I'm going to San Diego for a week. What should I do there?

[prolesunited]

Just booked my flight today for a week in January. And if you have ever been in Chicago in the winter, you'll know what a welcome respite this will be. It's a job-related trip, but I will have quite a bit of free time.

What should I put on my itinerary? What should I avoid?

[pmbryant]

1. There's a very nice park on a peninsula near downtown.

I forget the name of it. It's been over a decade since I was there, but that's really the only thing I remember about San Diego.

:shrug:

EDIT: Looked it up. Seems to be called "Cabrillo National Monument" on Point Loma and I guess it's not so close to downtown after all.

--Peter

[prolesunited]

14. We'll be getting a car

so I might be able to stop there. Thanks for taking the time to look it up. :hi:

[DCDemo]

2. Some ideas

1. Zoo - take a long time, it's big
2. Sail on the bay, esepcially nice in Jan!
3. Tijuana ...I leave before dark, but the real wild stuff happends there in the pm
4. La Jolla....the beach, and cliffs and such
5. Smoke up

[VeniceBeat]

3. Take a Drive Through the Anzo-Borrego Park

Have a drink at the Hotel Coronado bar.

Great photography museum there, too.

[GOPisEvil]

4. Wild Animal Park

I enjoyed this more than the zoo. The animals have a higher degree of mobility. You might even see the rhinos getting busy like I did on my last trip. :D

The zoo is excellent, though. The National Park on Point Loma is really pretty. See Coronado Island and check out the Hotel Del Coronado. There are some museums in Balboa Park.

Might as well do Mexico, but take the train down to the border, and go during the day. Oh, and be prepared to fight off literally hundreds of kids and hucksters of all kinds.

I love San Diego - one of my favorite places!

Edit - how could I forget La Jolla?? Ya gotta go - maybe the Sea Lions will be there. :-)

[prolesunited]

30. "You might even see

the rhinos getting busy like I did on my last trip."

Not quite that desperate for sexual excitement yet ;-) but thanks for your other suggestions. :hi:

[XNASA]

5. Lost Weekend in Tijuana.

Is Black's Beach still there? LOL!!!

I haven't been to SD since I lived there in the late 70's. But I hear it's still beautiful and the weather is sublime.

[watercolors]

25. we did that too

Tijauana was a trip back in the 80's, had a blast!

[USAF Brat]

6. I definetely loved the Wild Animal Park...

it is really huge and has a lot more to offer than the 1at class zoo, including great walk through aviaries.

Old town is neat if you like to tour historic places and browse in kitchy stores. It also has a teddy bear factory where you can have a stuffed bear made to your specifications.

If you are into hippie culture then cleck out Ocean Beach... very eclectic with lots of great little shops (antique, head, clothes etc...) that cater to hippies and other non mainstream folk! My favorite sign down there was for a beauty shop called Curl up and Die :hippie: . Favorite restaraunt in that area was Little Chefs, great geros and an attached bakery. The beach is nice and has the only dog friendly section in the county.

If you're younger you'd probably rather go to Pacific Beach. Much more hip and happening. Lots of roller skaters and skate boarders, more good to great food and wonderful people watching with a beautiful beach. The better seafood restaurants will be here or in La Jolla.

If you like museums you will love Balboa Park! http://www.balboapark.org/
More than a dozen museums all in walking distance of each other, beautiful gardens and the zoo all in one place. I used to love the concert in the park when the symphony would get together in the open air to give free concerts in the evening. You might want to check and see what's happening in the park the week you're going.

Have a great trip! You're gonna love it. I went to San Diego on a vacation and ended up moving there the next year and stayed for eight years!

[prolesunited]

8. You seem to know a lot

Are there good options for vegetarians? I don't eat seafood, but I will do dairy and eggs.

Thanks for all of the recommendations so far.

[USAF Brat]

21. for vegetarian restaurants

check out these links:
http://www.sandiegoyoga.com/S.D.%20Veg.%20Restaurants.html
http://where2eat.com/vegetarian_restaurant.htm
http://www.where2eat.com/San_Diego_vegetarian_restaurant_2.htm

I can't personally recommend any of them, because I've only been a vegetarian since coming back to Texas (go figure!), but there are lots of places to choose from! I'll be checking some of them out the next time I visit.

[prolesunited]

31. Thanks for the links!

And welcome to DU. :hi:

There is a lot of irony in that. I would imagine it would be a lot easier in California than in Texas.

[smallprint]

27. No fish? That means no fish tacos!! A tragedy!

Oh well, there is plenty of great vegetarian food. There is a little place downtown that is all veggie-- they have insanely good burritos-- I can't remember the name but it is 1 block south of the public library.

[monkeyboy]

7. Rueben H. Fleet Space Museum

in Balboa Park, totally rocks.

[idontwantaname]

9. enjoy mexican hospitality...

camp on the beach.

[commander bunnypants]

10. Pacific Beach Board Walk

Had an apartment over looking the beach. Great Place. Check out LaJolla and Scripps Oceanography Institute. But stay away from the cliffs. Had a bad accident on them.

I dont know Tijuana? I thionk I was the only sailor who did not like that place.

Have fun

DDQM

[sister_rosa_refried]

11. The Zoo

Sister loves the San Diego zoo.

[bamademo]

12. Zoo is very nice

Definately go to the beach. I went in October and it is wonderful.

[libertad]

13. Go to Coronado (that is my hometown). The zoo, wild animal park

Seaworld, the museums in Balboa, the beach.

[SiouxJ]

15. Go up north to Carlsbad

I lived there for 8 years. The beaches are cleaner than the ones down south (or at least they WERE). It's a great drive if you go up the coast. You pass through all the little beach towns like Encinitas, Solana Beach, Del Mar, etc. and Carlsbad itself has a nice little downtown area down near the beach. It's a great place to go walking around.

[arcane1]

17. Carlsbad, Cambria, Big Sur, Monterey...

:loveya:

[SiouxJ]

18. Yeah wtf

just keep on going - ah Big Sur - I camped there once and always wanted to go back and do it again.

:loveya: !!!

[arcane1]

19. that's one of my plans for next year...

I've only just drivin through and taken a short walk, during my road trip to CA, but friends have said that camping there is like nothing else!!

[prolesunited]

22. How far

is Big Sur from San Diego?

[SiouxJ]

23. Pretty far

I don't know exactly but you've got Hell. A. to get through and that always takes some time. It would take you many hours to get up there.

[prolesunited]

24. I guess that won't work then

Looks like there are plenty of other wonderful suggestions on this thread, though. I can't wait.

[arcane1]

16. I've been to S.D. at least 4 times now but can't think of anything

:silly:

that's what I get for being a guest and letting others do the thinking and driving, lol

I hear the largest Creationism museum is there, I would love to check that out sometime :evilgrin:

if you get too bored you can come to SF :hi:

[geniph]

20. It's a great place to sail a small boat

which can be rented on the waterfront.

[watercolors]

26. Balboa Park,

don't miss it, Great art museums, lots going on in the park, spent many hours there. Whale watching up at point Loama, two light houses there. Corando hotel, great place to visit. Far too many great resturants. Of course the Zoo is fantastic., a week is not long enough. Have some terrific memories of San Diego, hope to go back again, A really fun place!!

[cosmicdot]

32. definitely, Balboa Park - beautiful w/lots to see and do

not sure if this is the tree I was taken to see ... but, it had mammouth roots ... at night, it was spooky-looking ... I'm thinking it is in the Palm Canyon section ... there are leveled walkways which takes one down into the canyon



http://www.balboapark.org/

[trof]

28. La Jolla

Spend an afternoon/evening browsing there. Terrific restaurants & shops. Some pretty pricey, but some not.
Visit La Valencia Hotel, just for the atmosphere. Hell, if you have the bucks, stay there a night. Overlooks the Pacific. It was a secret love-trist hideaway for silent movie stars down from Hollywood for a long week end.

[rucky]

29. Breakfast: Hash House A Go-Go!

http://www.digitalcity.com/sandiego/entertainment/venue.adp?vid=164752

Hash House A-Go-Go
3628 Fifth Ave.
San Diego, CA 92103
619-298-4646

A stone's throw from the heart of Hillcrest, this culinary cornerstone serves up hearty breakfasts, lunches and dinners to locals who appreciate the humongous portions and (relatively) tiny checks.

Out-of-towners are usually floored by the surfboard-sized plates, which usually sport a foot-long sprig of rosemary garnish, whether atop bone-in ribeye or penne with spinach and chili cream. Given the attention to detail and fresh ingredients, you might not realize this is gussied-up comfort food -- albeit taken to the nth degree -- but the warm and subdued atmosphere makes Hash House perfect for fine dining.

Seafood is a particular treat here, but you could do well to merely point at an appealing dish on a neighboring table. The meatloaf is potent enough to tear die-hard vegetarians away from their tofu. Piled mesa-high, the silky mashed potatoes are so tasty it would be a crime to discuss calories. The Crab cakes are similarly titanic, and are served with mashed squash as the perfect compliment. Chicken with maple syrup? It may sound strange, but after you've tried it here, you'll wonder why you never thought of it before. Great wine, espresso coffees and a full bar put Hash House a Go-Go atop the Hillcrest list. Dessert options are limited to only a few choices (including a cobbler of some variety), but it's certainly a case of quality over quantity -- Gi-Gi Downs (Photo: Hash House A-Go-Go)

[grasswire]

34. definitely Hotel del Coronado

...you can have a drink and pretend it's 1910 and you're a tycoon.

[grasswire]

35. and...

...El Agave restaurant in old town has 750 varieties of tequila and outstanding food.

http://www.sandiegorestaurants.com/restaurant.cfm?res_id=149

[rppper]

41. spend early evening at the sunset cliffs near mission bay

....one of my favorite pass-times there. wanna meet some interesting people? go to mission beach, bring some wood, and get a nice fire going in one of the pits there....people will walk up to you like moths to a porchlight....

[prolesunited]

36. Wow!

That looks FABULOUS! We'll definitely be having dinner there.

I've got a $100 a day meal allowance. Do you think that would cover it if I skip breakfast and lunch?

[flama]

33. The World-Famous San Diego Zoo!

I didn't get to go there when I was in San Diego in 1957. I was only 10 and my vote didn't count. :-(

If the Pandas are still there, you've got to see them! Live Pandas beat the heck out of Su Lin at the Field Museum. (Is she still there with Bushman?)

San Diego in January also beats the heck out of Chicago at that time.

Ma

[Terwilliger]

37. See Laz!

I'm sure he's not TOO too scary ;-)

[prolesunited]

38. Actually, a visit with

Laz, Haele and NSMA was on my list. Should I be scared? ;-)

[The Lone Liberal]

39. Look up Mark Prior

and ask how it feels to be part of the Cub's WS Championship team.

[DBoon]

40. Temecula Wine Country

Up I-15 north of SD.

Not quite Napa, but worth a look

Also visit the Salton Sea, a nice bird sanctuary there and it is just a strange surreal place.