San Diego, California

San Diego skyline as seen from Shelter Island.

“At sunset on the second day we had a large and well-wooded headland directly before us, behind which lay the little harbor of San Diego. We were becalmed off this point all night, but the next morning, which was Saturday, the 14^th of March, having a good breeze, we stood round the point, and, hauling our wind, brought the little harbor, which is rather the outlet of a small river, right before us. Every one was desirous to get a view of the new place. A chain of high hills, beginning at the point (which was on our larboard hand coming in), protected the harbor on the north and west, and ran off into the interior, as far as the eye could reach. On the other sides the land was low and green, but without trees. The entrance is so narrow as to admit but one vessel at a time, the current swift, and the channel runs so near to a low, stony point that the ship's sides appeared almost to touch it. There was no town in sight, but on the smooth sand beach, abreast, and within a cable's length of which three vessels lay moored, were four large houses, built of rough boards, and looking like the great barns in which ice is stored on the borders of the large ponds near Boston, with piles of hides standing round them, and men in red shirts and large straw hats walking in and out of the doors. These were the Hide Houses.”

Thus was the description of Richard Henry Dana upon entering San Diego Harbor for the first time, in 1835. A lot has changed in this Southern California city over the last nearly 200 years. San Diego now boasts of a population over 1.3 million, and geographically it encompasses a huge area, from San Pasqual Valley in the north, to San Ysidro on the Mexican border.

I will admit that I am a novice to San Diego, and have only scratched the surface of what there is to see. The following documentary of my own photos is no where near comprehensive. I have only whet my appetite for further exploration. ♠

San Diego Chargers football game at Qualcomm Stadium. 

Surfers enjoying the swell at La Jolla Shores.

Statue of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo watches over San Diego Bay.

A pedestrian peruses the merchandise at Old Town San Diego. 

Bridge over Mission Bay.

The domed steeple of Saint Charles Borromeo Catholic Church.

Two killer whales dazzle the crowd at Sea World.

The pier at Ocean Beach.

The Junipero Serra Museum stands atop Presidio Hill.

No visit to San Diego is complete without the mandatory fish taco.

Tourists take pictures of seals at La Jolla Cove.

Across the fence of the southern district of San Ysidro is the Mexican city of Tijuana.

The San Diego LDS temple.

Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.

View across the bay from Point Loma.

Sunset over Bonita Cove.

Fancy sand-work at Mission Beach.

Old Point Loma Lighthouse. 

Airplane taking off from San Diego International Airport.

Western shores of Point Loma.