coronado

 

What did you do Sunday after church? Eat some real food? Take a nap? Huddle under a blanket to get away from the vicious wind?

I went to Coronado Island. And biked. And walked in the sand. And ate awesome Mexican food.

 

Even living 45 minutes away (that's like Bloomington, people!), it still has a magic of its own. There is nothing less cool about it because it's easily accessible & can be done on a whim. It reminded me so much of Cape Cod: not that the two are comparable at all architecturally, geographically, or culturally, but both have managed to live up to my expectations. They are exactly what I think they should be and more. And I don't think I'll ever get tired of either.

As we crossed the Coronado Bridge, Becca leaned back and sighed, "I can just feel my body relaxing whenever we go over this bridge." I totally agreed. There's something timeless about the ritzy, yet casual charm of the island (which isn't actually an island, but a peninsula, as Sophie informed us--more than once), where a multi-million dollar home will have an old burnt orange Ford parked out in front of it. And it appeals to all types of people: families, the fabulously wealthy, Mexicans most likely on the dodge, conservatives, hipsters, & ladies in over the knee red suede boots and fishnet stockings pushing strollers.

We rented three bikes for the group of us and enjoyed a leisurely pedal around the island, admiring the homes, sharing intellectual conversation, never dreaming of breaking the "no sidewalk" rule...haha. Did you really think with two teen boys, 5 competitive children, & a majority of Dotterers that it wouldn't turn into a race of the fast & furious? There was definitely more than one person that heard Will mandhandling the bike bell, turned around, then dove off the sidewalk with a look of panic to avoid the contraption laden with people bearing down on them. One lady raced towards her toddling child with the exact same expression you'd expect to see if it were a man-eating tiger instead of a (relatively) slow-moving 8-person bike. It was so much fun!
And for the record, I'd just like to clarify, that while I may have been on the bike with eight people, only half of which had pedals, we were first to the finish line.
After pedaling up an appetite, Clint & Becca took us to their favorite restaurant, Miguel's. If you ever go, I must warn you that the white dip they bring out with the chips is loaded with calories, and you probably just better let me eat it all. (Becca said they took Adam & Rachel there, and as soon as they got back home, Rachel started making it by the gallon. Ok, that might be a slight hyperbole, but you get the point--it's some good stuff!) And as I sat there eating my genuine chimichanga drenched in 4-cheese-jalepeno-cream awesomeness, the din of a family excited to be with eachother enveloping me, the pleasant nip of twilight on my nose, twinkly lights strung around narrow cobblestoned streets, I felt so blessed.

 This photo was of the city as we drove by. My shutterspeed was pretty slow so I'd have enough light to actually capture the scene, but that meant any movement of the camera was captured too. It's not a great photo, but I thought the lights look like music notes & like it as an abstract photo! Just thought it was too cool not to share.