One time, I told Roan this, "If there's one place I'd love to go to for a quick weekend getaway, it's going to be in Coronado Island!" That holds true to this day even if I've been there more than any of my in-laws have, combined. Los Angeles may only be two hours away from San Diego, but it may take longer to get there due to the typical bumper-to-bumper traffic in the area.
Coronado Island, however, is literally just a stone's throw away from San Diego. It is only half an hour drive from where we live, and the weather remains to be the same compared to inland areas.In case you're wondering, Coronado Island is a city on its own. It's not part of San Diego, though it's usually associated with the latter due to its very close proximity. Too close that you can actually paddle-board from the San Diego Bay to Coronado Island! If you see a photo of the San Diego skyline, it's more likely taken from Coronado Island.
Here are some fun facts about Coronado Island:
- One of its famous landmarks is Hotel Del Coronado, which is known to be a haunted hotel. The resort's most famous ghost, Kate Morgan, committed suicide in 1892 at the hotel, supposedly after she was left by her husband or lover. According to Roan, the most haunted hotel room #3372 is usually booked at least three years in advance for thrill-seekers who want a different kind of experience.
- Coronado is Spanish for "the crowned one", and thus it is nicknamed The Crown City.
- Real estate in the city is very expensive.
- L. Frank Baum, author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, used to frequent the city, eventually acquiring a distinctive blue and yellow house, albeit far from the neighboring lavish estates in the city. He designed the crown chandeliers in Hotel Del Coronado's dining room, and due to its association with the Oz, Coronado Island is sometimes referred to as The Emerald City.
One very hot summer weekend, Roan and I decided to go biking on Coronado Island. It's been a while since he did this kind of outdoor activity (I recently did with Auntie Marie when she visited in July), so we thought it'd be a good idea to spend the day there. We rented two adult bikes at Bikes & Beyond for four hours, and just casually rode them along the perimeter of Coronado Island.
We had lunch at Spiro's Gyros where Roan got himself a Lamb Souvlaki and a glass of local draft beer while I had a Beef/Lamb Gyro. It was our first time there, and definitely won't be our last! I'll document more on their menu when we visit again next time.
Food-buzzed from all the yummy Greek food we had, we found ourselves resting on one of the benches overlooking the San Diego skyline. We found a sweet spot under the shade, which I almost fell asleep on. We took more photos from where we're seated before we took off with our bikes for the last time, and eventually returned them at the shop.