4th of July

I spent 4th of July weekend down in Coronado. It's an island the way Manhattan is an island - which is to say, only technically. Coronado is separated from San Diego by a thin strip of ocean, and connected to the mainland by a single bridge. It's a gorgeous, charming little beach town, famous because Some Like It Hot was filmed there, mostly in and around the Hotel del Coronado:

That's the hotel exterior. It was built in 1888 and felt a little schizophrenic to me - the exterior is so white and airy, but the interior is all heavy dark wood - very dreary and oppressive on a bright July day. Wonderful to view from the distance, or lounge in front of - but when I went inside a couple of times, I wanted to turn right back around and get out as fast as possible.

I was with my cousin Tasha and a friend of hers who is working on a professional photography portfolio, and the interior shots we got are all more suited to a self-important East Coast lakeside villa than a California resort.

Tasha and I:


Just Tasha:


Luckily we didn't spend much time inside. Mostly we did what any self-respecting Californian would do on the 4th of July - we hung out on the beach and strolled the main drag.

This is just a side street but you can see downtown San Diego in the background:

The beach, which is endless and gorgeous:

And me, on the rocks:
Bizarrely enough I heard of Coronado for the first time in New York City - when someone mentioned the hotel as an historic landmark. I've seen Some Like It Hot, too - I guess I just never connected the dots.

In any case, I jumped at the chance to visit and wasn't disappointed. Aside from the fantastic setting, I got some great candid shots while fooling around on Tasha's laptop:


And enjoyed an amazing, improptu Tchaikovsky violin concert. Apparently her grandfather is a musician, a composer, conductor, and performer, and he pulled out a 300 year old Italian violin and performed a few pieces from memory.