Trip to San Diego!

Photo Source: http://comeheretome.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/sandiego.jpg

Having just returned from an extended long weekend vacation from San Diego, I feel more than obliged to write about it in this blog entry. So here goes. I believe, and I think most people will agree, that California has always been a separate animal on it's own. It has it's own unique traits and characteristics. Take for example, it's various cities - Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Los Angeles - all seem to have their own distinct take on what it's like to be a part of California. Same goes for San Diego - I truly felt that this was a city that portrayed a sort of quaint and subtle demeanor, if you will.

San Diego had numerous good places to visit, sightsee, and relax. Listed here are the one's that we visited - 



Point Loma Lighthouse

Point Loma Lighthouse, Cabrillo National Monument - I would like to start by stating that I have a thing for lighthouses! There is just something about lighthouses that draws me to them - I always feel they seem to display an auro of serenity and peace. I often start wondering about the history attached to them and basically get enthralled by their presence. So no points for guessing that this was the first place we visited upon our arrival to San Diego. This particular lighthouse was built in 1855 and I could not help but start to wonder what tales could be told if only it's walls could speak. Also surrounding the lighthouse were sweeping harbor views stretching from as far as Mexico to the east of Los Angeles. Those were a definite treat for sore eyes.

  

La Jolla Beach

La Jolla Beach - This has got to be my second most favorite beach (the first always always being the beaches in Goa). The La Jolla beach was a quintessential little beach that was beyond beautiful. In fact the beach was so serene that even mammals such as sea lions could not keep themselves at bay (pun intended :-)) You could literally see dozens of them basking in the sunlight on the cliffs. What was nice was the extra care that was taken to avoid hurting them. For instance, during the times when the sea lions ventured onto the beach, beach goers were requested not to go onto the beach in order to avoid scaring them.

The sunsets at the beach were phenomenal, so much so that we tried to go there each and every evening. You could also see a number of scuba divers in the ocean. The real estate surrounding the beach was absolutely gorgeous with a price ranging from anywhere between 1 to 7 million dollars (phew!). But it was easy to understand why it was what it was. The town of La Jolla including the restaurants surrounding the beach were really quaint and had a sleepy rich town feel to it. A dinner at one of the restaurants on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean was especially memorable due to it's fabulous views.

Mission Beach - This was the other beach that we tried out. This was more of a typical beach with thousands of beach goers, beach umbrellas, frisbee players, and what have you. If all you want to do is sun bathe with a million other people then this is the spot for you :-) Incidentally, we were not huge fans of this beach.

Hotel Del Coronado



Hotel Del Coronado @ Coronado Island - Coronado Island was a cute little beach town connected to San Diego downtown via a single expansive bridge. The island is most famous for its Hotel Del Coronado which is a Victoria style beach resort built in 1988. The resort has been featured in numerous movies and has housed everybody from presidents to celebrities and other royalties. The beach town itself was lined with small restaurants, shops, and boutiques. A good place to stroll about, shop, eat, and relax.

Gaslamp Quarter

Gaslamp Quarter, East Village & Little Italy -  In the heart of San Diego downtown was the historic district of Gaslamp Quarter. This area had a plethora of restaurants, shops, bars, and more. We had one of the best brunch ever at this one nondescript café called The Mission in East Village which is adjoining the Gaslamp Quarter. I have always felt that California has much better food and food options including much healthier choices and smaller portion sizes (which is a good thing) as compared to the East coast or the Midwest. And if anyone requires proof of this, all they have to do is visit The Mission. Breakfast included Mexican fusion dishes such as (my favorite) Papas Loco which consisted of  rosemary potatoes, grilled jalapeños, black beans, very little cheese, avocado slice and sour cream. Absolutely delicious! Little Italy was another area adjoining the Gaslamp and we had one of our best Italian meals ever at the Bencotto Italia. This restaurant has won awards for the Best Italian in SD Magazine 2010-12 etc. and rightly so!

San Diego Safari Park

San Diego Zoo, San Diego Safari Park, SeaWorld - Finally a mention about San Diego's infamous zoos and safaris. We visited all three and were able to do so easily in a span of two days. But if you had to choose between these, I would recommend not missing the Safari Park. This was located around 30 miles from downtown and is a park built in the wilderness. It offers several different types of safaris such as the Cheetah Safari (meet the Cheetah's up-close and personal), the Caravan Safari (hand feed the giraffes and rhinos), the Rolling Safari (segway tour of the park), Roar & Snore Safari (camp out in the wilderness and spend the night listening to the roar and growl of tigers and lions) etc. What was nice about this park was the animals were kept in their natural habitat for the most part and not confined to cages as is the case in a typical zoo. At the end of the day, they also offered a Cheetah run where you could watch the Cheetahs run full gait in the open. The Safari Park has also apparently secured 800 acres of surrounding land to protect other wildlife such as rabbits, deers, mountain lions etc. in their natural habitat. These animals are not part of the park but stay without fear of human encroachment in the acres surrounding the park.

The San Diego SeaWorld also warrants a visit if not for anything else then for watching Shamu, the killer whale show. It was really endearing to watch how mammals respond to human signs and hidden languages and one really starts to wonder how these mammals were trained in the first place.

Finally, I would like to mention a few other things that caught our notice such as the weather which was slightly chilly due to the wind (yes, yes although it's California). You could also notice a lot of homeless people around downtown and some of the other areas. And a final mention about a must eat spot (for non-vegetarians) - the infamous In-N-Out burger. Unfortunately there was nothing in here for us, but I have heard the burgers are so good that apparently even Angelina Jolie stopped by to pick up burgers here after the Oscars, which is funny when you think about it :-)

All in all, this was a memorable vacation once you minus the tedious flight and travel time from Chicago to San Diego. My verdict - A nice place to visit if you have kids, a one time place to visit if you don't. :-)