San Diego, CA - Cabrillo National Monument, and More

Unfortunately, the weather forecast proved to be accurate and today was a chilly, rainy day. But we have limited time here in San Diego for sightseeing and so decided to venture out despite the weather. We made our way to the Cabrillo National Monument, with a brief stop at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery at Point Loma.

Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery was established in 1882, and many  internments date to the early days of  the California Republic. There are over 101,000 graves in this cemetery, spread across 77 acres that flow along the sloping hillsides overlooking Coronado Island to the east and the Pacific ocean to the west. This cemetery is full, except for internments in existing grave sites (family members). Although it makes me sad that Fort Rosecrans is filled with the remains of so many service men and women, the fact that it is such a beautiful and tranquil resting place offers some solace. I'm glad we visited.

The entryway to Cabrillo National Monument is only a couple miles further along the road from Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. Despite the lousy weather, we enjoyed visiting the monument, beginning our visit with a 25-minute video about Gray whales.

This monument pays homage to the explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo who made history in 1542 as the first European to land at what is now San Diego bay and set foot on the West Coast of the United States.

The Cabrillo National Monument also offers an excellent view of Coronado Island and the San Diego bay - although the weather was gloomy, the vista was still impressive.

The Point Loma Lighthouse shares the parking lot with the Cabrillo National Monument, and is a fairly short walk up a gentle incline from the monument area. This lighthouse was built in 1855 by the United States government. While in operation the lighthouse had the highest elevation of any lighthouse in the United States, but its location on top of a 400-foot cliff meant that fog and low clouds often obscured the light from the view of ships. On foggy nights the lighthouse keeper would sometimes discharge a shotgun to warn ships away. On March 23, 1891, the flame was permanently extinguished and the light was replaced by the New Point Loma lighthouse at a lower elevation.

While touring the lighthouse, I noticed that the walls of the living section under the lighthouse (a simple 2-story home) are about 20 inches thick. It seems to me this construction would have provided good insulation from cold winter winds coming in off the Pacific, and a cool barrier to summer heat.

The area around the monument and the lighthouse
offers up a variety of trees, shrubs, and plants - all very attractive and robust. But we're not familiar with most of these plants and I don't know what they are called. 

By the time we left the Cabrillo National Monument area, we were chilled to the bone and a bit soggy. We enjoyed the sightseeing but were glad to get home to our cosy motor home and a hot cup of tea.

We had dinner plans with an old Air Force friend and his wife, but they had to cancel late this afternoon when Amy slipped and broke her wrist! Hopefully, she will recover quickly and as painlessly as possible.

Tomorrow we plan to visit Balboa Park... in between the raindrops!