Seeking suggestions for a week in San Diego

In My Humble Opinion
1

My family has decided, for reasons opaque to me, that we will take a week-long vacation to the San Diego area this summer. There are plenty of tourist attractions, of course, and no doubt we will engage in touristy things at some of them. (I will do my best to keep them from being too obnoxious, but I can’t promise success.)

Obviously, we’ll need to prioritize, so I’m looking for advice from Dopers in the area. What should we be sure not to miss? What do you like that’s not usually on the radar (and that you’re willing to tell a tourist about)?

2

Why is it opaque? You don’t like perfect weather, beautiful beaches and an abundance of craft beer? Yeah, that really sounds like a lousy way to spend a summer…

But seriously, what are the ages of the people in your family and what are they kinds of things you all like to do?

3

If you have kids, I have yet to (directly) hear of anything negative about LegoLand. If your family enjoys sports, you can catch a baseball game at Petco Park, which is among the more beautiful stadiums in the country.

4

Birch aquarium was my favorite thing in (or at least near) San Diego.

http://aquarium.ucsd.edu/Education/Learning_Resources/Kelp_Cam/

It’s not your average public aquarium, being a very high-level scientific and breeding facility. When I was last there they had a large group of newly hatched Weedy Sea Dragons. (link goes to a different facility.)

Very worth the time and the drive.

Also, they have an extremely good zoo. One of the few that make you feel maybe these animals were lucky to get there.

5

It’s opaque because I was not informed of or consulted on the reasoning, and they’re known to be fairly random. It could be for the reasons you describe, or they could have put a map on a dartboard. :smiley:

There will be several people in their 40s, one late 20s, one in his 70s (who will probably still need a cane at that point). None are likely to be interested in heavy-duty physical activity. (Snorkeling is probably in, rock-climbing probably out, for example.) Mostly, we’re into seeing interesting things, eating good food, and hanging out in a relaxed fashion.

I expect the zoo is definitely on the itinerary; the little generalissimo (my niece) has probably already planned a route that will leave no critter unseen. Making a note of Birch Aquarium. (We like aquariums.)

6

The cluster of museums in Balboa Park are fun. The two best (in my opinion) are the Natural History Museum and the Air and Space Museum. The Japanese Gardens are also luscious, and have recently been expanded.

The Star of India (the San Diego Maritime Museum) is a lovely old three-masted sailing ship, and a joy to explore. Admission also gets you aboard the Surprise and the Berkeley. (Be sure to go belowdecks on the Berkeley and see the old steam engine. It’s a major must-see spot for anyone with any “steampunk” attitude.)

A side-trip to Julian can be fun. (Don’t go on a Monday. Julian shuts down on Mondays; that’s their “weekend.”)

7

A good place to snorkel is at La Jolla Cove. There are also kayak rental places in La Jolla Shores where you can kayak across from the Shores to the Cove. Either way, you’ll probably see lots of sea lions and leopard sharks.

Half a mile south of La Jolla Cove is the Children’s Pool, where a colony of a few hundred seals lives on the beach.

The top of Mt. Soledad offers a great panoramic view of almost the entire city. There is a little park at the top, it’'s very car-friendly (no hiking necessary).

Seaport Village is basically just an outdoor collection of shops and very touristy but it also has cool views of the bay.

If you are into tours, there’s the Old Town Trolley Tour (an open air bus) that goes all over the city to the beaches, Seaport Village, Coronado, the Gaslamp, Little Italy, etc. If you are into actual trolleys, there is a restored 1940s vintage trolley car that does a big lap around downtown and it only cost a few bucks to ride.

There are also summer whale watching tours. Blue whales and fin whales.

Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach is a neat little pier that has a line of cottages on top so you can sleep over the ocean. The pier itself is open to the public until sunset. Just outside the pier is place called Kono’s where you find the best breakfast in all of San Diego. From the pier you can walk south down the boardwalk through Mission Beach, ending at Belmont Park which is a little amusement park with a great roller coaster, other rides and games and restaurants.

Ocean Beach is the funky part of town and Newport Avenue has a collection of antique and knickknack shops. On Wednesday afternoons, Newport Ave is the home of a farmers market with local food and handmade arts and crafts type stuff. You can’t go to OB without getting a burger from Hodad’s.

Make sure to watch at least a couple of sunsets.

8

Beer. More beer. Let everybody else do the zoo while you hit Stone Brewing. Tons of better Mexican food than any Texican can imagine. Fish tacos. Petco (and the Padres are showing signs of being a baseball team!) California burritos. The Wild Animal Park. USS Midway. Old Town. Pizza Port. AleSmith. Phil’s. Lost Abbey. Green Flash.

9

Happy to oblige: the parking at Legoland was a freaking nightmare. It was hardly even crowded, but it took 90 sweaty minutes from turning into the entrance to the point of actually parking. I’m at a loss to understand how they could manage parking so badly given that they have been operating for a decade and a half now. The Lego displays are worth seeing once in your life, but the admission is pretty steep for what it is. I think it’s actually more than Disneyland, and there’s way, way less to do.

On the other hand, I agree with Petco Park. It’s a nice place to see a game, and it’s within walking distance of Seaport Village, the Convention Center, the USS Midway, Horton Plaza, the harbor, the Maritime Museum (which is Star of India and a collection of other ships), and Little Italy. Also, the Children’s Museum, but I didn’t think much of that when I went last year. There are trolleys that can help out if you don’t like walking, and are an easier way to get there in the first place. The trolley can also take you up a couple stops to Old Town, which can also be fun to see.

The trolley can’t take you to Balboa Park unfortunately, but that’s a good place to see anyway. Gardens, theaters, museums … I particularly like Ruben H. Fleet, and the electric train museum. Oh, and the Japanese Friendship Garden. And the Organ Pavilion if they’re doing a performance … usually every Sunday afternoon IIRC. There’s a puppet show there too, which I swear I’ll get to someday. Also a zoo of some note.

10

Thanks for the suggestions, folks. I’m taking notes to pass on to the planning types. Petco is probably out. Balboa Park sounds promising, as does the Maritime Museum. La Jolla to see pinnipeds, whether we swim there or not.

11

La Jolla Shores has always been my favorite beach–in the summer you have to get there pretty early to get a parking spot. Before you go check to see if there’s any road construction going on–they had several streets blocked off when I was there last month.

(I’m looking at the Scripps Pier webcam right now and it’s sunset on the coast with surfers getting their last rides in. Pretty cool.)

12

Fair warning: My wife and I tend to be attracted to the seamier side of things. Mid- (well… Late-) 30’s aging cool kids. We were there last August.

Yay: the big dumb organ at Balboa Park; the big dumb seals at La Jolla; the pier at Ocean Beach on a Sunday; Ocean Beach in general; Hamilton’s Tavern; Aero Club.

Meh: The rest of La Jolla; Coronado Island; the Gaslamp (except for the redneck Navy kids riding around on their signing bonus crotch rockets in blue cammies, and the Fred Meyer); Seaport Village (we stayed at the Hilton.)

13

There is a Mexican restaurant in Old Town, where they are making tortillas by hand on a stove in the front window. Go there.

14

Seriously he’s (she’s?) absolutely right. San Diego is what you’d get if you took L.A. and halved its population, doubled the amount of public beach, threw in an enormous bay* and a huge marina, took away the smog and added five degrees to the temperature. I"m still pinching myself that I live here now, and I live 22 miles inland. But if I want to enjoy the ocean, it’s less hassle to get to it now than it was when I lived in L.A. and was only a few miles inland of Venice.

If you want to be near the beach, and I assume you do, it’s a good idea to stay at one of the Mission Bay resorts; in particular, one on the western shore because that would place you within two blocks of Mission Beach. If you don’t want to spend that much, you should still try to be as near Mission Bay as you can. When my brother and I were kids the family spent a few days at Mission Bay, and a great family activity that we all enjoyed was sailing. Sailing Mission Bay is easy and one lesson was enough for us to take a boat out on our own, provided we stayed within the bay.

The San Diego Zoo is a must see, of course, and so are some lesser known attractions which are also in Balboa Park. A favorite of mine is the Timken Gallery, a privately owned and operated art museum specializing in Old Master paintings. IIRC unlike the public museums, admission is free but parking, probably, not so much.

If you or anyone in your family is into classic cars, you might want to come up to Escondido, which is my neck of the woods, on any Friday for the weekly Cruisin’ Grand event. They don’t actually cruise; instead dozens of vintage cars are simply parked in the downtown area and you can stroll around and check them out, and talk to the owners if you’re into that. Some are stock, others are variously chopped or modified, but they’re all beautiful. In fact, here’s a link to the Flickr album I put together last year:

[link=Cruising Grand Escondido | Flickr]Cruisin’ Grand

Escondido is also the home of the SD Zoo’s other facility, which used to be called the Wild Animal Park but is now the Safari Park; there are also a few wineries in the area. Whatever the reason, if you decide to go anywhere near Escondido or elsewhere in the inland, be prepared for very hot weather.

In general, California beaches tend to be grey and fairly cool in May and June, so the later in summer you can come here, the better.

*In the early days, San Diego was boosted as the Silver Gate, being the second largest natural harbor after San Francisco. The only reason this harbor and the town next to it didn’t keep pace with the growth of population and business in L.A. was that it didn’t get its own transcontinental railroad link.

15

My friends often joke that we are well defended by the United States Marine Corps. The vast Camp Pendleton preserve has prevented heavy coastal housing developments from existing in a continuous line from north of L.A. to here.

(Speaking of Escondido and of open space preserves, I only recently discovered Daley Ranch! Nice! Some really fun hiking trails.)

16

As someone who grew up in San Diego–and who is now is spending more time there dealing with family property issues–I’d say this is materially true, but overlooks less obvious aspects of the social climate. I can’t spend more than few days there without going stir-crazy from the lethargy of spirit. San Diego is almost willfully provincial and culturally myopic, considering its size.

That said, however, it shouldn’t matter to the OP, or any other tourist, and all the advice here is good.

Traditionally, yes, but this hasn’t been happening so much, in recent years, compared to how it used to be. Last year coastal San Diego had very little grey in May and June, from what I noticed.

17

We mostly hold this to be an advantage, not a disadvantage. It’s a military town, and it’s a retirement town. It isn’t the kind of town that gets painted red very often.

18

If San Diego seems provincial, it’s because it hasn’t gotten into the Which City is the Center of the California Universe pissing match between San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Aside from that, I’d love to hear some examples of lethargy of spirit and cultural myopia.

19

Knowing the ages of your group members helps alot. My recommendations:
Things to see/do:

  • USS Midway. This may be a little tough on the 70 year old, but likewise would probably find it the most interesting. The 40 year olds should enjoy this.

  • The Zoo. You might consider one of the many tour bus options (maybe the on-and-off one). The zoo is big and hilly. It can end up being a good amount of walking in the heat.

  • Birch Aquarium. Nice aquarium. Not real big, but very nice exhibits

  • Balboa Park museums. Very nice and air and space museum.

  • Old town. Pretty cool historic buildings from the first settlement. Also great food at the Old Town Mexican cafe.

  • For shopping, Fashion Valley is the best mall in the area.

  • Hotel Del Coronado. Pretty cool to just walk around the hotel. Some (pricey) shops to peruse. And a very nice beach to hang out on. Worth going just for the beach.

For eating/bars:

  • the Gaslamp district. Tons of restaurants and bars, so a variety of places all in a condensed area.

If you feel like gambling, there are a bunch of indian casinos in the area. Some are nicer than others, some have better food than others:
Closest to downtown:

  • Barona (nice)
  • Viejas (okay)
  • Sycuan (okay)

A little further drive:

  • Pala (nice - great buffet, too)
  • Pechanga (nice, and big)
  • Valley View (nice)
  • Harrah’s (nice)
  • Pauma (pass)

Not for your group:

  • Legoland
  • Sea World (unless you really want to). But watch “Blackfish” before you decide
20

I don’t want an extended highjack, so I’ll just “wave the bloody flag” and move on, but many of us think that documentary was unfair, unbalanced, and distortive.