As the rain poured down and the wind blew today in one of our few winter storms, I gave some thought to all the good weather activities there are to do in San Diego County.
Although we've been too busy trying to keep up with school field trips, homework, grocery shopping and other daily life trials, whenever we get a chance to show someone around we visit a few favorite spots. I have to warn you that although there are tons of very commercial fun spots nearby (ex. Legoland, Sea World, Disneyland, etc.), we prefer the places that give you a feel for the locale. I'll go into more detail about each one as we visit again, so come back for more.
Must See Tourist Spots:
1. Gaslamp District & Downtown San Diego - includes great theater, dining options and nightlife. Horton Plaza, an architectural wonder of shopping, is located nearby, along with Petco Stadium, a children's water playground, the convention center, a navy ship for touring, and Seaport Village. Seaport Village has some unique shopping opportunities, art, a great view of the ships in the waterway, a carousel and more eateries.
2. Old Town San Diego - don't get this confused with downtown because its actually quite a distance from downtown, so don't try to walk there. The best way to get there without a car is to take the Old Town trolley tour. This is a very fun hop-on-and-off tour that has many stops all over the San Diego area, including Old Town, Balboa Park, Coronado, Gaslamp and many others. And why would you want to go? This early settlement has pueblo-styled buildings surrounded by a defense wall and has a very special San Diego flair. A trip to the Mormon Battalion is very interesting for history buffs and my kids actually enjoyed it too.
3. Balboa Park - this is a sprawling area spotted with lots of Museums, dining, entertainment, the Zoo, the Science Center and lots of green areas and sidewalk entertainment during the summer. There is a free playground near the Science Center (southwest of it) if you're kids can't take another museum. The Science Center has a kidtown area for little kids (age 2-6) with a pretend shopping area, building blocks, and other fun stuff. And the fountain just outside the doors of the Science Center has kept many a kid busy and wet. Summer is really the season for Balboa Park, but there is still plenty to do at all times of the year.
4. Coronado Island - okay, its a peninsula NOT an island and most of it is a military base. But this has fun shopping, a fun children's library, beautiful fine white sand beaches and the Hotel Del Coronado, a historical site.
This is not a complete list, but each of these stops has several things to see, do and explore and just one of them can keep you and the kids busy all day.
Right now the weather is cold (in the high 50s, low 60s) and hopefully will be rainy (we have a drought-fire cycle here to contend with). While mostly this means it's pretty comfortable, it's still a good idea to bring rain jackets, warm sweaters and layer up.
Inland is a lot warmer and sunnier than the coast. The beach often gets a stiff breeze and it's not uncommon to see people walking along the ocean with their kids, dogs or significant other dressed in winter jackets and hats. Of course, that could just be because we're all weather wimps out here . . . hmmm.
Guess you'll just have to come and see for yourself!
