March 11, 2012

March 11, 2012

From San Clemente, we drove down the California coast to San Diego. Our first stop was a spit of land called Point Loma that houses the Cabrillo National Monument. Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo was a member of Hernando Cortez’s army that conquered the Aztecs. At that time, the American West was a big blank spot on the map. So in 1540 Coronado was sent by land to explore our Southwest, while Cabrillo sailed up the coast. Cabrillo discovered San Diego. He died later in the voyage and may have been buried on the Channel Island we visited last summer. The National Monument commemorates this first exploration of our west coast by Europeans.

After lunch we drove through heavy traffic to Old Town San Diego State Historic Park. Billed as the birthplace of California, Old Town is where the first Europeans settled. The Park is an easy mix of historic buildings, small museums and lots of shops and restaurants. It is very nice and seems to be where the locals go for dinner. After lazily walking the compact area, we stumble upon the adjacent Mormon Battalion Historic Site. We join a tour and quickly realize this is run by the Church. Aimee thinks it is a little hokey but aside from the soft-sell, I enjoy it. The tour is well done and I learn a little known historical tidbit. Near the end of the Mexican War, a group of 500 Mormons were recruited in Iowa to bolster the army in California. This battalion marched overland to San Diego but arrived too late. Their only fighting was against a herd of angry cattle.