Chasing the Sun

How did this happen?! While we did have the opportunity to travel a bit this year, 2018 was definitely a bust for visiting new national park units. *sigh* But at least I was able to collect some new cancellations for my "Passport to Your National Parks" and actually almost have enough to earn an award from the National Park Travelers Club for this year. 

Tomorrow we're taking a campus tour of UC San Diego. But since we're so close, why not re-visit Cabrillo National Monument (and get a stamp)?

Arancini from Roma Express

On our way to Cabrillo, we decided to stop at Liberty Public Market for a late lunch. It is located within Liberty Station, the site of the former Naval Training Station San Diego which has been redeveloped into a mix of retail, commercial, and residential districts. Many of the Spanish Colonial Revival buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places. And if you've ever seen the movie "Top Gun," some of them may look familiar.

With space for more than 30 food vendors, Liberty Public Market was a fun place to check out. It reminded me of other food halls we've been to recently, like Pine Street Market (Portland) and SoFA Market (San Jose). I only wish we would have had more time (and bigger stomachs) to sample more eats!

Cabrillo NM sits at the tip of the Point Loma peninsula, on the western side of the city of San Diego. We arrived about an hour before the gate closed, so we headed straight to visitor center to get the stamp. Because we had spent more time here when we visited in 2008 and again in 2010, we didn't go out to the lighthouse or down to the tidepools, but just walked from the visitor center out to the statue of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo...

... and enjoyed watching the sun disappear beyond the horizon.