Trip to San Diego

I've always enjoyed attending conferences - meeting new people and seeing old friends, learning the latest developments in the profession, and sometimes, visiting a place I have never been before. The 2004 Midwinter Meeting of the American Library Association was all of that. I planned my time just right - I would get to San Diego early and see a little of the city, and stay an extra day to see some more.

The one thing I wanted to do while in San Diego was to go whale watching, and I did! I wish I could say that we experienced a "National Geographic" moment and saw one of these beasts come flying out of the water ... but that didn't happen. However, we did see several whales. Unfortunately, they were too quick, I was too slow, and the boat was too far away, to get any good pictures.

But I took a couple of pictures of the city as the boat was heading out to sea, the first showing part of the city north of the pier, and the second showing the downtown area and one of the cruise ships in the harbor. The third picture of the city skyline was taken as we returned from the cruise.

Although I didn't get any pictures of the whales, the trip was a success - we saw several whales during the three-hour cruise. And being out on the water and seeing all of the other sights along the shore and out at sea was a real treat.

My other exploration was a bus tour that included Coronado, Balboa Park, Mount Soledad, La Jolla, and Old Town San Diego. The highlight of the visit to Coronado was a stop at the Hotel del Coronado -- what a fabulous place! The hotel, the grounds - everything was gorgeous!

The bus didn't stop in Balboa Park but the guide managed to show us enough to make me want to go back and spend a few days there. It was beautiful, with many different things to see and do. Old Town was also very interesting, with plenty of little shops, museums, and historical buildings. I could have spent a lot more time there.

Mount Soledad is the highest point within San Diego, and the views are just fantastic. Here's a picture of the view looking north up the coast, with our tourbus in the foreground, and another picture looking south. The last picture I took shows the skyline of San Diego to the south.

Then there's La Jolla -- what a beautiful place! We stopped along the shore for only twenty minutes, but I managed to take several pictures showing part of a wonderful park along the shore, waves crashing against the rocks, pelicans sunning themselves, and another view of the waves coming ashore.

After the tour, I spent the remainder of my last day in San Diego exploring on foot the shore line closest to the downtown area. Here's a picture taken from the back of the convention center overlooking the marina.

During my walking tour I took pictures of an aircraft carrier, a cruise ship, the bridge to Coronado, another view of the marina, a restaurant and shops along the water, and a last view of San Diego.

The next day I left for home, and the cold of an East Coast January. I have many good memories of my all-too-brief visit to San Diego, and I've added that beautiful city to my growing list of places to revisit.