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Cycling La Jolla to CoronadoTouring San Diego’s Jewel and CrownBy Rick Millikan
Meandering our way along this upscale town’s coast, we stopped to snap photos at La Jolla Cove. The children’s beach was roped off. Loungers basking on towels were conspicuously absent. Instead, sausage-like sea lions were serenely simmering in the sun.
Our ride continued through south La Jolla’s arty neighborhoods, before descending along the white sands of Pacific Beach and onto the meandering paths that skirt Mission Bay and its extensive parkland. Once again on roadway, we comfortably managed the ample shoulder and entered the city. Visiting Old Town San Diego the day before, we passed this historic park continuing to the Embarcadero to catch the hourly ferry at Broadway pier.
Our tour continued along a pathway and onto Glorietta Boulevard. We swept around the Municipal Golf Course and merged onto Coronado’s main street, Orange Avenue. Sedate city architecture and floral landscaping reflected its well-to-do citizenry. However, Hotel del Coronado still stands as the undisputed landmark. By auctioning off 300 land parcels, Story and Babcock funded its construction in 1888. Bikes locked, we ambled about the plush resort. Author of Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum wrote there and designed chandeliers still hanging in the historic Crown Room. About the Del he wrote, “Fairy gables, spires and domes. Loveliest of El Dorados. Most magnificent of homes!” Thomas Edison came to “enjoy his lights.” Charles Lindbergh was honored there after his transatlantic flight in 1927. Movies were filmed at the resort since 1901, first attracting silent screen stars and later celebrities from Hollywood’s “golden era”. Possibly the best comedy of all time, “Some Like It Hot” starring Marilyn Monroe was filmed at the Del. Presidents, princes and celebrities have called this jewel on the beach home.
Rambling over scenic paths and bike lanes, we had breathed in fresh salty air and savored coastal panoramas. By touring San Diego’s La Jolla, the Jewel, and Coronado, the Crown, we also achieved an exhilarating romp into California history. Photo Credits: Chris & Rick Millikan Hike Bike Kayak San Diego The Grande Colonial La Jolla |
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As
avid cyclists, my wife and I signed up last winter for a guided San Diego
day-tour. Meeting our group leader at Hike-Bike-Kayak shop on the edge of
La Jolla, Amie quickly assured us that this 16-mile route from La Jolla to
Coronado suited such novice adventurers. Then she eased us down several
winding back roads onto a dirt path bordering cliffs above La Jolla Shores.
Kayakers paddled below, near several large caves. Scuba divers regularly
venture into these crystal waters. Teeming with fish, leopard sharks and
colorful garibaldi are often sighted.
Above
us stood The Grande Colonial, La Jolla’s oldest, most renowned hotel and our
current digs. A restaurant replaced the pharmacy and soda fountain where
locals mingled with early Hollywood celebrities. The popular pharmacist had
been Gregory Peck’s father. Until the late 1950’s, the beautiful rooms
accommodated up and coming stars performing at La Jolla Playhouse founded by
Peck. Recent residents included Jane Seymour, Tony Hawk and Jenna Bush. 
After
a pleasant 15-minute shuttle, we disembarked at Coronado’s Ferry Landing
Marketplace, with its shops, restaurants and stunning views of downtown San
Diego. Following a shoreline bicycle path, we passed under the monumental
San Diego-Coronado Bridge and stopped at Tidelands Park to savor a gourmet
picnic as well as Coronado’s early history. Retired businessmen Storey and
Babcock loved to hunt jackrabbits on this once uninhabited peninsula. These
wily hunters soon recognized the real estate potential. They bought Coronado
for $110,000 and planted thirty thousand orange trees to welcome prospective
buyers. Rabbits got their revenge, chomping down every last tree.
Attracting
swimmers, surfers and strollers, Coronado’s famed wide, golden beaches
stretch for miles. We further explored the peninsula on a trail to Silver
Strand State Park, pedaling back to the ferry through a historic
neighbourhood of Victorian-style homes and California bungalows. We stopped
to contemplate Frank Baum’s home. Neatly painted and landscaped, he
ultimately moved here from the mid-west to bask in Coronado’s climate and
spirited lifestyle.