San Diego, April 18

The last of three flats, this one was 2.2 miles from the end of our ride.

Rudy, Bill our driver and Larry

We left our motel in Del Mar by walking our bikes up the extremely short, steep driveway and putting our bike shoes on at the roadway. A mile or so down the road we encountered a little up hill, a little over two miles. Our map for this section does not have a topo profile on it, so we were not expecting the hill. Just as well as it was pleasant morning at the motel. Had the breakfast that came with the room and watched a little news on the tube. Looking forward to a short day, along the coast through La Jolla and Mission Bay, our morning might have been different if we knew the hill was there. Besides, we got to go down the other side. The ride through La Jolla was nice but the roads are absolutely terrible. An extremely affluent city and lousy roads. We joined the Sunday breakfast crowd for a light breakfast and then headed down the bike path along the beach. Had to move a block east as the crowds on the beach made riding dangerous. Strollers, other bikers, skateboarders, inline skaters, and the normal amount of people that go through life completely unaware of what is around them. We had told Bill we would be at the Star of India historic sailing ship on Harbor Drive around noon. We were rolling along and then, 2.2 miles from the meeting place, a staple found its way into Rudy's back tire. 2.2 miles! So we made it a little after noon. Took some photos and then headed down the street to the Seaport Village shopping area, with plan to have lunch. Parking was impossible as everyone in San Diego was there. So we headed to our motel, showered and went across the street for a late lunch, early dinner at an Italian place . Rudy asked Marie, our waitress, how she was and she answered, "Fine". Rudy asked how she was yesterday, and she answered, "Don't ask"; so, we didn't.

After lunch, we drove back up to La Jolla along the coast, did a little sight seeing and then back to the motel. We walked across the street to check out the El Cortez Hotel, circa 1927, only to find it has been converted into condos with accompanying sign "Private Property, No Trespassing, Not a Hotel."

We walked down the street to the Sheraton. Lobby is on the 12th floor which is also the top floor. We had a beer in the bar on the 12th floor. No windows looking out over the city. Who designs these things?

Anyway, a good day. No rain although it appears a front is moving in tonight. We put in a couple of longer days after Ventura thinking that if it was raining today as originally predicted, it would be a short day. Worked out fine in any case.

Our ride was great, no major problems. A great time, met some nice people, ate some good food. I will post additional photos etc in a few days.