Jeffrey Davis walks out of the Burger King on First St. in a bright turquoise jacket, a mic wrapped around his head and a big smile on his face. This is the beginning of his tour.
One of the first things he says is, “This is going to be an informative and somewhat humorous and mostly truthful tour of Coronado.”
He hops on a bright turquoise pedicab, a similar color to his jacket (which he may or may not have matched with), and turns on a small speaker swinging from the top of the vehicle.
His voice comes through the speaker along with a collection of pop songs. One artist in particular is his favorite, and he sings along with her boisterously while on the ride.
“I was a Swiftie before it was popular,” Davis laughs, referring to the fanbase name for Taylor Swift.
Besides being a music aficionado, Davis has two bachelor’s degrees from Chico State University, one in political science and the other in social science. He also holds a master’s in school management and administration and a doctorate in institutional management – both from Pepperdine University.
The charity
But, on this day, Davis is busy as the founder of Pedal Beach Tours in Coronado, a nonprofit organization that helps raise money for Christmas dinners and presents for families and children in need.
It’s $100 for a 90-minute tour, with all of the proceeds going to the charity. The guides – he has recruited seven so far – are volunteers.
Since January, Pedal Beach Tours has raised $4,450 through the tours.
Davis started it just at the beginning of this year, but this is not the first time he’s been involved in charities.
He’s volunteered since he was a teenager, but for the past 20 years, Davis says, he’s raised funds to feed families during Thanksgiving, averaging over 250 families per year in San Diego.
Davis moved to Coronado to become the principal of Coronado High School from 1994-2000, then the principal of the San Diego Jewish Academy until 2014 before moving to Newport Beach to be the Head at TVT Community Day School until he retired in 2022.
The San Diego Jewish Academy is where it all started. He created a 10K fundraiser run at the school to gain support for the Thanksgiving meals, and he continued it through TVT Community Day School.
But in his retirement, Davis wanted to do something in Coronado to keep up his charity work.
The pedicab
There were no pedicabs here, Davis noticed. So he approached City Council Member Casey Tanaka with his charity idea. “He owes me, too,” Davis jokes.
When Davis was principal of Coronado High School, Tanaka was a student at the time. And when Tanaka graduated, Davis hired him as a history teacher.
Tanaka introduced Davis to City Manager Tina Friend to figure out the details of it all, like permits and insurance. Six months later, Davis had his nonprofit.
“Jeff Davis is indefatigable, progressive and innovative,” Tanaka says. “He was a jolt of energy into our school. Consequently, when Dr. Davis reached out to me with his idea of a totally nonprofit bicycle and history pedal tour, I knew I needed to do what I could to see if this concept was viable.”
And it was.
The entire tour route is roughly 9 miles. Davis put a couple hundred miles on the pedicab before he had his first tour narrative and route.
The tour
Davis starts the tour by the Coronado Ferry Landing and drives through neighborhoods, pointing out Adm. James Stockdale’s original home. He recalls running into the former prisoner of war in the steam room at the Hotel Del when Stockdale had returned from Vietnam.
There are some tight squeezes as the pedicab barely fits between some bollards along the golf course and onto sidewalks and bike routes. Davis signals with his hands and gives a wide smile and thank you when cars let him pass by major intersections.
A ways down the road, Davis stops to point at a house that was the family home of another Navy pilot, John McCain, who was held captive with Stockdale long before he became a U.S. senator and presidential candidate.
The pedicab makes its way to Coronado Beach as Davis leads into a story about a student at Coronado High who made friends with his old Spanish teacher. That student and his former teacher, a man named Lou Villar, ended up building a $100 million drug smuggling business before the feds cracked down.
The end
Davis weaves true stories in and out of a ride that lasts slightly more than 90-minutes.
At one point, he recites a version of local history that says Coronado was once a true island surrounded by water on all four sides. His narratives are passionate yet mysterious, as if divulging local secrets.
Davis laughs a lot, raises his voice emphatically, and bounces up and down in his seat when he likes the music.
“I get a lot of joy out of it,” he says at the end of the tour, stressing that the whole excursion is for charity.
You can book a tour for up to six people on the tour business’ website, https://pedalbeach.org/ or you can even give Davis a text or call at 858-967-1189.
