San Diego Travel Forum

my wife and i are spending a week in the san diego area in mid january and are looking for ideas; day trips? restaurants favored by locals? wineries? neighborhoods to wander? any thing that we shouldn't miss. already planning zoo, la jolla, .

thanks

If you like zoos, you'll like Wild Animal Park. Purchasing tickets for both at the same often saves a few bucks.

The best wandering neighborhoods are La Jolla, Gaslamp, and Hillcrest.

( Bring layered clothing. SD is often t-shirt weather in the afternoon in January, but can get cold quickly after the sun sets. )

I'm assuming you'll have a car to travel around? There are wineries in Temecula, approximately an hour away from downtown San Diego off the 15 freeway. Check out www.temeculainformation.com for jazz events, hot air ballooning, etc. in the area. Two wineries that I've been to are the Thorton Winery at 32575 Rancho California Rd, Temecula (951) 699-0099 and the Stuart Cellars not too far from the Thorton on the same street (951) 676-6414. The zoo is pretty much an all-day excursion. Drive across the Coronado Bridge to the island of Coronado, it's quite nice there with several restaurants. Take in the Hotel Del Coronado, which is a landmark hotel in the area. www.coronado.ca.us

IF I DIDNT LIVE IN BALI AND HAWAII , ID BE IN SD,,,,,,,,,,ITS HOME ........SIGHTS , SEA WORLD , THE ZOO , HILLCREST,,,,ITS GREAT ,

LAJOLLA, ZENBU RESTRAUNT, SUSHI BAR BEST ON THE WEST COAST IM SURE OF IT AND MY OLD PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT , ASK FOR JOSH HELL TAKE CARE OF YOU

LA JOLLA , TOP OF MOUNT SOLIDAD, THEY CLOSE THE GAT BUT YOU CAN WALK UP, AROUND IT , THE VIEW IS SPECTACULAR, ITS THE BIG HILL WITH THE LIT UP CROSS ON IT ,

LA JOLLA , WIND AND SEA BEACH

AND HEY MEXICO IS RIGHT THER ROSARITO , ENSANADA,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, FISHING LOBSTER

ENJOY GOTTA GO

Yes, dress in layers!! The weather in January is not predictable and even if the day turns out to be in the sunny "70's" it can drop to a chilly "50 something" by late afternoon as the sun goes down.

As for ideas, you might take a look at the Introduction to my San Diego page:

http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/16c12/b8708/

There I have listed neighborhoods that I also have pages for and are interesting to see such as, Cabrillo National Monument, Hillcrest, Ocean Beach, Old Town San Diego and near by towns that would be nice as day trips: Carlsbad, Coronado, Del Mar, Julian and Rancho Bernardo. There are two wineries in the northern section of San Diego, Orfila Winery and Bernardo Winery. You will find info for both on my Rancho Bernardo page. There are lots of restaurant suggestions for all these areas as well as popular things to do or see, even some little known suggestions.

I hope this helps,
Linda

My must see list for San Diego would include, the Zoo, Coronado (esp the hotel Del Coronado) take the trolly down to the boarder and spend a couple of hours in Mexico (it really made me apprechiate living here; take your passport to speed getting back into the US.) There is a great aviation museum in San Diego (I can't remember the name of the park it is in.) There are some great places to eat in the gasslight district and a couple of great fish houses down on the water front.

Enjoy!

David

>>>(I can't remember the name of the park it is in.)

It's in Balboa Park. BTW, great suggestions!

You can meet us in Balboa Park most Saturdays at 10am when i lead a Walkabout, i grew up here, what type of entertainment do you like?

Roger

we tend to enjoy nontouristy type things. often we just enjoy wandering, eating like locals and people watching. what do you do during the walkabout?

short answer to what you do during the walkabout, is walkabout, often we just enjoy wandering, i do request.

i'm sure you've got info on touristy type things.
to just enjoy wandering, eating like locals and people watching = i grew up here, tell me what kind of wandering (how far, etc, it's mostly hilly here), eating (we have all kinds of food) and people (we have all kinds of). What of type things (music, etc.) do you enjoy?

we are pretty adventureous in most things - food, areas to wander ect. walking is generally not a problem; kids live in nyc and we wander all day; 3 weeks in canadian rockies; seattle and san fran. so hills no major problem.

is there a charge for your walkabout? how big are the groups that go with you?

denny

hi denny
never a charge for my or our walkabouts, how big the groups that go are is very veriable these days, used to be a consistant 30-40, but now we don't seem to have those numbers that have the time and energy - so now it's often 1-9.

because i grew up here =
i eat mostly latino [not the "mexican" you are likely used to], italian, oriental - but we have large immigrant from everywhere, who are still 1st generation and so the food is not so 'americanized'.
i listen to Salsa, roc en espanol, old school R&B and jazz [country music is only east of the city and on radio]
i am mostly out the house, always looking for something to get into, so be glad show you around.

i'm planing going to Puerto Rico end of March, know anything?

Roger

sorry i can't help you out there - haven't been to p.r. in over 35 years. if it were nyc, i know it very well.

your offer sounds great. we don't have our plans finalized for days in san diego but saturday, january 13 is a real possibility. we don't have a laptop so we may not be able to contact you by email. we could give you our cell number and you could call. email dennydreher@yahoo.com.

speaking of latino food, ave you eaten at berta's latin american in old town. 2 years ago we made a quick 1 day jaunt into san diego and ate there - fabulous. we are going back again this time.

hope to hear from you.