Mission Beach

Even though I am only a few blocks away from the water, there really aren't any beaches on San Diego Bay - just tons and tons of boat harbors. There is a cruise ship terminal (I always know when the cruise ship is in port, because of all the tourists wearing zip-off pants). There are fishing boats (on weekends you can buy fresh fish from them or hire one and do your own deep sea fishing). There are whale watching boats and dinner cruise boats. And then there are the yachts - lots of yachts. These are actually the "baby" yachts - probably only a couple thousand square feet. The "big" yachts are docked closer to the cruise ships.

Even the big-name hotels have gangways down to their own docks for guests who drive their yachts rather than their cars. I wonder how much more it costs to park your boat than your car, because it costs a ton to park a car overnight.

But I figured I couldn't go on a snowbird adventure to California and not go to a beach at least once, so I used my trusty little bus pass and went up to Mission Beach. When I got off the bus, I saw this sign on one corner, 

a roller coaster on another, 

a park on the 3rd,

and a strip mall on the 4th. Quite a diverse area and no beach. 

But I quickly discovered that you have to walk over a block to the boardwalk that runs along the beach. Most of the people were wearing heavy coats like me, but there were a few hardy souls who actually went into the water (mostly teenage girls taking selfies). 

I walked along the boardwalk for a bit, but quickly gave up after almost being run over by a scooter. While cars and buses can't drive on the boardwalk, just about any other wheeled-conveyance is allowed, motorized included. And since I left my bikini at home, I got back on the bus and headed to El Pollo Loco for a loco-burrito.