An Insider's 3 Day Guide to San Diego

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Lauren Barrett

Discovered by the Germans in 1904, they named it San Diego, which of course in German means a whale's vagina. Never mind, I was just trying to impress you. 

The setting for the comedy Anchorman, San Diego is a vibrant city on the Pacific coast of California. Full of history, museums, gardens, a world famous zoo, and a naval fleet, people here flock here for all the activities and stay for the idealyc weather. In the heart of summer, it can still be 72 degrees and perfectly sunny. 

I had the fortunate pleasure of going to San Diego in the summer of 2016. I have family living in Alpine, a city right outside of San Diego, and we got to stay with them in their beautiful house with views of the valley below. Even though I would have been perfectly content staying at their house the whole time soaking up the rays by the pool and staring out over the hill, I am going to list what we did during the trip and also provide other suggestions/recommendations from a resident of the area, my mother's cousin (my cousin once removed), so she has first hand knowledge of what to do if you want to be a tourist or go off the beaten path. 

The Logistics ​

• Drove by rental car from St. Louis on our cross  country roadtrip 
• Traveled with my parents and James
• Stayed in Alpine, California at my mom's cousin's house.
• Stayed 4 nights, 3 days

Things We Did

• Seaport Village in San Diego
  • ​Shops and restaurants by the water
    
  • Can take the trolley here on the green line
    
  • James and I went here before the baseball game
• Petco Park
  
  • ​Home of the MLB team the San Diego Padres 
    
  • Beautiful park
    
• Old Town San Diego 
  
  • ​The oldest settled area in San Diego
    
  • 32 restaurants, 100 boutique shops, 36 museums and historic sites
    
  • Did the Old Town Trolley Tour of San Diego Silver Line
    
    • ​Can hop on and off at any of the stops
      
    • 11 stops: Old Town Market, Maritime Museum, Embarcadero Museum, Seaport Village, Marriott Marquis and Marina, Gaslamp Quarter, East Convention Center-Petco Park and Hilton Bayfront, Barrio Logan, Hotel Del Coronado, Balboa Park, and Little Italy
• Coronado Island
  • Wide, sandy beaches
  • Beachfront boardwalk 
  • Cute main street with shops and restaurants 
  • The magnificent Hotel Del Coronado 
  • We ate, shopped, explored, and did yoga on the beach here

Other Suggestions/Recommendations

• Coronado Beach north of where the red roofed Hotel Del sits. If you look at the dunes from the sky the vegetation spells CORONADO for the incoming pilots to North Island. 
  
• Going over the Bay Bridge to get to Coronado you can see the Hotel Del and the Silver Strand. Beautiful views from the bridge due to the low sides on the beach. You might also see the islands in the distance on a clear day. 
• The South Mission Beach by the jetty.
  
• Walk along the waterfront by the Star of India (sailing vessel) and visit the Midway. Fireworks off the deck are awesome. 
• Point Loma-Cabrillo National Monument. Fantastic view of the entrance to the bay on the one side. The other side looks on the peninsula. Natural vegetation facing the Pacific Ocean. 
  
• San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park or further north of San Diego is the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. 
• Tour of Petco Park during baseball season. 
• Old Town. Where California began! Great state park with the old buildings and wooden sidewalks. A beautiful restored adobe home with an inner courtyard. A ship's mast flying the flag is in the middle of the grassy lawn area. 
• Mission San Diego De Alcala. California's first mission. Check out the Presidio (fort) that overlooks Old Town. 
• Torrey Pines Natural Reserve. Hike in this area with views of the ocean. 

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My name is Lauren, and I was born in New Jersey, grew up in West Virginia, went to college in Pennsylvania, and now live and work in North Carolina. I'm a high school teacher of the deaf and hard-of-hearing by day, a cross country coach by the afternoon, a writer by night, and a full time mom to an amazing toddler. I love my faith, running, watching baseball, chocolate, scrapbooking, pretending I would actually do well on the Amazing Race, re-watching The Office, listening to Bobby Bones, and helping out all moms.

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