years ago. You can tell African from
Asian elephants, because the Africans'
ears are larger.
In the Polar Rim were Polar bears,
which our guide said were the largest
land predators in the world. And
zebras' stripes, we learned, were a
kind of camouflage. Also, if you're a lion,
the bigger and fluffier your mane is, the handsomer you are! It was an
excellent tour, which made us want to go back to visit favorite spots.
excellent tour, which made us want to go back to visit favorite spots.