San Diego - Part One

February is usually a cold, foggy and drizzly month in the Seattle area, so BowlingWidow and I thought it would be the perfect time to continue what we’ve been calling our “Because We’ve Never Been There Before Tour”.  Most people we know have been to San Diego.  But not us.  Until now.

Even though February is probably not the best month weather-wise to visit San Diego (say, THAT’S why those airline tickets were discounted) we thought that partly sunny and the low-60s is still a giant step up from what we were waking up to every day.

We decided that three nights was a good length of time to get a good visit in and get a glimpse of what life there is like.  We ruled out going to big theme attractions such as Seaworld and the San Diego Zoo.  I’m sure they were grand, but as time has gone on we see less value in paying sixty bucks a piece to see a canned presentation.  Even if there is a slight chance of getting a front row seat to watch a killer whale chomp off the arm of an 8 year old innocently trying to share his cotton candy with it.
 

San Diego from the Coronado Peninsula

No, we elected to go with the three “B’s”:  breweries, beaches and Balboa Park.  And a few other things as well.  After a late-lunch visit to In-N-Out Burger, we checked into our hotel which is called The Dolphin.  It’s been around for years and reminds me of the motor inns we’d stay at on long road trips when I was a kid.  It was clean, quiet, had a great location in the city and the staff was great.  Even the eccentric old man, who was apparently the owner, became a pleasure to interact with after keeping our eye on him for a bit.

As the afternoon progressed, we decided it was time to look for one of the 56 microbreweries that San Diego boasts.  I’ll have more about those in Part Two of this blog topic, but we headed to the community of Ocean Beach for the beer and some hot wings at a place called Pizza Port.  They must have known we were coming as jumbo hot wings were just 35-cents each that night.   I think we were both filled up for less than 5 bucks.
 

Surfers at Ocean Beach

There also happened to be an open market a few blocks long which was closed to vehicles.  Apparently it’s every Wednesday from 5pm to 7pm.  We checked it out, then walked along the beach and took a few really nice sunset pictures with my world class Motorola smartphone camera.

We found that there are a lot of young people in Ocean Beach and in fact I believe it’s the most popular retirement destination for twentysomethings, most of whom have surfboards.
 

The Famous Hotel del Coronado

Here’s a bit about what we saw and did in San Diego, in no particular order:

Balboa Park – This place is more than just a big lawn with lots of trees and trails.  Sure they have that too, but it’s also home to a whole host of museums with topics that range from natural history to botany to miniature railroads.  There’s also a Shakespearean playhouse on the premises.  Note that while it’s free to get into the park, the museums generally cost a few bucks to visit (although not nearly as much as the zoo).
 

The Botanical Building at Balboa Park

Old Town – We love the idea of an “Old Town” in each city we visit, but to be honest this one can be skipped.  We took a guided walking tour (free) and got some good historical information about San Diego but it’s largely a tourist trap with souvenirs and what appeared to be overpriced restaurants.  Try as they might to dress this place up and give it an identity, but we weren’t too impressed.

Little Italy – Little Italy, on the other hand, was a nice place to spend an hour or two.  It is in fact little, just a few blocks along the not-so-aptly named India Street.  There are restaurants to fit every budget and a few interesting delicatessens scattered throughout.  I wish we would have been able to take some fresh salami or cheeses with us on the plane, but we had to settle for some good conversation with the deli workers instead.

Hotel del Coronado – This is a quite famous older, luxurious hotel on the Coronado Peninsula.  Kind of fun to roam around the property and know that you’re not actually paying $400 a night to stay there.  There’s also a nice beach nearby.
 

The Surf Near Hotel del Coronado

Cabrillo National Monument – Go here for the best view of San Diego.  It’s also a park that pays tribute to Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, a 16^th century explorer who was the first European to set foot on the United States west coast.  I’m generally not a fan of documentary films at interpretive centers (I’d rather spend time roaming around and seeing things of interest) but I will say that this 25 minute film about Cabrillo was well worth sitting through.

Ocean Beach – As I mentioned this part of the city is great for hanging out at for a while.  And if you’re a fan of fish tacos as we are, going to South Beach Bar & Grill in Ocean Beach is a must.  And don’t think that you can eat three or four of them.  It’s simply not possible unless you’re a competitive eater.  After having two each we were ready for an afternoon nap on the beach boardwalk across the street.

Sunset at Ocean Beach, San Diego

Mission Beach – Just north of town, Mission Beach seems to go on for miles.  It kind of reminded me of Lincoln City, Oregon but instead of kite shops there were surf shops on every block.  And a surfer on every wave (well, they tried to catch waves but some are clearly better than others).  If you want to take a nice long walk or jog on the beach this is the place to do it.

For a city of more than a million, San Diego was surprisingly easy to get around in.  We stayed in a great location that seemed to be near everything we wanted to see.  Yeah, I could see us going back again for another visit in a few years.