San Diego is the one of the world's best vacation destinations. The San Diego Bay teems with life and surprises - its near-perfect weather make exploring it fun and interesting. You can take a moonlight paddle in a kayak, watch every-evening fireworks at Sea World or visit seventy miles of palm tree lined beaches to swim, surf or just chill. Following are six activities and things to do in San Diego that should not be missed on your visit.
1. The Gaslamp Quarter is San Diego's vibrant dining, entertainment and shopping district. A walk through this eighteen-square-block in historic downtown San Diego takes you by modern restaurants and nightclubs inside turn of the century architectural buildings, complete with gas lamps and brick sidewalks. Explore avant-garde art galleries, historic theaters, unique boutiques and shops, more than a hundred restaurants, chic bars, hot nightclubs and a hardware store founded more than 100 years ago. One of San Diego's best travel destinations, the Quarter is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and extends from Broadway to Harbor Drive, from Fourth to Sixth Avenue.
2. Get Culture And Fun: Take in an organ concerts at 2 p.m. any Sunday at the famous Spreckels Organ Pavilion in pastoral Balboa Park. The Organ Pavilion features one of world's biggest outdoor pipe organs and has been a San Diego landmark since 1914. Here you can see organists from all over the globe play their traditional favorites and fun show tunes on the huge thirty-two-foot pipes. A fun time will be had by all.
3. Look at Jupiter's moons through a telescope in Balboa Park as the San Diego Astronomy Association sets up many of their big telescopes by the fountain in front of the Reuben Fleet Science Center. Because there are several amateur astronomy groups and professional observatories in San Diego, this is a great opportunity for you to explore the cosmos. Held each month on the first Wednesday after dark, you'll be able to see the rings of Saturn, the planet Neptune and the craters on the moon - and understand why San Diegans consider Balboa Park the Smithsonian of the West.
4. The San Diego Natural History Museum is where you will have fun combining education with knowledge. See the huge tree in the front yard? It's a Moreton Bay fig tree that has been documented as one of the largest of this species in the state. Inside you'll find a Foucault Pendulum that gives visual proof of Earth's rotation. You can become mesmerized watching it swing back and forth, knocking over a circle of dominos with no force acting to make it change direction other than the turning of the Earth beneath it. Wow!
5. Explore the tide pools in LaJolla at low tide and see strange and unusual life forms. There's lots to see if you look closely: scuttling hermit crabs, colorful sea anemones, real octopus, creepy dead man's fingers and cavernous gaping barnacles. Many of these creatures shelter under rocks or bury themselves in the sand; some use their camouflage to hide in plain sight. Like a hidden puzzle, tide pools must be examined carefully to reveal their treasures. San Diego travel tip: look closely!
6. Sun and Fun. There are more than seventy miles of coastline here in San Diego and the best part is that every one of them are free. They are all great for swimming, surfing, jogging, body surfing, boogie-boarding, reading that mystery novel, people watching, collecting seashells or just chilling.
1. The Gaslamp Quarter is San Diego's vibrant dining, entertainment and shopping district. A walk through this eighteen-square-block in historic downtown San Diego takes you by modern restaurants and nightclubs inside turn of the century architectural buildings, complete with gas lamps and brick sidewalks. Explore avant-garde art galleries, historic theaters, unique boutiques and shops, more than a hundred restaurants, chic bars, hot nightclubs and a hardware store founded more than 100 years ago. One of San Diego's best travel destinations, the Quarter is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and extends from Broadway to Harbor Drive, from Fourth to Sixth Avenue.
2. Get Culture And Fun: Take in an organ concerts at 2 p.m. any Sunday at the famous Spreckels Organ Pavilion in pastoral Balboa Park. The Organ Pavilion features one of world's biggest outdoor pipe organs and has been a San Diego landmark since 1914. Here you can see organists from all over the globe play their traditional favorites and fun show tunes on the huge thirty-two-foot pipes. A fun time will be had by all.
3. Look at Jupiter's moons through a telescope in Balboa Park as the San Diego Astronomy Association sets up many of their big telescopes by the fountain in front of the Reuben Fleet Science Center. Because there are several amateur astronomy groups and professional observatories in San Diego, this is a great opportunity for you to explore the cosmos. Held each month on the first Wednesday after dark, you'll be able to see the rings of Saturn, the planet Neptune and the craters on the moon - and understand why San Diegans consider Balboa Park the Smithsonian of the West.
4. The San Diego Natural History Museum is where you will have fun combining education with knowledge. See the huge tree in the front yard? It's a Moreton Bay fig tree that has been documented as one of the largest of this species in the state. Inside you'll find a Foucault Pendulum that gives visual proof of Earth's rotation. You can become mesmerized watching it swing back and forth, knocking over a circle of dominos with no force acting to make it change direction other than the turning of the Earth beneath it. Wow!
5. Explore the tide pools in LaJolla at low tide and see strange and unusual life forms. There's lots to see if you look closely: scuttling hermit crabs, colorful sea anemones, real octopus, creepy dead man's fingers and cavernous gaping barnacles. Many of these creatures shelter under rocks or bury themselves in the sand; some use their camouflage to hide in plain sight. Like a hidden puzzle, tide pools must be examined carefully to reveal their treasures. San Diego travel tip: look closely!
6. Sun and Fun. There are more than seventy miles of coastline here in San Diego and the best part is that every one of them are free. They are all great for swimming, surfing, jogging, body surfing, boogie-boarding, reading that mystery novel, people watching, collecting seashells or just chilling.
About the Author:
W. Terry Hunefeld decided to quit his job 2 years ago as a CEO to follow his bliss of sailing the Pacific Ocean to observe seabirds and mammals. Hunefeld and his wife own and operate the delightful Inn At Moonlight Beach Bed and Breakfast in the San Diego area. For more information visit: Bed and Breakfasts in San Diego or Encinitas Hotels.
