San Diego, California: A Great Choice for a Quick Summer Getaway!

Why San Diego?

While the rest of the country is enduring high temperatures, summer seems to be the ideal time of year to visit San Diego, boasting temperatures in the high 70's during the day and comfortable 60's at night... sounds perfect? It is! Not only does San Diego enjoy perfect weather, it has over 70 miles of beautiful coastline, plus San Diego Bay's 22 square miles, which translates to lots of outdoor space and plenty of room for fun!

Most major cities in the U.S. offer non-stop flights to San Diego. We took the 07:25 am Continental flight out of Houston, and landed on time at 08:45 (we gained two hours!).

After collecting our luggage, we got on a bus to take us to the car rental company, picked up our car at National Car without any delays, and we were on the road in no time. About 15-minutes later, we were checking into a hotel right in Downtown S.D.

Four days only? What Can One Do?

At the airport we grabbed two brochures: "101 Thing to Do - San Diego" and "SanDiegoThisWeek." Obviously four days isn't enough time to see all of the things listed, but you will certainly have a wide selection of fun things to do! The most pressing questions in deciding what to do in four days are: how much money do you want to spend, how much driving do you want to do, and how much time do you want to dedicate to each attraction?

Below are the some of the things we did, and since we don't have children, with the exception of the Zoo, all of our activities are more suitable for adults.

Day 1-

Midday - The San Diego Zoo:

This attraction is a "must see," as it has world-renowned reputation! We arrived right at noon, and the crowds were growing by the minute. Admission was $32.00 per person which included access to the zoo, a bus tour, the sky-ride, and unlimited use of the express buses. The day we visited, the Zoo closed early, at 5:30 pm due to some private event that evening. We felt a little short-changed, but opted to see as much as we could in five hours!

The tour buses are double-deckers and the upper deck is the most popular for obvious reasons, and the wait is the longest! Do not despair: you can save a substantial amount of waiting time by taking the lower deck, and if you sit on the right side of the bus, you'll get to see most of the exhibits without any trouble.

The bus tour is an excellent way to become acquainted with the park, get one's bearings, and see the animals from a different perspective. The tour lasts around 45-minutes, looping the park and returning to the Zoo's entrance.

The Panda exhibit has to best one in the park, but the queues are quite long and once inside the exhibit, you get about one minute to stare/photograph the pandas and then the staff will urge you to move along. Even in a hurry, it was nice to see pandas doing their thing... lounging and chewing bamboo shoots!

In our opinion, this zoo has some beautiful exhibits and some not so great (animals are kept in smallish enclosures). The weather makes it enjoyable to walk around in comfort. You'll find plenty of shaded areas and park benches where you can give your feet a rest.

Late Afternoon:

We returned to the hotel to enjoy a few cocktails during happy hour. I suppose that getting up at 04:00 am, walking for several hours in the sun, and three cocktails will do most people in! We decided to eat dinner at our hotel and turned in early.

Day two:

Part of any getaway should include sleeping in late, drinking coffee in bed, reading the current events on the newspaper, and watching TV.

Lunch:

The hotel's valet suggested going to Little Italy for lunch and suggested Filippi's Pizza Grotto Restaurant, located on 1747 India Street (open 11:00a.m-11:00p.m). To access the restaurant one must enter through the grocery store and the aroma of cheeses, salamis, pizza, etc. is quite enticing! Once inside the restaurant you'll realize that this place is certainly very plain and humble, but seriously, you're there for awesome Italian food and not the decor! The food is staple Southern Italian and there are no fancy dishes on the menu. However, the food is out of this world, and the meatballs and sausages are to die for! Highly recommend it!

Tijuana, Mexico

TJ is less than 20 miles from downtown S.D and you should know that driving your rental car into TJ is prohibited unless you make previous arrangements with the rental company. Having said that, park the car in a day parking lot, and pay a reasonable fee ranging from $5.00 to $8.00. After parking, everyone walks over to a big, brown a building, walk through a series of wrap-around hallways that seem to go on forever, and then one goes through a turnstile and voila!, you are in Mexico.

As soon as you enter you'll see a "you are here map." We then walked to the Mercado Artesanal (arts & crafts market) but did not purchase anything. After working up a thirst, we stopped at one of the little restaurants in the area and ordered two margaritas. We were surprised to get four Margaritas, but it was the special of the day! After drinking the margaritas and eating tacos with the hottest salsa in town, we decided to return to California as we didn't find TJ very exciting. We found the queue to the U.S. Immigration and waited for about 35 minutes, while chatting the time away with some people in the queue. Last summer passports were not required to re-enter the U.S., this year the laws have changed and you need to find out the current rules before exiting into Mexico. Total time in Tijuana: 4 hours

La Jolla - in time for dinner and a sunset

From the border town of San Ysidro we traveled north on I-5 towards La Jolla. The traffic was light and we arrived in less than 40 minutes. We immediately found La Jolla Shores, probably the most scenic part of town, with very pretty, grassy picnic areas, volleyball areas, and pathways for the entire family to enjoy. The beaches are not long and open beaches, but are cove-like, and the rest of the coastline is very dramatic and rugged, providing outstanding photographic opportunities!

La Jolla is well-known for selection of award-winning restaurants, boutiques, and art galleries. However, the biggest (and somewhat controversial) attraction in LJ appears to be The Casa Beach (one of the many little beaches in LJ) where the harbor seals make their home, and you can see a great number of seals swimming or just lazing around. The seals are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and you can watch them from the seawall walkway, but may not approach them as it is considered a federal offense to harass them.

With so many restaurants to choose from, it was difficult to decide the type of cuisine to enjoy that evening. After walking around and perusing the menus at various restaurants, Ashoka's Indian Cuisine Restaurant had great potential, as the aroma of spices was quite appealing! The menu at Ashoka's is quite varied and reasonably priced; we recommend this restaurant for its selection of authentic Indian dishes, as well as attentive service. Total time spent in La Jolla: 4 hours

Day Three:

Mid-morning we walked around the Gaslamp Quarter in downtown San Diego, admired the unique architecture and we visited the Horton Plaza, a shopping mall, with a very colorful Mediterranean architecture. After lunch, we spent the rest of the day traveling along the coast and made it to Carlsbad for dinner. Carlsbad is only about a half-hour north of San Diego, traveling on Interstate-5, but to truly experience the atmosphere of the coastal towns, a drive along Coastal Highway A-1 is "a must."

On Highway A-1, you'll be driving mostly at 30 mph, and sometimes you'll be lucky to reach the posted 40 mph. It really doesn't matter how slow you go; there is always a view that will catch your eye, such as a gorgeous view of the ocean, perhaps the beautiful architecture, or the quaint little shops. Of course, part of the charm is to stop at one of the beaches for a few minutes to watch the surfers, or just to take a little walk along on the soft sand. The drive along A-1, to Carlsbad, with many stops along the way took about three hours.

Carlsbad

This town is famous for the beautiful Flower Fields that bloom on a hillside overlooking the ocean. Fifty acres of flowers are in full bloom approximately six-to eight weeks each year, from early March through early May.

Another big attraction in this pretty town are the clean, family beaches where one can enjoy a variety of activities such as surfing, swimming, and on shore, picnicking and sunbathing.

We walked along State Street and browsed some of the little Antique shops, and admired the quaint architecture. Carlsbad has many hotels/motels and restaurants for every budget, according to the Visitors' brochure. It appears this town would make a fun place for a family vacation!

Are you Hungry or Thirsty?

For happy hour, we stopped at Fidel's Norte on Carlsbad Boulevard and we had some very good margaritas, chips/salsa, and an excellent guacamole side-dish. Prices are reasonable and the atmosphere is quite pleasant.

Later on, we walked around the Village (the heart of Carlsbad) trying to decide on a restaurant to eat dinner, but every restaurant we came upon looked equally appetizing and it was very difficult to decide where to eat! We selected Gregorio's Pizzas Pastas (hours 11:00 - 9:00) because this restaurant offers "al fresco" dining in a beautiful setting. The menu offered a large selection of pizzas and pasta dishes, and a nice selection of Italian and California wines are offered by the glass or the bottle. We ordered a basic Margharitta pizza, the crust being thin and crispy. My entree, Shrimp FraDiavolo was quite spicy and satisfying! Prices are reasonable, and the bill, for two, including three glasses of wine was around $45.00 including tax.

Day Four:

In order to maximize our stay in San Diego we booked the last flight to Houston (5:15). Early in the morning, from the hotel, we jogged to the Seaport Village in San Diego Harbor and followed the paths along the waterfront. If you're a runner, this is a very enjoyable and scenic experience!

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at the Edgewater Grill for breakfast since this restaurant offers outdoor terraces facing the harbor. The service at this restaurant was very slow, the food was greasy and expensive, but the unlimited coffee very good. However, the unobstructed views of Coronado Bridge and island were wonderful.

After breakfast, we walked around the Village and while the Seaport Village is definitely a touristy attraction; it appears to be a pleasant experience for the whole family.

For lunch, we walked over to the Karl Strauss Brewing Company, located on Columbia Street, Downtown S.D. This restaurant/brewery is quite legendary in San Diego, offering excellent food, great beer, in a nice old brick building in the downtown area. I ordered the Spinach Sirloin salad and my husband the "No Frills" cheeseburger. The food was delicious and the food presentation was beautiful!

Karl Strauss offers quite a selection of beers and the waiters walk around with a tray of tiny glasses offering a taste of the various Strauss beers. I ordered the Amber Lager; this medium-body is a low-alcohol volume beer and it's delicious. Hubby ordered two different beers: the Red Trolley Ale (and found the flavor too fruity), but really enjoyed the second beer, Woodie Gold, which is a classic Pilsener beer. We recommend this restaurant for delicious food, outstanding beer, and friendly staff!

Summary:

San Diego is a fun destination and friendly U.S. destination, blessed with a beautiful coastline and almost-perfect weather. From the historic Gaslamp Quarter, all the way to Carlsbad, there is a myriad of events and exhibits to keep even the most hard- to-please person happy and entertained!