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Kevin

Kevin

🆒
Bronze Member
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Nov 5, 2007
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Dallas, TX
Every two years my wife’s company has a big party weekend and invites the family members.

This year it’s in San Diego, but I’m the past it’s been in Disney. But right now we are about 5 minutes away from the big Navy base here. On Coronado Island. It’s pretty nice. About every 5 minutes something different flys by out hotel.





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I’m sorry, I’m not sure what the top plane is called. It’s one of those that the engine shift like a helicopter. It flew by twice, fast and loud!

I bet they have fun flying. Then right at dusk, a fighter jet made a couple passes and then landed just to the right of our hotel.
 
The tilt rotor is an Osprey . I see them flying on Camp Pendleton and up the coast from there weekly, if not daily, when I visit CA.
 
I was stationed there 39 years ago nice place to visit, but not to live.

V-22 and H-60; I landed the first H60 there in January 1983.
 
Our driver from the airport to the hotel said he was Navy for 20 years stationed here. He said he was weapons operation on a large ship. But I didn’t get many more details. Seemed like a nice guy though.

It does seem nicer to visit here than to live. If you could even afford the million dollar plus housing prices.
 
I was stationed in Coronado from 1970 to 1974 at Naval Air Station North Island. It was a really great place until a lot of the Asians started moving in to the San Diego area side. I lived over on C Ave. a couple blocks off of Orange Avenue, the main street. Would drive down to the beach in my Triumph TR4 and check all the girls out that were staying at the Hotel Del Coronado. Memories of youth.
I get married to a girl there and she started working at the hotel and I got a chance to eat in the Prince of Wales room, best place I’ve ever eaten. And they have a haunted room at the hotel also. If you’re staying close to there you should check that out.
 
Kevin, got to see your part of world on my way to San Diego the first time.

Left Maryland dropped off wife and kids at her moms in St. Louis headed west on I44. Snow storm in Oklahoma; State Trooper said I could stop till storm was over or take US 69 and eventually get to Dallas and I20. Made it to Dallas missed exist for I35, so I got the grand tour of Dallas and Fort Worth on my way to Abilene. Always liked Texas :)

Jimbo, is right the Hotel Del was nice drove passed it everyday on my back to Chula Vista from work.
 
We are in fact staying at the hotel Del Coronado. Up on the third floor. We upgraded to a suite with a balcony. And yep. We were told it might be haunted.

The hotel is nice but old. As in extremely old. So yeah, it’s got it’s charms.

Orange Ave is nice. It’s a strange sort of place. My daughter said it feels like a fictional town.
 
I spent two months there in early 2019 at a TBI clinic for a head injury I sustained in the military, and I really liked it there. Beautiful place and a lot to do, with perfect weather 99% of the time.

Gun laws, taxes, and communists make the state a no-go for me as far as residence, but if I won the Powerball I'd definitely consider a beach house on Coronado or in La Jolla. Work used to take me to LA a lot and I'm pretty excited to never have to go back there.
 
The hotel shouldn’t be too bad. We used to lay on the beach and watch the AT10s, F4s C130s and the Helo‘s coming in right over the beach. One time we had the blue angels in the area and they kept coming into the airfield to do touch&goes And that was pretty neat. Kevin the room that was said to be haunted was one I think on the third floor that a lady had been in & killed herself over her lost lover. I’m not sure of all the details now as it was 48 years ago I was there, that happened in the 20’s maybe? I used to work in Kearny Mesa and drove over the Coronado Bridge every day to one of my jobs after I got out of the Navy. Also used to manage the Coronado bottle shop and worked at the Coronado Shores as well. I remember the Brigantine was one of the better restaurants if it’s still there. And the Mexican restaurant on the other end of Orange Ave. could tell a few stories about that.
 
Ahh San Diego! I was born there, in the Balboa Naval Hospital. Dad was a Marine D.I. at MCRD. When I joined the Navy I was stationed there at the old NAS Miramar. Lived there for nearly 30 years. Moved back here to Illinois when mom and dad got old and sick. Good times there.
The Hotel Del Coronado is a wonderful place, especially at Christmas time.
 
Chief said:
Ahh San Diego! I was born there, in the Balboa Naval Hospital. Dad was a Marine D.I. at MCRD. When I joined the Navy I was stationed there at the old NAS Miramar. Lived there for nearly 30 years. Moved back here to Illinois when mom and dad got old and sick. Good times there.
The Hotel Del Coronado is a wonderful place, especially at Christmas time.
Click to expand...
What did dad think of you joining the NAVY since he was a Marine??/ Just curious?
 
San Diego, better than Hawaii and no long flight.

I grew up there, my parents stopped in Hawaii on their way home from Japan, called and had us kids meet them for a weeks stay.

I have always wondered why???🙄
 
Loved San Diego! Had a 6 week detachment on North Island showing flights to the Middies. Navy put us up in LA Jolla. Checked out Point Loma looking back at the base. The Reagen was making its first homeport, and got to see a few celebs pass right buy our work place, including Nancy. Never realized she was so small!
 
Last edited:
Snake Pleskin said:
What did dad think of you joining the NAVY since he was a Marine??/ Just curious?
Click to expand...
Yea he didn’t care. I thought it was going to be a big deal but it wasn’t. Now if I had wanted to join the Army or Air Force that might have got some attention. Now I wanted to join the USAF so I split the difference and went Naval Air instead. Heck I just wanted to work with aircraft, I didn’t really care who for 😆
 
Fox Mike said:
Have you ever flown into San Diego? That airfield is scary just looking as a passenger, I can't imagine what it is from the front seats.
Click to expand...
I have.😵‍💫

What I very much remember. We're at altitude. The pilot says we're on approach for San Diego. A wing dips, and I see a tiny little airport straight below us. We free fall 10,000 feet (or so it seemed), doing a turning side slip short base, with a short final. At the last second, the pilot pours on the power, straightens out, and we do a perfect landing. And I think... Wow.

Really.🤪
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Last edited:
G2 said:
San Diego, better than Hawaii and no long flight.

I grew up there, my parents stopped in Hawaii on their way home from Japan, called and had us kids meet them for a weeks stay.

I have always wondered why???🙄
Click to expand...
I've been to San Diego, once, and that was enough. OTOH, I do go to a small fishing town on the Big Island of Hawaii for a couple of weeks every year, so I can understand why completely.

There's a world of difference.
 
San Diego is another land-locked DC-3 era airport that was hammer-fitted for jets. Like St. Louis, Midway, LaGuardia and several others. They're all scary to land on.
 
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