California coast trip, Day 2: Juan Cabrillo, our state’s 1st European tourist

Can I get a moment of silence for Juan Cabrillo? Your California history textbook says he’s the conquistador who reached Ballast Point, Point Loma, San Diego, in 1542, becoming the first European to set foot in what is now California. But I’d rather think of him as the first European tourist to show up on these shores. Fortunately, nobody had to watch him strut the beach in a Speedo or feign gratitude for a meager tip during his six-day stay. But he suffered for being ahead of his time.

First, he found no gold, no secret passage to the Atlantic and no easy route to Asia, all of which he was hoping for. Second, he named this place San Miguel, only to have later visitors overrule him and call it San Diego instead. And finally, California killed him. Within months of his San Diego landing, Cabrillo died on one of the Channel Islands, apparently from an infection, perhaps after a skirmish with Native Americans. Even though nobody has any idea what he looked like, a bold statue atop Point Loma celebrates his arrival here.

On the second day of our toe-to-tip California coastal itinerary — another cold and foggy one — we checked out that statue at Cabrillo National Monument, grabbed a great late lunch at Point Loma Seafoods, then blasted north to Hermosa Beach, where we walked for block after block after block in search of a restaurant not dominated by 115-inch flat-screen televisions. Mama D’s Italian Kitchen — which has no TV whatsoever — came to our rescue at last. Good pasta, and a treasure chest of toys for boys and girls who behave well. Glory be. And now back to fireplace and bed at the Beach House.

— Christopher Reynolds, Los Angeles Times staff writer

[Top photo: Juan Cabrillo, the first European tourist to reach California, is joined atop Point Loma, San Diego, by two latter-day travelers. Let's hope they have better luck here than Cabrillo did.]

[Bottom photo: The Point Loma Lighthouse goes back to the 1850s, so of course there are stories about it being haunted. In fact, if you stand at the top of the circular staircase, aim down and take a few pictures at slow shutter speeds, you're almost guaranteed to encounter a strange, diaphanous presence.]

Credit: Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times

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This entry was posted on Saturday, January 3, 2009 at 1:00 pm by Susan Derby and is filed under California, Islands & Beaches, Los Angeles, San Diego. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.