Coronado

Having heard great things about Coronado Island (which actually isn't just an island but rather a combination of an island and tombolo!), we headed over on the weekend to check it out.

The easiest and fastest way to get there is to take a ferry, which goes from the main harbor in the Gas Lamp District and takes about 15 minutes.  The ferry costs $4.50 but locals can use it for free at certain times to commute to work during the week.

We had arrived mid-morning, expecting to spend a couple of hours wandering in and out of the shops on the Island’s main drag, Orange Street, before walking over to the other side of the island to have lunch at the famous Hotel Del Coronado.  It turns out, however, that the main shopping street was much smaller than we had anticipated, having only about two boutique shops and a few more practical shops.  As such, we strolled through the residential areas of Coronado to see the different houses and areas before heading to the Hotel.

Coronado is a charming area, with cottage inspired houses and a small neighbourhood feel.  The island is compact and safe and seems very well-suited for families with young children.  The island feels so secure, in fact, that many people just use open-air golf carts to get around town and often just leave their bags on the golf cart seats.  

The Hotel Del Coronado was built in 1888 by John Spreckels as a way to attract people to the area.  When it first opened, the hotel was the largest in the world.  Currently, it is the second largest wooden structure in the US, just smaller than the Tillook Air Museum in Oregon.  It is listed as a National Historic Landmark and appeared in films such as Some Like It Hot.  It was also supposedly the inspiration for the Emerald City in the Wizard of Oz, although other places have also claimed that honour.  

The Hotel dwarfs the surrounding shops and areas and was swarming with people coming to use the public beach and have a seaside lunch.  In fact, the Hotel is one of the stops of the "Hop On, Hop Off" bus and flooded the resort with so many tourists that  we worried whether the actual hotel guests could enjoy any relaxation here.  Perhaps they had a separate "guests only" area in the hotel?

Nonetheless, we joined in the barrage of local tourists and enjoyed lunch outside near the beachfront.  The hotel's lunch was mediocre but was made much more enjoyable by the aggressive and pesky seagulls who would dash in to steal food from the unsuspecting diners.  

Although busy, the Hotel had a majestic feel and we could imagine how remarkable and cutting-edge it must have been when it was first built.  It was not surprising to learn that many Presidents as well as sports and movie celebrities used to be frequent guests. 

After lunch, we walked the remainder of the island back to the boat dock, taking in the attractive and well-maintained houses and the lush green parks. Although we can’t really understand how people could pay $1 million for a small two bedroom teardown house here, we can certainly understand the appeal of this charming and quiet little suburb town.