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We arrived at Pio Pico Thousand Trails campground which is outside the town on Jamul, CA. The trip from Arizona was uneventful, but we saw some interesting scenery on the way. Lots of Saguaro cactus and some HUGE sand dunes right along the interstate. There wasn't much activity when we went by, but it is an area where you can drive 4 wheelers and dune buggies.

Pio Pico is a large campground on two sides of the road. One side has sewer hook-ups, the other doesn't, so we all do the "sewer shuffle". If you arrive and no sewer sites are available, your name goes on a list and each morning, campers gather to see how many sites became available. We did that for 2 days and then decided to stay where we parked. It is a very pretty site and we will have the "honeywagon" come by when we need it.

Our first trip out of the campground was to the Pacific Coast. We drove by San Diego Bay where there is a large naval base. Saw lots of ships in port. We then drove across the bridge to Coronado Island, home of the famous Coronado Hotel. Looks like a pretty high-priced neighborhood! We drove the "Silver Strand" and stopped to watch some surfers. Waves were running 4 -6 feet. Everyone had on wet suits as the water was only 55-60 degrees. Too cold to even wade in for us!

Our next stop was the Tijuana Estuary. This is a wildlife refuge located where the Tijuana river dumps into the Pacific Ocean. We took a long walk and did some birdwatching. At the end, you can look over and see the bull ring in Tijuana , Mexico. We took a guided bird walk with one of the rangers. The big attraction is a bird called a Lightfooted Clapper Rail. There are only about 200 left in the world and they are all in southern California. We were told they are a shy bird, but hopefully would see one. As we were busy identifying some Long-billed Curlews and Willets, Glenn asked "Hey, what's that bird?" Sure enough, he was the first to spot the Clapper Rail!

On Monday, we drove to Torrey Pines State Reserve and Beach. What a great park! We found out about it in a book given to us by Anne and Greg Jordan. Thanks, guys! We hiked a long and winding trail, stopping often to gaze at the ocean (and catch our breath!). While at one overlook, we manage to catch a glimpse of a migrating whale! So exciting!! We eventually made it down to the beach and had a picnic lunch. We watched the waves and a seagull watched us to see if we dropped any food. We could have sat and watched the ocean forever, but, Oh God!, we have to climb all the way back up to the car!

Today we made our first trip to the San Diego Zoo. We grew up hearing about how great this zoo was and they were right! It's absolutely amazing! There was a panda exhibit, including a baby panda. That was a new sight for us. The landscaping throughout the zoo was unbelievable! Of course, with the weather in this area, plants can grow year 'round, so they are very lush. We saw so much, walked our feet off, but didn't see everything. Our ticket allow us to use it for 5 days, so we plan to go back. It also includes the Wild Animal Park. I think it is like the Wilds in Zanesville. We will do that park in a day or two.

Glenn is trying hard to get new pictures uploaded, but the connection at the lodge is rather slow, so it taking longer than he has patience for! We certainly have been spoiled up 'til now with our internet connections. Hopefully, we will have a better cell and computer connection at our next stop.

That pretty much catches up on things to this point. Oh, by the way, I did spot the missing Towhee from my list, the California Towhee, and I saw it right at our campsite!!