J Street Marina/South "BAY" (#36)

September 27, 2010 - "J" Street Marina, in Chula Vista, has a quaint little park with great views of the bay. While it's a nice enough place for a picnic, there's not enough area to make for much of a "walk." Being that it is a marina, after all, we decided to "paddle" rather than walk. Wilson sat this one out as he is not much of a seafarer. Instead I recruited my highly trained kayaker of a spouse! J Street Marina, locationally speaking, is at the southern end of the San Diego Bay. It's not surprising, then, that the surrounding cities, such as Chula Vista and Imperial Beach, are in the region known as "South Bay." For decades people in South Bay have come here to eat drink and be merry at what was once known as Jake's, a fantastic Restaurant along the marina. It is now the South Bay Fish and Grill and I think it is still a good place to dine. On this fine morning there happened to be a substantial number of fish jumping out of the water. After a bit we spied a guy fishing off of the rocks catching a fish. When we got close enough I asked what kind of a fish he caught to which he replied, "a Yumping Fish." Not sure if I heard him correctly I asked again and he replied the same. I said, "Well they sure are jumping a lot." He shouted in a voice with a frustrated, "well duh" tone to it, "That's why they call them Yumping Fish!" Truth be told, one of the reasons we came to this spot is that we heard that some large green sea turtles have been spotted out here by the 60 year old South Bay Power Plant. It's sad to see the encroachment into the wetland habitats. We didn't find any sea turtles but we did get a good view of the power plant. I'm not sure but I think that the Chula Vista Bayfront Development Plan recently approved by Chula Vista and the Port Commision, still needing the approval of the California Coastal Commision, would put this antique hunk of metal out to pasture. The plan includes three hotels, a resort, condominiums, shops and restaurants. Fortunately 230 acres of open space and parks are also part of the plan. As we paddled around we could see Imperial Beach in the near distance next to the landmark, circularly fenced, radar station. Looking west we could see the luxurious Coronado Cays. Kayaking further south we saw the nearly 40' high mountains of salt harvested by Salt Works off to the east. In operation since the 1870's, Salt Works, according to Voice of San Diego, is the second longest running business in San Diego right behind the San Diego Union Tribune which started in 1868. Once again, as in many of my postings, there stands the Coronado Bridge. Always good to know it is still standing! Wow, we managed to bet some distance between us and the marina. Time to head back. I really should know the name of that mountain peak. I'll figure it out and let you know. Lots of nice boats. We didn't see any empty slips so I guess the mariner lifestyle is still afloat! Back to the boat ramp. Good. FINALLY I'll catch up with my speed demon of a wife! Another fun adventure! MAP