It was a beautiful sunny afternoon, and my buddy and I had decided to take the day off for some fun in the sun. Since he never really hangs out in Downtown San Diego during the day (many people know my ‘hood for nightlife fun of bars, clubs, and restaurants), I decided to be his personal tour guide and show him some of my favorite spots!
We decided to rent some bikes from Wheel Fun Rentals on Harbor Drive and Ash Street. I knew they were reasonable, and they’re located right on the Embarcadero across from Anthony’s Fish Grotto.
My favorite thing in the world is being a tourist! I know it’s a bit cheesy, but what’s life all about if you think you know everything about a place?? I was grilling the poor bike guy about what there was to see, and he gave us the idea to make the ride to either Ocean Beach, or the lighthouse at the Cabrillo National Monument. Normally, I would think to just ride along the bay front and maybe take the ferry across, but something new was definitely called for. 
We mounted our beach cruisers and headed NorthWest on Harbor Dr.
The ride along Harbor Drive is gorgeous! There are so many beautiful trees and the pathway along the water/marina makes it easy to head to Point Loma. I was surprised, however, at how many bums hang around the strip. Actually, I shouldn’t be suprised…I mean, look at this city!! If you make this ride, just make sure to hold your breath when you pass a super tan man with dirty clothes.
We rode for about half hour before arriving at Point Loma Sea Foods on Scott and Emerson. This place was sooo cool! They had so much fresh fish, smoked fish, shell-fish. For a second there, I had the weirdest urge to want to learn how to cook, but then it went away…Anyway, we devoured our mosterous tacos, and set out once again to CNM!
Point Loma is so pretty. The homes are so classic and neat, and the town feels like so quaint. I found myself marveling at the homes too much for my own good, that we veered off our route. I whipped out my iPhone to find the best route to get to the Monument, and off we were…up Talbot (Tall Butt)…the nightmare of my life!
Talbot street could have been the death of me that afternoon. The street resembled a street in San Francisco. You know, the kind that you’d almost be better off crawling up rather than attempting to walk up? Yeah…we were on bikes. BEACH CRUISERS for that matter! It wasn’t the best decision of my life, but I wasn’t going to give up. I was wearing jeans and a super cute top, and riding up was brutal! Poor Bryan was sweating, even on his forearms, and I knew that he was hating the position I had put him in – hungover and all! Haha! Woopsy! >:)
Looking over the Pacific
We finally made it to Cabrillo Monument two hours later, parched and wobbly from the ride. But, what a spectacular view! I felt like I was on top of the world! There were daisies in bloom and the cool ocean breeze felt so good against my damp shirt.
Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo
Cabrillo National Monument was named after Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, famous for being the first European to set foot on the West Coast of the United States back in 1542. He charted maps and led an expedition up along the coast. There’s a pretty cool statue of him at the top, you mustn’t miss!
Point Loma Lighthouse also sits at the top of the point. It was built in 1855 to help navigate the sailors into our bay. You can go inside and see what it was like to live as the lighthouse worker in such tiny quarters. It’s set up 
like it used to be in the 1800′s. Big Man Bryan kept bumping his head on the ceiling every time we climbed up the stairs. haha! I don’t know who would have EVER wanted the job of a lighthouse worker. It seemed so lonely looking across the big bay at the San Diego skyline.
You can even go inside the lighthouse assistant’s house where you can learn a bit more about the history of the lighthouse and its tenants. I loved every bit of it!
After getting our culture and history fix, we were ready to head back. We cruised happily down the point passing the navy cemetary and navy base, and then back to The Embarcadero. As we were locking the bikes up, I couldn’t help but wonder what life must have been like in San Diego in the 1800′s. Rough, dirty, dusty, fishy, sweaty. Much like how I felt at the time. Get this girl a shower!
