“San Diego. It means whale’s vagina in German,” insisted the droll newsman Ron Burgundy, as he and his date looked out over the fair city. That line from Anchorman kept me snickering for weeks as I readied for my first trip there.
We visited San Diego in July with my family, because we won a free trip from Anheuser-Busch and Times Supermarkets. It was a most-expenses paid trip from Honolulu to this most southern city of California. And wow, it was awesome! The trip included airfare, one hotel room for three nights and four days, and tickets to Sea World.
I’d read San Diego is the prototypical Southern Californian city: sun, surf, sand, and gorgeous scenery. It’s true. I am a Northern California snob, but this trip to San Diego comes close to converting me.
City planners did a good job of making the area clean, appealing, and safe. Even the industrial areas around the airport are pretty nice! Everything is geographically close, super easy to navigate, and I don’t know if this was my good luck, but we never ran into traffic. Nothing seemed more than 20 minutes away.
We left Monday night on a red-eye, so we didn’t arrive until Tuesday morning, half out of our minds because 13 month old Olivia was a little uncomfortable and whiny on the flight over. We didn’t get any sleep.
After getting the rental car, we checked in at the Best Western Mission Bay. Centrally located, it was in a clean, middle class neighborhood, with free breakfast every morning, free internet connection in the lobby, ample parking, and a pool and hot tub outside. I can’t say I was unhappy with it.
It surprisingly got busy and noisy at night, with children and teens actually running down the halls in their wet bathing suits. But it wasn’t bothersome, and people quieted down at respectable hours. It reminded me of National Lampoon’s Vacation, as a place where the Griswold family might stay.
We only had a half day left on Tuesday, so we drove south to see the famed Hotel Del Coronado and the popular Silver Strand Beach fronting it. That’s a luxury hotel located in the plush district of Coronado, where presidents, princes, stars, and even spirits have stayed. Coronado island is in the top tier of San Diego’s most expensive real estate. The median price of a home there is nearly $1.3 million.
After a bite to eat, we got a wild hair and drove 20 minutes south to the border. We did not bring our passports so we had no intention of going into Tijuana, but we wanted to see the border area. It’s amazing that there is only an unmanned turnstile going into Mexico, and at 5 p.m., a steady and thick flow of migrant workers going home for the day.
There are tons of fun things to do in San Diego, but because of our travel companion, we picked family-friendly places like the zoo and the marine park. One could easily spend eight full hours at each location. We nearly did, and still did not see everything.
San Diego Zoo is located within the massive Balboa Park, in the heart of the city. It’s one of the largest zoos in the world, and exhibits some of the rarest creatures. It boasts more than 6,000 animals from 800 different species. It’s a beautifully manicured zoo, with gorgeous enclosures that closely simulate the animals’ natural environments. It’s also a world class botanical garden with 700,000 species of plants.
Highlights of our zoo visit included a three story, walk-through aviary, koalas, giant pandas, and a large assembly of primates. The zoo is extremely accessible for people in wheelchairs and strollers, with a free shuttle for the disabled. Some of the exhibits are multi-storied, so the zoo provides elevators. It also has moving walkways for the tired, like us!
If that’s not enough, animal shows are performed at two amphitheaters, and summer evenings, there’s entertainment by magicians, musicians, storytellers, acrobats, and face painters. It’s more than a zoo; it’s an experience!
We got the Best Value package, which includes admission, a 40-minute narrated bus tour, and short ride on an aerial gondola. At press time, that package costs $33 for adults. We thought it was a pretty good deal since admission alone is $22.75. (You won’t find single prices listed on the zoo’s website http://www.sandiegozoo.org/ either.)
If I had to advise other parents of young children, I would highly recommend that. It’s hard enough to hoof it around the 100 acre zoo alone - which, by the way, is not flat; its deep canyons and mesas are gorgeous but can be steep! – but if you’re in charge of a quick moving toddler, you will appreciate the ability to take in the entire zoo in one fell swoop, and from the comfort of an airy, double decker tour bus.
Our comedienne guide, Wendy, entertained us with jokes and interesting tidbits about the animals and the zoo. Where else would you learn how the zoo recycles its 900 pounds of elephant dung a day?
We also drove by the construction site of Elephant Odyssey, scheduled to open in 2009. It’s going to recreate relatives of animal species that lived in Southern California more than 10,000 years ago, like elephants, lions and wild horses. It too is in line with the zoo’s mission of conservation, because it reminds people that many of the animals today are facing extinction.
I was impressed and pleased to see the zoo is on board with the environmental movement – and nudges its patrons in the same direction. Displays for the animals also indicate the species’ survival threat. One display by the Monkey Trails exhibit shows and explains why illegal logging, deforestation, global warming, and poaching is bad; hopefully it’s a message that is sinking in with the zoo’s youngest customers.
Seaworld, a 189-acre park on the southern edge of Mission Bay, is another excellent way to spend the day. Shows, up close animal encounters, exhibits, and even amusement park rides provide something for all ages. Tickets as of press time are $61, and parking for cars is $12.
The big attraction is Shamu, the killer whale. Believe: The Shamu Show is held in a massive amphitheater with people lined up half an hour before show time to get in. If you sit in the first 16 rows you will get wet. It’s so well choreographed, it’s remniscent of a Las Vegas show.
Olivia was too young to fully appreciate any of it, except when the Celine Dion-type music got really loud, it caught her attention. However, we adults were awed and amazed. As with the zoo, Seaworld is as much for the kids as it is for the big people.
We liked a lot of things about Seaworld, but if we had to pick just one, we agreed the highlight was the petting station at the bat ray pool. The interactive exhibits always entertain us. Bat rays are soft and feel like wet mushrooms. There was also a starfish exhibit as well, but starfish are less exciting.
I suggest you bring plenty of sunblock and a hat if you go. Also, a number of exhibits and shows disallow strollers, so it was a bit tiring constantly putting Olivia in and out of her stroller. It felt like we did that a lot; either because strollers were banned, or because we wanted to hold her up to touch fish or see better.
At the northern city limits of San Diego, La Jolla is a popular and wealthy beach resort just about 20 minutes away from the metro area. The rocky coast and pretty shores help it live up to its name, as la jolla means ‘the jewel’ in Spanish. In addition to the natural beauty, it has an art museum, great shopping, an aquarium, and very hip coffee shops.
I know I’ve just skimmed the surface of what this southern city has to offer, but that’s ok. That just means I have to return soon to enjoy more of San Diego.
CELEBRITY SUITCASE: What can’t they travel without?
Nancy Kwan, Actress, seen here with husband
1) Books
2) Husband
3) Sleep
The fabulous Ms. Kwan and her husband were in Hawaii when I was lucky enough to meet this screen legend. She rose to fame with a starring role in The World of Suzie Wong and cemented her celebrity in the musical Flower Drum Song. Nancy Kwan was the first Chinese actress to achieve fame in Western cinema, and has made dozens more films from the sixties to today.
