The main San Diego county is not very big but full of great things. There are a lot of nice beaches, shops, and restaurants around. But today I will talk about a hidden gem which is one of my absolute favorite places. I said “hidden” because it is a very understated place compared to the magnificence of the surroundings. I am an L.A county local, moved to San Diego for my current job almost a year ago. So my exploration of this sunny vibrant city still continues and I love blogging and Instagramming about my travel experiences.
So today I will talk about Cabrillo National Monument (pronounced Cabriyo) in Point Loma and the nearby beautiful Rosecrans National Cemetery area.
There is a bit of a personal story attached to this place-
I have been to San Diego a few times before with my family members. Almost 3 years ago we came to celebrate our mom’s birthday in San Diego from L.A. So the plan was to casually drive around some nearby nice destinations, eat dinner at a restaurant and go back to L.A. on the same day. From online searching, we found the Cabrillo National Monument among the top destinations. It was getting dark in the evening after a long day and when we went there we found ourselves at a nearby Navy Base with military guards.
Little did I ever know that I would be working at the same place a couple of years later, as a federal government engineer. Now I know that evening is the wrong time to go there since that area closes at around 5 pm. Even though our mobile carrier services and smartphones have improved a lot in the last couple of years, still when you get close to the last point of Point Loma, data gets lost, navigation gets confused and you might end up somewhere else nearby. One of the few reasons is, it is so close to Mexico, in fact when you reach the gate of Cabrillo National Monument your phone service might notify you, “Welcome to Mexico!”.
So if you are coming to this area come with some proper guide map or someone who knows that area, in case your phone GPS is messed up or you lose data. I recommend coming with a group for the first time. But it is a lovely place to bike around once you know the place.
Why do you want to come here where you might have a chance of feeling lost? Well, you get the unprecedented pristine 360-degree view of the San Diego Bay area with the San Diego Down Town, Coronado at one side and the endless pacific ocean on the other side from the high lands. Plus you learn some history. Come on a clear sunny day. Buy some of those magic dye t-shirts from the store which change colors in the sunlight.
Don’t forget to stop by the cemetery area to check out the view on both sides and pay an honor of silence for our fallen servicemen.
If you love photography like I do, this place is your paradise. I went more recently on my birthday with my family members. And they were very happy and excited to see that I work nearby in such a nice place.
Note: I have added the URL of the official San Diego Tourism Blog photo as the featured image.
For more information please visit:
Find Your Park – San Diego’s Cabrillo National Monument
Check out my other blog posts on San Diego:
My World 