San Diego Bay

December 12, 2021

In an impressive feat of self-discipline aided by a prod with a sharp stick from my partner, I make it out the door and down to the bayfront in time to watch the first rays of the sun rise above the ridge and shine on the noisy, writhing mass of seals and sea lions on the rocks below. In the water just offshore a pod of seals swirl, leap and dive in the slack gaps between crashing breakers, sometimes going completely airborne like dolphins. And the sky is filled with seemingly thousands of birds as pelicans arrive from the south in trains gliding just above the water.

And on land? It is very quiet, unlike last nights throng of sightseers. A few joggers, a few folks walking their dogs, a few others like myself out with their cameras staring down and out in wonder. A mobile coffee stand opens its shutters. A few sidewalk artists set up easels and lay out their sketches and paintings on the wall to tempt the crowds to come.

The best moments of the day.

Image not found :( — A bird of a different feather.

Today’s ride south is on the longish side - a 53 mile jaunt south to circle San Diego Bay. Its about a twenty five mile ride just to circle the bay, riding south from San Diego to it’s south end and then back north along the long Coronado spit before catching the ferry back to the mainland; and then there’s the 25 mile out and back between there and La Jolla. It’s an excellent ride, much of it on the flat, carfree bike paths of the Bayshore Bikeway. In retrospect we should have gotten an earlier start for this ride, especially since we’re dependent on timing our arrival in Coronado to the departure schedule of the two ferries that ply the short route across the bay.

The 12 mile ride between La Jolla and San Diego is not the fastest either as we’re slowed down through the long seaside promenade along Mission Beach, densely packed today with weekend revelers enjoying the fantastic weather; and slowed down further when I make a poor routing choice and steer us onto Narragansett Avenue, forgetting that this will bring us to a trio of steep ridges crossing Point Loma Heights before we finally drop down to the north end of the bay.

And, of course, there is the main attraction of this ride for me - the chance to see some of the aquatic bird life that winters here in San Diego Bay, a National Wildlife Refuge. All of these things take time, and we’re really fortunate to have only a ten minute wait for the ferry because even with that we don’t make it back to our hotel until 4:30, right before sundown.

But first, the big news for the day: we have video again!