Coronado Beach will always have a special place in my heart. It was my second night in San Diego. I flew in the day before from Toronto, Ontario, to meet face to face with a man I had communicated with over the Internet for the past two months. From the first moment we talked on the phone after “meeting” online, we had an undeniable attraction. Arriving at the LA airport that late evening in June was one of the most exciting moments in my life. Without ever having met him in person before, I was already hopelessly in love. I know…sounds crazy, doesn’t it. Well, he is my husband now so I guess something in my intuition must have been right…right?
I will never forget that Friday. After what seemed like a never-ending anticipation, we met at the LA airport and by the time we got to San Diego, it was midnight. He took me to Coronado beach the next evening. Early June and summer had not started yet. I remember being a bit chilly as we walked around, hand in hand. Not that it mattered anyway. We put on red T-shirts to match; this was to be our first time photographed together. We exchanged so many pictures and saw each other every day on a web cam, but never together with the same scenery behind us. When I look at the pictures from that evening, I feel a bit of nostalgia. We have evolved so much since then and left the simplicity behind us. That night was our first official date. We were walking around, taking pictures with our tripod (great idea if you don’t want to ask passersby for help), and everything about us was so fragile… Fragile as it can be only on a first date.
Considered one of America’s finest beaches, Coronado beach is essentially one big beach stretching to the Mexican border, divided into three individual spots: North Beach, Central Beach and The Shore. Besides the view of the San Diego skyline, the beach offers pure, all day fun for couples and larger families. Safe, supervised swimming and surfing with close proximity to bars, restaurants, stores and hotels. If you enjoy beachcombing, you are sure to find many shell fragments and a few whole ones. There is a bike path (great way to exercise in summer!) and a walking path along the beach.
There’s a lot of parking along Ocean Boulevard but it fills up on busy days. The beach is wide and the sand gets painfully hot in the midday sun. Bring footwear to get to and from the cooler sand near the water’s edge. No alcohol, no glass. Dogs allowed only at North Beach.
Directions
From FWY 5 just south of downtown San Diego, take the Coronado Bridge over the bay to Coronado Island (now toll-free). The bridge lets out onto to 3rd Street. Turn left on Orange Avenue and follow it down toward the Hotel Del Coronado. Heading right off Orange onto virtually any street will get you to the beach.
I hope the romantic in me inspired you to take a stroll on Coronado beach with your loved one(s)…