Biking the Silver Strand in Coronado

We have really been into biking this summer.  And even though Neto's parents have an extra car for us to drive all summer, I would rather us bike everywhere.  

Mi Papa here is big into biking and was telling us about a great trail in Coronado.  Coronado is sometimes

 referred to as an island, but as you can see in the map to the right, it's not. (Coronado is in the upper left corner and downtown is across the bay to the left) There is a long thin strip of land that connects it to the mainland, and this is called the Silver Strand.  It is actually a State Park and has nice beaches and quite a few parks along the trail, which is great because there are several restroom stops.  We loaded the four bikes in the van at 11am and headed to the Silver Strand trailhead at Imperial Beach.  

**To reach the trailhead, take Interstate 5, take the Palm Ave exit and go east to 13th st. and turn right (AutoZone on the corner) and there is free parking. 

The Silver Strand State Park covers acres of land, and as far as trails go, it doesn't get much better than this.  There are succulents (my favorite) and palm trees lining the trail and stunning views of the Pacific, San Diego Bay, the Coronado Bridge and the downtown skyline.

The trail runs about 9 miles from Imperial beach and it is frequented by bicycles, in-line skaters, walkers and  runners.  Along the trail you pass through San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge which contains the majority of the remaining wetlands and so as you'd imagine, there were a lot of birds. 

It was a leisurely ride, there was nowhere to be at a certain time and we took advantage of it.   We stopped several times just to look across the bay. Below is the Coronado Bridge. 

At one point I asked mis padres "Do you know how lucky you are to live in this city?"  Their answer was 

"Yes, everyday we feel lucky!"

By the time we reached Orange Street in the center of Coronado, we were hungry and thirsty.  The area is filled with cute restaurants with outdoor seating, great shopping (just window shopping for me) and houses to die for.   It didn't take Neto long to spot the place he wanted to sit.  The Coronado Brewing Co had an extensive beer list we felt so accomplished sitting outside with our pints of beer.  

Ernesto and I rode our bikes a lot faster on the way back, and since we were ahead we went a bit further than where the car was parked...and we ran into this:
salt flats in San Diego?  This city never ceases to amaze me...ha!