San Diego Ideas

[Lieslntx]

Traveling to San Diego on business tomorrow but will have one day to do something fun. Normally when we travel and have a day to spare, we just hop in the rental and drive around. We would like something a little more concrete to do this time, since I will be officially celebrating my birthday during the trip. Would love some ideas and suggestions.

We are staying near the San Diego Convention Center, but we will have a rental, so driving is not a problem. We only have one day to do anything and that is Thursday. We will have time for a nice leisurely dinner on Saturday, so I would also love suggestions for a place to eat.

 

[Joe Williams]

Was in San Diego not long ago. Took a free day and went to Coronado Beach, which was great. Nice commercial area to get some refreshments in, and specatcular beach, with a dog beach at one end (north?) -- leash-less canines and their masters cavorting in surf -- that is a hoot if you're a dog lover.

Also walked through Balboa Park (OK, not great) and drove up to LaJolla and Del Mar. One thing I wished we had done was hit a Padres game while there, but they were on road.

 

[Dickens Cider]

Go **** yourself, San Diego.

 

[Huggy]

We spent a couple of days in San Diego last month and loved it. Didn't make it to Coronado but we did go to the zoo and Del Mar and the Cabrillo National Monument is pretty cool too with some great views:

http://www.nps.gov/cabr/

We didn't get to tour the USS Midway but we strolled down by it and the Padres were on the road so both of those will be on the sked next time we're in San Diego.

 

[pallister]

Go **** yourself, San Diego.

You stay classy.

 

[Dickens Cider]

In all seriousness, the San Diego Zoo is the best I've ever seen.

 

[Angola!]

Was in San Diego not long ago. Took a free day and went to Coronado Beach, which was great. Nice commercial area to get some refreshments in, and specatcular beach, with a dog beach at one end (north?) -- leash-less canines and their masters cavorting in surf -- that is a hoot if you're a dog lover.

Also walked through Balboa Park (OK, not great) and drove up to LaJolla and Del Mar. One thing I wished we had done was hit a Padres game while there, but they were on road.

Coronado Beach is awesome.

The hotel that is there can be toured and is a must see.

There are also some cool ferry rides that show you all the military stuff up close. I enjoyed that.

 

[Angola!]

In all seriousness, the San Diego Zoo is the best I've ever seen.

The zoo is awesome, though waiting in line an hour to see a panda from 100 yards away was not awesome.

 

[Songbird]

After the zoo, or a Padres game, drive to San Ysidro, park your car, and walk into TJ. One of those places you have to experience at least once.

 

[pallister]

The zoo is awesome, though waiting in line an hour to see a panda from 100 yards away was not awesome.

Did it make you sad?

 

[Huggy]

In all seriousness, the San Diego Zoo is the best I've ever seen.

The zoo is awesome, though waiting in line an hour to see a panda from 100 yards away was not awesome.

We waited until 5:30 or so to see the pandas and were through the line in probably 15 minutes.

Sea World is great too.

And Hodads in Ocean Beach is one hell of a burger joint.

 

[Cape_Fear]

Mrs. Fear and I went on our honeymoon there last year.

Staying near the convention center, you'll be close to the Gaslamp Quarter for restaurants and nightlife.

During the day, all the earlier suggestions are good. The zoo was great. Be prepared to walk a lot of hills. It's tucked into the hillside pretty good so it's a lot of up and down.

If you are into the milatary, the Midway tour was great as well. There it's a lot of stairs and ladders. The day we toured the Midway we took a harbor cruise which went by the Navy base and under the Coronado bridge and around out to Point Loma.

Compared to the Midway or the zoo, it pales in comparison, but the Point Loma Lighthouse was cool because from there you can see the city pretty well. The day we went up there, the Nimitz carrier group was heading out for a week's worth of excercises so we could see each ship as it came out of the harbor.

Since you only have a day, that should more than cover it.

 

[Lieslntx]

Love the idea of touring the Midway. We are quite excited about doing that. Will probably buy tickets online before we leave to save time.

Would love to also do a harbor cruise. I'm assuming that we can just pick a cruise once we get down there. Or is this something we need reservations for?

 

[Angola!]

Love the idea of touring the Midway. We are quite excited about doing that. Will probably buy tickets online before we leave to save time.

Would love to also do a harbor cruise. I'm assuming that we can just pick a cruise once we get down there. Or is this something we need reservations for?

I had reservations for my cruise, but it's been too long for me to remember how necessary that was. You might look into it just so you don't get screwed over when you get there.

 

[OTD]

If you get up early enough, you can watch the local gentry down their first Bloody Marys of the day at the Pennant in Mission Beach. Usually that starts around 8.

Seriously, there is a mini-boardwalk near there with a few rides. The zoo is great. Del Mar is also running now, which is cool

 

[Cape_Fear]

I think you can do reservations or just show up. We were there in December so we just walked up to the booth and had no problem getting on at the time we wanted. This time of year reservations might not be a bad idea.

 

[Lieslntx]

After doing a Google search on day cruises it looks as if we will be able to just pick one once we get down there. I'm thinking we might do a dinner cruise. We should be able to make reservations tomorrow, once we arrive.

Thanks for the help! We are excited about the military angle, since we both have strong military backgrounds in our families.

Still need a great local place to eat Saturday night.

 

[playthrough]

Not sure how close this is to where you're staying, but Hash House a Go Go is a great casual restaurant with huge plates of chow. Google it.

 

[Buck]

There's a little cafe where they play guitars all night and day.
You can hear them in the back room strummin'.

 

[Claws for Concern]

Zoo's a good full day activity. Balboa Park's great and there's more than a dozen museums and there's a few gardens, too. Padres play a day game on Wednesday and are off Thursday. Gaslamp is great for just about anything. The recommendation to tour the ships and Seaport Village shops is also a good idea.