We arrived in San Diego on Sunday night. Matt didn't get off work until 4:00 pm on Monday, so we decided to get a map and be tourists for the day! Our first stop, Point Loma and Cabrillo National Monument!
You can see from the map, that is it the point of land that juts out as a penninsula, sheltering San Diego Bay from the full brunt of the ocean.
Point Loma was of obvious military importance to the bay during WWII. There was a watch set and military fortifications ready to defend the harbor should the Japanese attack. December 7th, 1941 was an extremely tense day for the men stationed here.
On top of the point there is an old lighthouse. It dates back to 1855. Horse and buggy days! Can you imagine being the light keeper, Captain Israel, and his family? He and his wife lived out here alone for more than 20 years! Their daughter grew up wandering the shore, making friends with seagulls, since there were no other children for more than 10 miles. Captain Israel's wife made the mirror frame above the living room fireplace by collecting shells along the shore. The house is unbelieveably cramped! It makes my little cottage seem like a mansion in comparison! The bedrooms are tucked into the gables of the roofline and the stairs are a dramatic, but very narrow spiral! Please note the toilet chair that was in the master bedroom!
Along the spit of land that leads to Cabrillo National Monument, there is a cemetery. It is the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. Here is a blurb about it...
About 91,467 people are presently interred at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in Point Loma. The rows of white headstones make their way down the 77.5 acres of gentle grassy slopes on both the ocean and San Diego Bay sides, with stunning views.
Open to the public, the cemetery is located along both sides of Catalina Blvd, south of Point Loma's residential neighborhoods and north of Cabrillo National Monument Park.
Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery includes those Veterans of WW I, WW II, Korea, VietNam and the Gulf wars. Also here are those who fell in the battle of San Pasqual in 1846, as well as victims of the USS Bennington explosion in 1905.
It was a very beautiful place! There was a funeral going on as we drove past.
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