An old picture of the Hotel Del Coronado. I remember the first time I entered the Hotel Del, I was about seven or eight years old, and we were meeting a friend who was visiting from out of town and staying at the Del. I can remember going over the bridge was magical; it was like entering a whole another world. We went down Orange Avenue, it was late afternoon early evening and there was not too much traffic. We passed by all kinds of shops with beautiful things hanging in the windows. We pulled into the valet parking and all piled out, we then walked through the hotel. It was a hotel I never could even have imagined. It was decorated in burgundy and there were glittering things everywhere. I love the high ceilings (or maybe I was short?) and the soft cushy carpets. My sisters and I stood there in awe. Our mom called after us to hurry up and to not break anything, a standard saying for all mothers. We did not run, however we did walk quite quickly to her. I do not remember how we got to it, but we ended up at the gift shop and we quickly peeked in to see everything, I remember thinking I do not want to go in there because it was a small space with lots and beautiful, expensive, and breakable objects, and well, my piggy bank could not afford them. It was soon dark and cold from the ocean being so close. We met our friend out by the pool and Jacuzzis. The three of us ripped our feet out of our shoes and rammed our feet into the water, so our toes could be warm, the water felt so hot it was cold almost. My two sisters and I, along with our mom had our feet in one of the little Jacuzzis, which were placed all over the pool deck. Actually, my mother just had her feet dangling in, while the three of us had basically our entire legs in, we were small and cold, so we were able to get away with it. We soon left after our mom had visited for quite awhile. My sisters fell asleep just as we were entering the bridge to get off the island, I was still awake, I wanted to watch all of the lights when we passed over the bridge. I wanted to watch them all fade away as we drove pass them and off into the distance. I miss those times, the times when you felt free and content without even trying. I remember how easy it all use to be. The I think about the future and think about how complicated it can become I wish all of my days were like that day, my first trip to the Hotel Del Coronado. To visit the Hotel Del Coronado website please click here. Elizabeth Dellinger eCoronado.com Online Writer Intern
