There is something truly magical about the sandy beaches of Coronado Island in San Diego. Maybe its the mineral mica in the sand which makes its sparkle or perhaps the golden Southern California sunsets. Either way, Coronado's beaches are among the best in the country. When we were in SoCal last August, we knew we had to make the trip over the 200 foot tall Coronado Bridge to explore the island.
We started off our adventure just down the street from the famed historic Hotel Del Coronado at Coronado's Central Beach, to take some photos and play in the sand. We got to the beach at literally the perfect time. It was late afternoon and not too many people were out on the sand. It made for a peaceful walk among the rolling California waves.
Here's Mel posing for a photo with Central Beach in the background. You can see that the tide was low, which made for some cool reflections in the small tidal pools leftover as the waves went out.
The beautiful Coronado Central Beach runs alongside Ocean Boulevard. We chose to adventure around the southern portion of the beach, where we were able to find ample free parking. There are also a good amount of lifeguard stands scattered around Central Beach and the waves are relatively calm and good for surfing on this side of the island.
Jake had a lot fun playing in the sand. What I mean by playing in the sand, is that he literally rolled around in it and then decided he should throw sand all over himself, I think he even ate some off his shirt at one point.
Probably one of our favorite photos of Mel and Jake that we took on our two-week adventure around California. Jake just looks so darn happy getting to climb on his mommy's back while they watch the sun go down over the beautiful California waves.
Jake giving mommy a big hug and mommy laughing really hard as Jake embraces her. There is no greater love than that of your children, especially when they are having fun with the whole family.
This was Jake pre-hug with mommy as he ran through the golden sand to her. You can see Mel's dad walking the beach in the background as a sailboat makes its way along the California coast.
Off in the distance at Central Beach you can easily make out the foothills surrounding the Cabrillo National Monument. As you can see from this photo above, the sunsets are incredible from this beach.
The aforementioned sailboat heading out to sea. Looks like a nice way to enjoy the sunset.
Mel, Jake and Grandpa Matt play in the sand while I snap some photos of them and the beach.
A view of the beach looking south toward the famous Silver Strand Beach. As you can see, the beach was not particularly crowded on this afternoon.
A wide view looking south toward Silver Strand Beach with some tidal pools in the foreground.
We took this photo looking towards the Hotel Del Coronado from the jetty jutting out into the ocean at this spot. By this time, the lighting was perfect for a photo like this.
Mel and I standing out on the jetty I mentioned above. Its the perfect place to snap a selfie while the sun sets over the California coast.
As the sun finally set, we gathered up all of our stuff and headed back to our car on Ocean Boulevard. We only spent a couple of hours exploring Central Beach but we will definitely be coming back the next time we are in San Diego.
This photo is my (Phil's) favorite photo from our Fun Family Adventure at Coronado Beach. I love the wisp of Mel's hair in the bottom left corner with the Hotel Del Coronado in the background and a wide view of beachgoers enjoying the sunset.
For more info on visiting Coronado visit www.SanDiego.com.
