Think of San Diego and immediately beaches, sun, fun and the Coronado Hotel comes to mind. But the history of San Diego makes it a destination of rich, super interesting facts that have created the magnificent city it is today.
The first California Missions
The Diegueno Indians lived in what is now the San Diego area before the white man first arrived. San Diego was discovered almost by accident on Sept. 27, 1542 when Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, a Portuguese explorer in the service of Spain, sailed his ships into what he felt was a closed and friendly harbor, and named it San Miguel.
On Nov. 12, 1602 Sebastian Vizcaino came upon this friendly harbor. The crew went ashore and constructed a rudely built hut, and a Mass was said in the celebration of the feast of San Diego. The hut was the first house of Christian worship in California. The second, which followed more than a century and a half later, was a chapel of brushwood dedicated as Mission San Diego Del Alcala by Junipero Serra on July 16, 1769, the first of the Franciscan missions.
Serra was sent by King Carlos III of Spain to control and to protect the area from Russia and England. Spanish soldiers also built California’s first presidio (military fort) on this site.
Serra’s first mission no longer stands on its original hill – it was moved in 1774 from the site above Old Town to its present home in Mission Valley. Presidio Hill holds instead the Sierra Museum, an example of mission-style architecture with walls 3 feet thick and a tower more than 80 feet tall.
A state park is created
At the foot of Presidio Hill is Old Town, where early settlers established the first European settlement in the state. The site was chosen due to a lack of space on the hill. In 1967, the California State Assembly provided $2.5 million to purchase six blocks in the heart of Old Town and created a state park where several historic buildings have been restored.
Walking tours
Anyone with an interest in historic and architectural detail will enjoy one of the daily walking tours available. There are many fascinating structures and sites, such as Whaley House (an American brick mansion that is said to be haunted), numerous adobes, El Campo Santos (where bandits joined founding fathers under adjoining headstones) and Derby Pendleton House (originally built in New England, it was dismantled and shipped around the Horn the southern tip of South America to its present site and reassembled with wooden pegs).
Shopping and culture
In the downtown area Horton Plaza, is an 11.5-acre shopping and cultural complex with the flavor of a festival marketplace.
Balboa Park is in the middle of San Diego, located on a 1,400-acre area, set aside in 1868 as a nature preserve. Beautiful flora and fauna and wonderful museums are available in this one grand spot. It is considered a cultural complex and is second only to the Smithsonian in size.
A superb zoo
The San Diego Zoo is one of the most superb zoos in the world. The Polar Bear Plunge is one of the largest polar bear exhibits in the world and includes the first Arctic tundra environment at the San Diego Zoo. Underwater viewing of the bears in their 130,000 gallon pool and a simulated Arctic cave is made possible by having the exhibit on two levels.
A sanctuary with a difference
The San Diego Wild Life Park is a 2,150-acre sanctuary for animals from Africa and Asia and provides as close to an indigenous environment for each species as possible.
Swim with sharks
How about swimming with sharks? The San Diego Shark Diving Expeditions offers one- and three-day trips, with dives into kelp forests. Swimmers are protected by submerged safety cages for an up close view if these magnificent creatures. Call (619) 299-8560 for information.
Balloon adventure
With its temperatures and breeze, San Diego is ideal for a hot air balloon adventure. For information, call A Skysurfer Balloon Company (800) 660-6809 or California Dreamin’ (800) 373-3359.
The ride of your life
Call “Gravity Activated Sports” at (800) 985-4427 for the downhill bike ride of your life. It’s called the Polomar Plunge. Riders are driven to the top of Polomar Mountain, site of the famous Hale Telescope. After a tour of the observatory, riders begin the 18-mile, 5,000-foot decent. Mountain bikes, helmets, goggles and gloves are provided. An oration about the history of the area is offered during breaks. You get a lot for your buck with this attraction.
• For travel information on San Diego call the San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau at (619) 236-1212 or see your travel consultant.
