A local Gem!

About this blog

The city of San Diego was built to appeal to the nature buff. Where else can you walk outside your door and either pick your own strawberries, wine taste, swim, surf, sail or hike the many trails in the different terrains California offers. All this within a 20 mile radius from practically anywhere. For city slickers, maybe not the hottest place to visit, but if you crave nature and love the outdoors, then San Diego is your town!

One of the things Gary and I love to do together is hike. We walk miles throughout the city, on the beach and park trails. We sometimes, drag out poor little dogs along in a effort to de-hyperize them.

When not working or traveling, we set our sights on concquering as many local trails as possible. One such trail recently discovered was that in Presidio Park in the Mission Hills area of San Diego. We had never been to this side of town prior, even though it was only about a 6 minute drive from our home. The Park is not all that hard to find, but not all that easy either. It is flanked on one side by a million neighborhood on the other by a vista overlooking the freeway and Bay, so unless one is actually looking for this place, you will likely travel by regularly and never know it is there.

When we finally made it to the park, we were immediately struck by this fact. My initial thought when pulling into the main entrance of the park was "ok, yet another city run park, no biggie," but while ascending up the hill alongside beautifully landscaped old world Hollywood-styled homes, you realize this was not going to be the same run of the mill park experience. I mean if millionaires set out to build a home around this park then it must be a pretty spectacular place, which we quickly figured out. To Gary's credit, I will say that he never wavered. He sees the beauty in everything through the lense of his camera, I on the otherhand, require big blinking signs!

Anyway, after rounding a few corners on a windy road you find the main road into the park that leads directly to the Junipero Serra Museum - the main attraction of the park, which is identified as the site where California was first established in 1769. The museum, which is actually a old spanish mission, was errected in 1769 by a Spanish Franciscan Missionary named Father Junipero Serra, who founded the mission together with spanish soldiers who also fortified the area - hence the name of the park Presidio (wich is another word for Fort) . There was evidence of the Fort all over the park where remnants of old cannon mounts still stand, overlooking the harbor.

The museum itself was built in 1928 to look like the original mission that was established there. It is said to house many historical artifacts from that time, many critial to the history of the establishment of California. Unfortunately, we were not able to enter the museum for a self-guided tour as there was a wedding reception in progress in the museum and on its grounds, so we could not enter, but we could get close enough to watch the reception and admire the beautiful young bride. I was actually surprised at how open it was to the public, there was a man sun bathing only 100 feet away from where the bride stood. This appeared to be a easy wedding crashing scenario, if not for Gary's basketball shorts and my ashy knees...oh well, next time!

We were able to walk the grounds of the park itself, which featured several 20 food high Bronze statues dedicated to th many pioneers who had a hand in California's sucess! There was a 30 foot cross made of brick and morter which stood quite impressively in the location called inspiration point, but my favorite statute was that of a native american man simply entitled "The Indian." That was the strongest statement of all. Not the beautiful vistas and picturesque arbors set for weddings and strategically placed picnic tables and benches purched perfectly for watching gorgeous west coast sunsets, but it was the harsh reality of what was gained by us, but lost by the indigenous tribes. Yes, we made out like bandits - the million dollar homes surrounding the park was evidence of that, but one must think of those who lost the battle to maintain their way of life. I was humbeled by this thought, yet grateful for the reminder of all of those who lost so much at the behest of American greed. Sadly this tradition lives on in our society, but i digress - it was a beautiful day, in a beautiful setting, fit for a beautiful wedding. The begining of a new chapter in the life of a happy couple. The irony was palpable. Presidio Park seemed a fitting place for couples to form a union and establish their lives together while begining their own historic journey in the place where it all began.