San Diego

We took our grandson to San Diego for a week -- not near enough time to do everything you could do there. Our trip was in late May, early June. The weather was moderate -- overcast almost each day but no threat of rain. It was a very family friendly city.

San Diego has a nice streetcar system that will get you to almost any place you want to go. We used it to go to the Mexican border, Old Town, and the baseball stadium.

The trip to the border took about 45 minutes. When we arrived, we immediately went to the McDonald's to get drinks and to orient ourselves. We found a walkway that gave us a view of the border and led us to a very nice outlet mall.

San Diego is attached to Coronado by a very tall, picturesque bridge. There are a lot of shops and cafes to visit, but the jewel of Coronado is the Coronado Hotel, which has hosted presidents and royalty.

You can walk into the hotel and check out the grounds. The hardest part is finding parking nearby. 

Another part of history in San Diego is Old Town, which is actually a park that has historic structures, as well as shops, cafes, and a wonderful restaurant in a courtyard. You can reach it by streetcar but it's a couple of blocks walk to get to it.

The restaurant is al fresco.

We got there too late to get into the museums and buildings but saw a lot just walking around the park. Closing time for the buildings is 5:00. 

One family friendly outing is to go to a Padres' game at Petco Park. The park is very comfortable and has good sight lines. Again, it's close to the streetcar stop as well as the Gaslamp area. Lots of restaurants to chose from and you can see people parading their cars on the street if you choose outdoor seating.

I'd also recommend taking a short trip up to La Jolla. There's a park along the shore at which you can spot dozens of sea lions. Please don't harass them. They are very accepting of humans but some of them are very large and could cause some injury if they chose to.

What a cute baby! Momma is proud.

Another great activity is to go on a whale watching trip. We chose one that left in the morning and were not disappointed. We traversed through at least 3 pods of dolphin that numbered from a couple dozen to a couple hundred dolphin. And we spotted a blue whale! Our guide told us only 3% of the world population has ever seen a blue whale in the wild. There are certain days that have discount rates. Check online.

Leaving the dock, we already see sea life.

One of the dolphin pods that swam alongside us.

The rarely sighted blue whale.

We stayed in a hotel down near the waterfront. From there, we could walk to several interesting sites. First was Seaport Village. It's a spot on the water with a lot of boutique shops, cafes, and restaurants. We ate on one that was built over the water. You can take the walk north of the village to visit the Midway Museum.  Also near the village is the restaurant where the scene from Top Gun was filmed.

The Midway Museum

Seaport Village

Kansas City Barbecue.

One of the main attractions of San Diego is Balboa Park, a huge collection of museums, restaurants, and shops of various subjects. We were only able to fit one into the time we had, the Air and Space Museum, which was a big hit with our grandson. There were a lot of hands on displays and even had a motion ride that simulated being in a fighter jet. 

This allowed the kids to see what it would be like to be in a space capsule.

The park is huge, and quite hilly. They have a trolley system that will take you to the main areas of the park. Parking near the popular sites may be tricky; we had to park away from the center of the park and use the trolley to see other areas of the park.

Example of architecture in Balboa Park.

The Globe Theater.

Of course, the most famous of San Diego's tourist sites is the San Diego Zoo.  It is actually part of Balboa Park, but has its own entrance. It took us 2 days to go through the entire thing, which included lunch both days. My favorite place was a tree tops restaurant, accessed by elevator. There were also a lot of choices near the entrance. Be sure to grab a map of the zoo and plan your day as best you can. 

The orangutan kept trying to swipe the baby from its mother, and when he was successful, the two of them had a great time playing together.

Also, you can make a drive northeast of San Diego and visit the Safari Park. You will see pretty much the same animals as in the zoo, but the setting is more wide spread. One fun activity in the park is to take the balloon ride (it's helium, not hot air) and view the park from high above.

I am sure there are plenty of other things to do in San Diego, but since we had a 12 year old with us, we chose to do these things. It's a wonderful destination for adults, teens, and children alike.