San Diego Vacation

Visit the greater San Diego area and in addition to a nice tan, sand between your toes, and a vacation album bulging with sun-drenched photos, you’ll also bring back a head-swimming bundle of information, a renewed appreciation for the influence of multiple cultures in the history of the American West, and the firm belief that Alonzo Erastus Horton knew a good deal when he saw it.

As an attractive sun-filled destination, San Diego goes way back. Archeologists have determined that the earliest inhabitants arrived there more than 20,000 years ago, settling inland in the area now known as Rancho Santa Fe. By 7000 BC, their descendants had migrated to the beach area that is now La Jolla, where life was simple and good.

Fast-forward through the arrival of seafaring Portuguese, Spanish explorers from Baja California seeking gold and land, the construction of missions by the Catholic church, Mexico’s war of independence from Spain, our own country’s war on Mexico to gain rights in the western lands, and, by 1846, San Diego had become the southernmost city in the United States.

In 1867, developer Alonzo Erastus Horton heard about the beauty of the city at a lecture, and shortly after, he arrived in town and purchased 800 bayfront acres in what is now the heart of downtown San Diego, calling it “the prettiest place for a city I ever saw”. He paid a mere 33 cents an acre.

Horton spent $50,000 to install a wharf, and then built the Horton Hotel (currently the US Grant Hotel) where he set aside half a city block as a plaza for his guests. The Horton Plaza area is now an architectural masterpiece, thanks to the city’s 1970s Redevelopment Plan, with scores of inviting shops, an eclectic collection of restaurants, a theater, and even a skating rink during the holiday season.

San Diego’s vibrant, clean and safe downtown is only part of what attracts 14 million visitors annually to the sixth largest city in the US. The area’s near-perfect climate (a mean temperature of 70 degrees with low humidity), sparkling white-washed stucco buildings, a picturesque harborside setting with almost unlimited family-friendly outdoor entertainment, neighboring towns that range from North County beaches to the South Bay cities along the Mexican border, make this a perfect vacation destination for visitors of every age and interest.

The challenge is narrowing down your options into a manageable four-or-five-day visit (longer if you’re lucky). Here are a few suggestions:

You can easily spend a full day exploring the fascinating exhibits at the internationally famous San Diego Zoo, where more than 4,000 animals live in a tropical setting of hills, shrubs and trees, many of them bioclimatic environments that are similar to the animals’ homes in the wild.

The 100-acre zoo rests in the heart of Balboa Park, a 1,400 acre forest of exotic trees, beautifully-sculpted gardens and a magnificent lily pond. Within the park you’ll find scores of museums and art galleries, including the Museum of Photographic Arts, the Mingei International Museum of Folk Art, the San Diego Aerospace Museum, and the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, a must for kids.

One of the most popular exhibits at the zoo is the Giant Panda Research Station, a multi-million dollar habitat designed for the viewing and research of three giant pandas on loan from the People’s Republic of China.

Another favorite is the Safari Sleepover, where children ages four and older can spend the night at the zoo (4:00 pm to 9:00 am the following morning). Kids and the favorite adults they bring with them meet wildlife close up, learn about current research projects from the zany scientist Dr. Zoolittle, and enjoy forest-inspired crafts, a private bus tour, moonlight stroll, and a campfire sing-along.

Water-lovers will enjoy a breathtaking city view on a 15-minute ferry ride from Seaport Village to Coronado, a peaceful island just across the bay that dates back to 1884. That’s when two Midwestern financiers arrived hoping to improve their poor health in the near-perfect climate. On seeing the idyllic site, they began to dream of building a hotel that would be “the talk of the western world”.

Apparently their health improved, because they succeeded admirably. The 400-room Hotel Del Coronado was completed in 1888, making noteworthy history as the first west coast hotel to boast electric lights. Now recently renovated and a National Historic Landmark, The Del is still magnificent, welcoming every president since Lyndon Johnson and a lot of mainstream visitors who opt to pay from $280 to well over $600 a night to sleep in history.

As a Coronado day visitor, you can wander the property (not the rooms, though) and soak up the legacy of guests that included Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, the Ronald Reagan family, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and Charles Lindbergh.

Back on the mainland, a waterfront favorite among kids of all ages is Sea World at Mission Bay Park, one of the world’s largest marine-life amusement parks. During summer months, the House of Douse Shamu show features synchronized killer whales leaping, jumping, spinning and splashing. If you don’t mind getting wet, you can dine at a reserved table poolside at the Shamu Buffet.

No visit to San Diego would be complete without a visit to the area dubbed San Diego North. Renowned for its slower pace and stunning physical beauty, the communities that dot the coastal stretch are like baubles in a necklace of mismatched gems, with one thing in common: the views are spectacular.

La Jolla and Del Mar are delightful seaside villages where the thoroughbred set blends comfortably with local surfer-dudes. Visitors with a penchant for shopping will love both towns’ small, walkable retail areas lined with boutiques, cafés and gift stores. For a spectacular 360-degree view of La Jolla and beyond, drive to the top of Mount Soledad, site of an impressive veteran’s memorial first established in 1954 to honor veterans of the Korean War, and now even more special with the installation of the Veteran’s Memorial Walls.

When you’re in the La Jolla area, do not miss a visit to the Birch Aquarium at the 100-year-old Scripp’s Institution. Here, among other fascinating facts, you will find the answer to the question: What fish has a head like a horse, a tail like a monkey, a pouch like a kangaroo, and the added oddity of male pregnancy?

The Birch is a wonderland of educational and entertaining exhibits, with over 60 tanks, including a 70,000 gallon kelp tank where sharks and other exotic ocean creatures are hand-fed by a scuba diver, to the delight of the young (and not-so-young) visitors crowded around the tank’s massive glass wall.

Farther up the coast in Solona Beach, The Belly Up Tavern at 143 Cedros Avenue (known to locals as the BUT) has been San Diego’s top live music venue for more than 25 years. The Quonset hut-lined street where it began its life has improbably been transformed into the Cedros Design District. Now the Belly Up rubs shoulders with some of the trendiest, most chic shops in San Diego.

San Diego has been named “America’s Finest City” and with good reason. So many good reasons, in fact, that it’s virtually impossible to experience them all in a single visit. But who’s to say you can’t go back from time to time?

Read about the San Diego W Hotel or for a great thing to do, ride the San Diego Seals

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