Minnesota and Arizona 2023:
Day 14 - San Diego

	Tuesday, June 20, 2023: At 6:30 AM, we were both awake and ready to get back on the road. Look at those clear blue skies to the west. What a great day to drive to California!
	Any day that starts with Del Taco breakfast is a good one. We were very glad that Del Taco serves all of their menu items at all times, because we both preferred the lunch items to the ones on the breakfast menu.
	How appropriate is it that the City of Yuma sign is on water tanks?
	We could just see the top of this bridge, which had "Ocean to Ocean Highway" spelled out on it. It crosses the Colorado River, and when it opened in 1915, it was part of the transcontinental highway that ran across the southern United States.
	This beautiful building is part of the Fort Yuma Quechan Reservation which runs right along the Arizona-California border.
	Welcome to California!
	This part of I-8 was part of the Juan Buatista de Anza National Historic Trail Auto Tour Route. The trail runs from Nogales, Arizona, which is south of Tucson on the border with Mexico to San Francisco, California.
	The terrain changed to huge sand dunes as we reached the Imperial Dunes Recreation Area.
	The Colorado River was a deep blue line cutting through the sandy landscape.
	We stopped briefly at a rest area that was right at the foot of the dunes, ...
	... and when we continued, we drove right along the Colorado River, which was now looking more like a canal than a river.
	There was a huge fire burning somewhere in Mexico. That dark brown line in the lower middle of the photo is the border wall.
	We saw many border patrol vehicles as we drove along the border.
	We were just reaching the edges of the mountains outside of Ocotillo, California, ...
	... when Debbie got a call from our realtor saying that we had another offer! As we looked for an exit to be able to pull off and review the offfer, ...
	... we were amused by the border wall visible just to the south of the highway.
	Lizard! We found an exit with a large truck parking area just off the exit, and we went through their offer. This was from the same person who made the inital low offer that we rejected yesterday. This time, they were offering full price. We countered with shorter inspection time, but everything else about the offer was acceptable.
	With smiles on our faces, we got back on the highway and drove through the winding hills.
	There were more windmills on the ridge lines, ...
	... and we could see the Pacific Crest Trail when we crossed over it as it nears its southern end.
	As we came down out of the hills, we passed the campus of San Diego State University, ...
	... before arriving at the LEGO Store at Fashion Valley Mall.
	After looking through the pieces on the Pick & Build wall, ...
	... Debbie found enough to justify a small cup. We had them ring it up as a refill, and then we poured the cup contents into our Chico bag and gave them back their cup. It's a really good system since we don't need any more cups. As we got back to the parking garage, Debbie got another email from our relator. The buyer had accepted our counter offer. The condo was sold! Oh, that was such a relief. Now we could enjoy the rest of the day, indeed the rest of the trip, without worrying about it.
	As we passed Presidio Park, we could see Junipero Serra Museum on a hill overlooking the highway.
	Okay. Now that's the correct shape for a Wienerschnitzel building. The one in Mesa is just wrong.
	Is it too early for Winchell's? Too late? Nah, it's juuuusst right.
	They have crullers! They have crullers!
	Tom got his usual three ugly donuts, and Debbie got two French cruellers and one chocolate frosted cake with peanuts.
	With the fresh donut endorphines coursing through our system, we headed south through La Playa and Point Loma, following the Scenic Drive signs, ...
	... to Cabrillo National Monument. Check out that Spanish galleon on the sign.
	We headed directly to the Visitor Center, ...
	... and said hello to their Mather plaque. It's just to the right of the walkway to the visitor center.
	For being part of the 1959 series, it still looked really good. Although, maybe almost 30 years of being in storage helped. It's only been in this location since 1995.
	We headed down to the statue of Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo for whom this national monument is named. He was the leader of a expedition that landed in San Diego Bay in 1542, the first recorded occurrence of Europeans setting foot on the west coast of what would later become the United States.
	It's a good-looking statue.
	We watched as the USS Hopper made her way through the channel, ...
	... and out into the open waters of the Pacific Ocean.
	Looking north along the point, we could see some of the graves of Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. We'd be heading there soon, but first, ...
	... let's drive down to the Cabrillo tidepools area.
	As we started down the coastal road, ...
	... we saw this sign for a fox crossing. We wondered how many foxes were in the area for it to need a sign. Many? Or just one that they are really trying to protect?
	There were Coast Guard buildings at the end of the road. They maintain the New Point Loma Lighthouse at the end of the penninsula.
	Oooh. Look through there. Wait, let's zoom in so you can really see.
	Sea lions! There were two California sea lions sunning themselves as we drove by.
	Check out all of these pelicans on this rock. That's a lot of pelicans.
	This is a wider shot showing their rocky outcropping. You can tell where they were landing by the white streaks on the rocks.
	Every now and then, a new batch of pelicans would fly overhead, on their way to a landing at their rocky base.
	We parked the car at the lower tidepool parking and walked to the edge of the cliffs. There was a walkway that led down the rocks overlooking the water, ...
	... and then a little bit of easy climbing brought you all the way down to the water's edge.
	There were lots of cool shells in the water.
	Everywhere you looked there was something interesting to see.
	We were starting our climb back up to the stairs, when Debbie noticed these crabs coming out of the hole they were using to stay safe from the incoming tide.
	Let's take a look.
	The more you looked, the more crabs you could see.
	Check out this multicolored beauty. She'd like to arm wrestle with you.
	It's always good to be near the ocean. The wonderful salty smells and the sound of the ocean crashing against the rocks is something we really enjoy when we can.
	Check these plants out! The look like pink alien tentacles, don't they? They are Dudleya pulverulenta, and they are a type of succulent. These are just the flower stalks. The base of the plant looks very cactus-y.
	We left Cabrillo National Monument and headed back north, ...
	... to Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.
	Debbie's Aunt Bonnie's first husband, Eldon, is buried here. We parked near his section and then walked down the hill to his grave.
	It's in a beautiful spot that overlooks the Pacific Ocean.
	Fun fact, this was also one of the filming locations used for the movie "Top Gun: Maverick."
	As we drove away, we got a view from the portion of the cemetery across the road looking toward San Diego.
	There were jacaranda trees everywhere. Their purple blooms really stood out.
	The Loma Theater is now Bookstar, a Barnes and Noble bookstore.
	We took a few minutes to drive by Clairemont Christian School which was where Debbie attended kindergarten when she lived in San Diego. We spent a few minutes wondering how she got to school when she lived here. She didn't remember riding a school bus, and her parents only had one car. Hmmm. This is one of life's great mysteries that may never be solved.
	Our next stop was the LEGO Store at University Town Center.
	With the malls being outdoor in this part of California, you have a unique opportunity for water features and play areas ...
	... that you just don't see in the Midwest.
	We found the LEGO Store after seeing the distinctive red block protruding from the front of the store.
	While Debbie looked at the Pick & Build wall, ...
	... Tom found the Technic D11 Bulldozer that he's been wanting for a while. Before we left on the trip, we saw that it is on backorder on the website, so we snagged this one when we saw it.
	There was just enough room in the back of the van for it.
	As part of the LEGO VIP program, Debbie got a free gift with purchase:  LEGO model 40590, part of the Houses of the World set.
	As we were leaving the mall, we starting getting hungry. We headed to L&L Hawaiian Barbeque in Regents Park Row.
	It was such a gorgeous day, we decided to eat outside. We got one mixed barbeque plate, two spam musubi, and two cans of Hawaiian Sun, of course. Debbie got her favorite, Pass-o-Guava Nectar, and Tom got his favorite, Strawberry Lilikoi. Mmmm, so ono.
	We drove past the Sorrento Valley area where Tom used to spend a lot of time during his working days. One of his clients was just up the street on Mira Mesa Boulevard.
	Just before 3 PM, we arrived at the Motel 6 in Carlsbad, California, our destination for today. We brought in our stuff, cranked up the air conditioning, and relaxed for the remainder of the evening.  Day 15 >