The Grand America Plaza Trolley Station

    America Plaza Trolley Station is on the West end of Broadway and downtown San Diego. If you have just landed at the San Diego Airport and intend to take a train, bus or trolley, to your ultimate destination, America Plaza or Santa Fe Depot across the street are the stations to do it. The number 992 city bus is the “airport shuttle” that you will want to familiarize yourself with online. In a nutshell, it runs west on Broadway, turns north on Harbor Drive, passes the cruise ship terminal, loops through the airport and then heads back on the same streets in the opposite direction.

Inside America Plaza

    You have two trolley lines, both going two directions on two different tracks at America Plaza so you must pay attention to which train you board. In the photo above and the first photo of the post, the track in the foreground will hold the blue line trolley going north to Old Town and the orange line trolley going to Gaslamp District. The other track will hold blue lines heading south through South Bay San Diego to the Mexican Border and the orange line heading to east county. If you need to get to a green line trolley, take the blue to Old Town for that connection. Just like with the 992, if you look at and print out available maps and timetables for the trolley online ahead of time and familiarize yourself with where the lines go, you’ll do just fine.

Dad Checks The Map As Son Watches The Trolley

    The trolley is going through a $620 million renewal right now, so by 2015, this will be outdated information. The trolley cars in the photo above and in the video below will things of the past. San Diego will have sleek new trolley cars that will enable the green line to extend all the way to 12th & Imperial Transit Center. The whole project will make trolley travel more pleasant much faster and will make more sense than what we have now. I have a post that details the entire San Diego Trolley Renewal Project which includes a map of what the new route lines will look like. Living downtown is looking more appealing everyday and I think this new trolley system will make the America Plaza area especially desirable. Happy travels!

Trolleys & Travelers At America Plaza

Occupy San Diego Is Unoccupied & Dying

    Occupy San Diego seems to be suffering from a lack of occupation during this holiday season. Civic Center Plaza had around a dozen protesters and one homeless man when I walked through the plaza a couple days ago. The lack of enthusiasm and excitement around what is supposed to be representative of most of us has me questioning the life of and predicting the death of Occupy San Diego and the parent Occupy Wall Street protests.

The Mantra Of The Occupiers

    The Occupiers are mad and protesting because they believe the current system of capitalism is broken in a number of ways. In particular, corporations have been given the same rights as human beings. This allows a corporation to reap real-people benefits and deal with any legal ramifications that may arise from doing something illegal… INSTEAD OF THE OWNER OF THE CORPORATION!

    For example, it’s illegal for me to walk up to you and punch you in the face. If I did physically punch you or hired someone to punch you or set a chain of events in motion that lead to you being punched, I’d find my personal, physical being in some hot legal water. But, if I own a corporation that is directed to perform any of those punches to your face, the corporation would take to fall instead of me. The owner of the legal entity that controls a corporation is not legally responsible for what that corporation does, legal or not. Nice isn’t it? There is a lot of potential for corruption and criminal activity with a system like that and that’s something the Occupiers claim; the corruption and crime are real, have been happening in the past and are happening right now, up to and including any of the Occupiers being arrested.

Freedom Plaza Is Free From Occupation

    Corporations can be a good or bad thing, just like a gun. If a cop has a gun and uses it in the line of duty, that’s a good thing. If a thief has a gun and uses it to help him steal from another person, that’s a bad thing.

    I like that the Occupiers are bringing attention to the fact that Wall Street based corporations stole from so many American homeowners that it caused a real estate bubble so large that when it popped it caused a worldwide financial crisis that somehow required those same corporations be given taxpayer money to shore themselves up… Because those corporations are too big to fail. Remember, in the eyes of the government and the law a corporation is a person. Think about that for a while. A crime committed with a gun has a flesh and blood person to punish while a crime committed with a corporation does not.

    That brings me back to my original point which was what do I think of the life of Occupy San Diego and when do I think it will die? I think the life and message are great but I think it will be defeated by General Winter. Come spring, I hope to be proven wrong but as the photos and video above shows, Civic Center Plaza (Freedom Plaza to the Occupiers) was very unoccupied on this late December day. It was beautiful in sunny San Diego but the Occupiers seem to have vanished for the holiday season. I’m thinking that if they don’t come back right after New Years, all momentum will be lost and it will die; we’ll know by early next week. I hope I’m wrong because their message needs to be heard and if it is, real people will have to account for corporations that do bad things and maybe then corporations will keep their money the Hell out of politics. Cheers!

First View Of Christmas Tree & Lobby Of Hotel Del Coronado

    Hotel Del Coronado at Christmas has a very unique feeling on all five senses; it is a quintessential Christmas experience.  I was so impressed with The Del’s Christmas lights last year that it helped add to my pre-Christmas excitement THIS year!  This year, the theme for the tree is “Silver Bells” and it is beautiful.  As soon as you walk into the lobby, you are greeted by décor that would make Queen Victoria proud.

Grand Staircase and Elevator Inside The Del

    The lobby of The Del is massive, large enough to hold a Christmas tree that’s a good 15 feet tall.  I think Christmas invokes thought of the past because Christmas, fun as it may be as an adult, is nothing compared to the pure awesomeness that it is to children.  When you are inside The Del, you can see right away that the architecture is different than any other hotel you’ve ever seen.  It’s one of those amazing things from the past that has survived 123 years & counting.  I think seeing the distant past like this makes us think of our own past and childhood and that’s what makes being at Hotel Del Coronado at Christmas so fun and so special.

Decorations and Annual Hotel Del Coronado Christmas Ornament

    The decorations on the lobby Christmas tree are worth a good look from you.  It has a very dense assortment of ornaments, in keeping with the Victorian way of having a beautifully cluttered eye for interior design.  It is beautifully decorated and there is even an annual Hotel Del Coronado Christmas tree ornament available in the gift shop.

Asleep In The Lobby Of The Del

    Above is the foyer that separates the lobby and the main entry.  If you walk out those double doors and take a left you’ll be on the southern end of Orange Ave., the main thoroughfare of Coronado.  If you take a right after exiting the doors, you’ll be able to wonder through the grounds of The Del, past the Skate by the Sea ice rink and eventually end up on the beach and the vast Pacific Ocean.  When you are all done, head on back and have a quick nap in one of the comfy chairs, just like the gentleman above.  Below is a video that shows the ice rink, the exterior lights of The Del and a glorious Coronado sunset. Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year!

Golden Hour Ice Skating At Hotel Del Coronado

    Hotel Del Coronado at Christmas is just about as Christmas as San Diego gets. If you would like a quintessential Christmas in San Diego, The Del is where to go, especially with the addition of their annual ice rink. Skating By The Sea literally allows you to ice skate right next to The Del, the beach and the sea, with great views of Point Loma and California sunsets. The rink is in place until the New Year, so get down here soon! The photo above shows the glorious Hotel Del Coronado bathed in golden hour sunlight as ice skaters enjoy a sunset session of fun in the sun… And skating!

A Lucky Couple Has The Ice To Themselves

    A little planning and patience can go a long way, so let me prepare you for something; the 3 hour skate sessions cost $25. That price is absolutely the best deal in town and I urge everyone to head down and check it out sooner rather than later because if you play your cards right you can take you wife, husband, lover, mate or friend to the Hotel Del Coronado and ice skate, all by yourselves as the sun sets behind Point Loma, a clear blue ocean and a thick blue sky.

Christmas Lights On The Del

    Once the sun goes down the lights turn on for the visual side of The Del during Christmas. 3 hours is a long time so don’t think you have to spend that entire time skating; you can skate for a while, then hop off the ice for something hot at the rink-side coffee bar that includes chairs that circle wood burning fireplace heaters. You may get on & off the ice as you please during your 3 hour session so pace yourself, explore The Del and notice all the little details of the hotel. The lobby is decked out for Christmas as well, so be sure to walk through there and you can also check out my photos of The Del during Christmas last year.

Zamboni Machine And A Coronado Sunset

    You don’t have to be a registered guest to ice skate or explore the grounds, shop in the stores, eat in the restaurants or walk through the lobby of The Del. I’m telling you, a 3 hour $25 ice skating session will change your view of life and help you realize just how fortunate you are to live in or visit Coronado, CA. Below is a video that shows what a scenic, great time it is to Skate By The Sea. Cheers!

Green Army Man & Miss Pan Am

    Halloween is a fun time, no matter how old you are or whether or not you have a costume. As you get older, the candy we seek is of the liquid variety and the costumes lean towards sexy & clever rather than scary & traditional. That’s just awesome isn’t it?

Puss ‘n Boots

    At a Halloween house party, couples will match up their costumes for twice the fun and twice the laughs. Above we see Puss n’ Boots out by the pool, enjoying the party and the San Diego weather. Not shown in the photo is the great pair of black leather boots, complete with a flared cuff at the top. Little details like that really bring a costume together.

The Wal-Mart Couple with Poke-a-Hottie and our Local Sherrif

    This was no ordinary Halloween house party; there was a costume contest and prizes, not to mention a complete buffet with some scrumptious food along with a bar that was very complete and free flowing. The couple on the left is The Wal-Mart Couple and they were the big winners of the night. On the right are Poke-a-Hottie (Barb) and our local sheriff (Tim), the gracious hosts for the evening.

The Backyard of the Halloween Party

    Tim & Barb’s house is a great house to hold a party; plenty of room, wide open floor plan and speakers placed everywhere, so the music was everywhere. The decorations, the catered buffet and the effort put into the costumes made this a very fun party indeed. As I said my good-byes, Barb said this party is held every other year, so my 2013 Halloween costume is going to rock and it might be water-themed in some way, do I have an excuse to end up in their clear-as-glass pool!

Me As A Monk, Holding A Rifle

    The best shot of the night was taken by Chris Callaway. Above we see a monk with a rifle, his shadowed eyes hide his gaze, but that smirk and chin are unmistakable. I was picked up at San Diego Airport and brought more or less directly to the party, so my borrowed costume was hasty and easy, yet perfect for me. I can’t explain why I’m holding the rifle like a breadstick other than I must have been in character and monks don’t know how to use rifles. Happy Halloween!