San Diego

The fireworks were amazing! Everyone put lawn chairs on the beach to watch the fireworks being launched from a boat just offshore. We don't carry chairs on the bike but found an empty bench at the entrance to the sand. The show for Dana Point started at 9:00, but other coastal city displays started earlier. We could see fireworks to our south and behind us. It really was spectacular.

Hiker-Biker site at Doheny State Beach

Surprisingly the campground quieted down quickly. We were concerned about theft since there were multiple signs about not leaving bikes out. The girl working the booth when we checked in took a look at our bike and told me it shouldn't be a problem as thieves were only targeting "high-end bikes". I didn't bother to tell her that our bike cost as much as many of those high-end bikes. To thwart off a disaster we locked the bike to some bushes at the hiker-biker site, hung our bear bells on the spokes, & strapped the front wheel to the frame. Then we set the tent up in front of the bike and tied the rainfly to the bike. We figured by the time a thief got the bike from behind the tent we would hear it. Around 12:30 I woke to footsteps near my head. I nudged Rob when I saw the shadow of a person on the tent wall. We quickly unzipped the tent to find a "cyclist" with some story about not finding his buddies who had his tent & sleeping bag. He left soon after.

The Amtrak trains started around 6:00 am about 30 feet from our tent (at least it seemed that close). We were up early but still didn't get on the road until 9:00ish.  Most of the day's ride was a repeat from previous rides. Once again we pedaled past San Onofre nuclear generating station. Then through the 3-mile parking lot of a campground to the northern entrance to Camp Pendleton. Lots of new construction on the base. A new dining facility & troop housing. It didn't seem as long or hard of a ride as I remembered. I do believe we have become stronger riders.

Pier in Oceanside

We stopped at The Breakfast Club Diner in Oceanside for lunch and to discuss plans. The last public campground was only a 35 mile ride for the day - not quite far enough for our goals. There were a couple of private campgrounds in San Diego, but the closer one was full & the other was too far to ride to. We were across the street from the Oceanside library so I went in to use the computers to find another hotel. Once again we are camped out at Camp Hilton.

We save space in the panniers for food,
but the baguette didn't fit!

The day's challenge was the La Jolla hill at Torrey Pines. We stopped at a small market in Del Mar to load up on no-cook dinner & breakfast foods. We managed the hill with just one stop to catch my breath. At the top of the hill was the hotel - my motivation to keep going  The hotel personnel are always surprised when we say we're checking in. The day's total: 54 miles.

Torrey Pines - Beach trail

So now the bike is in the room (it fits nicely in an elevator), and we are sitting by the pool sipping drinks and reading. We hiked around Torrey Pines State Reserve for a couple of hours this morning. We watched the junior golfers practicing for the world championship at the Torrey Pines golf course as we had lunch. Life is good! Tomorrow we will finish our ride to the border. Kendal will pick us up at the border and come back to the hotel for our last night. We head home on Sunday with a stop at Stone Brewery for lunch & beer.