In years gone by, back before we had the Coronado Bay Bridge, there was a ferry landing at the foot of Broadway, one ferry for taking cars across, and a ferry (called the nickel snatcher) for people. Every morning, a friend of mine would meet me around 4:30 a.m. to walk to the bus stop on Hilltop Drive in Chula Vista, and we would sleep while the bus waited for folks in the area to come onboard. We would ride the bus, without having to transfer, to downtown San Diego. We then would get off fairly close to the harbor and have breakfast at a local eatery, & I believe the place was called Dixie's. We'd have a hearty breakfast of sunny-side up eggs, hashbrowns, bacon, toast and coffee and after they got to know us they always gave us extra large portions. We needed the energy though, because after breakfast, we would sometimes have to jog to the ferry landing, pay our fare, buy a newspaper and hot cocoa and find our seat on the ferry. We would wait for it to fill up and then slowly make our way across the bay, after which we would walk up to building 334 on Naval Air Station North Island. One morning it was quite foggy and we accidentally ran into another ferry. No one was hurt, but a few of us wore our drinks to work that day. In the summer months, the breeze on the bay was really refreshing. Some evenings, when we had had to work overtime, all our co-walkers would leave together and walk down to the landing and ride across the bay together.
The unit we worked in consisted of all women. Coreen and I were the youngest ones in that unit, we were 21. Later on a few more young people joined the group. But most of them were in their 30's and we all got along well together. I was young and inexperienced, but I was very proud of the fact that I had a desk job and my own typewriter and my own responsiblities. I was a fast and accurate typist and my job was typing up naval mesages and speedletters and mailing out status cards and filing and all the usual clerical responsibilities. I had a good relationship with everyone and we all really just enjoyed chatting as we went about our daily routine. I still remember when the Hong Kong Flu hit us and a lot of us were out for quite a while trying to recuperate. It was really bad. I was out for a week and when I went back in, there were only about 3 or 4 people in our unit that were working that day. I was still very weak, but felt I had been out long enough and went back to work on a Friday. I could have stayed home for the rest of that week and went back in on Monday, but I was coscientious in my younger years and so I went back before I really had to.
San Diego is a beautiful city, and has changed a lot over the years. The picture on this blog is the way it looks today, but back in the day when we rode the ferry there were a lot fewer buildings and the beautiful bridge was only a plan on paper. I didn't have to ride the bus for long. I eventually bought a car, a yellow Chevy Nova, and I would drive around the Strand to get to work. I loved my little car and I washed it every Saturday while listening to music and drinking ice cold Pepsi's. I lived at home for a while, but eventually a friend of mine invited me to share an apartment with her and so I moved out and lived with her in Imperial Beach. We had a lot of fun together, and every payday Friday we would cash our checks, buy food at Jack-In-the-Box, a couple of bottles of wine and party all weekend with friends. It was a lot of fun being on our own.
This is a good spot to end this little entry...just a few good memories of life when things wern't so fast and furious. Now I am retired and enjoying life as a grandmother of 7 wonderful grandchildren. I have always loved San Diego and I was unfortunate enough to have to move after I had been here only a year, but I turned 18 shortly after that and bought myself a one-way ticket home after a year of being away. I flew in to San Diego as the evening settled over the city and all the lights were on as we flew right over the top of some of the tallest buildings. I have watched San Diego change over the years and my husband has introduced me to many more of the sights of the city. I have a lot of wonderful memories which I would be delighted to share. So stay tuned for more entries as we go about living in, and enjoying together, the sights and sounds of a beautiful city.
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