I have three friends now living in San Diego, so I decided to finally go for a visit. What I expected was a warm, welcoming sun-filled few days. What I got was a mostly cloudy, somewhat chilly, but still lovely time touring all kinds of different sites. Here’s what we did on our whirlwind tour of San Diego, California.
Day 1: Cabrillo, La Jolla Cove, & Torrey Pines
When I said this was a whirlwind tour, I mean it. I, in no way, expected to do as much as we did, but our friend, Adam, was a great tour guide and had a lot of energy so I feel like we saw nearly everything. We started our first day out by going to Cabrillo National Monument. Nestled at the end of the Point Loma peninsula, not far from the airport, Cabrillo has a beautiful view of downtown San Diego, the surrounding mountains, and the sea. At low tide, you can drive down to see tide pools and might catch a few sea lions frolicking in the waves.
Next, we went North to what would be one of my favorite places the entire trip: La Jolla Cove. In the middle of an upscale neighborhood you have La Jolla Bay, which, in July is filled with breeding Leopard sharks — a site I’d like to return to see. This time of year (March), you can instead see hoards of both seals and sea lions basking in the sun, riding the waves, and calling out to their friends and families from the water. It was truly a site to behold. Both the seals and sea lions recently had babies so amongst these giant water mammals, you could occasionally see tiny little versions awkwardly climbing up on the beaches to visit their mothers. It was really something special.
After a wonderful taco lunch at Puesto with my friend, Paul, we drove up the coast to Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve. Here, you can drive up to the top of the sandy cliffs and hike down to the beach. We were lucky enough to arrive right around low tide, so we got to explore numerous tide pools and rock outcroppings while we enjoyed the view down the beach. We also got to see two Peregrine Falcons nesting high up on the cliffside.
If that’s weren’t enough, we finished the night in Oceanside, a city that has a giant fishing pier and many, many tourist cottages. It was a pretty good ocean-centric day.
Day 2: Balboa Park, Comic Con, and San Diego’s Natural History Museum
On our second day, we started the day late morning at the Comic Con Museum. My husband is a huge Doctor Who fan and they have a great temporary exhibit centered around Dr. Who. You can see costumes worn by all of the doctors, sonic screwdrivers, and, my favorite room, the monster hall. We’d gone to the Doctor Who Shop and Museum in London last summer and this exhibit was way better.
After that, there was time to wander Balboa Park, which is huge and dotted with museums and little spaces to relax and enjoy. I loved seeing the Japanese Friendship Garden with its blooming cherry blossom trees. We also stopped in the Botanic Garden House before ending up at the Natural History Museum for the afternoon.
The San Diego Natural History Museum was really great. We still think the one in DC is better, but for a much smaller city, San Diego has done a very good job. I especially enjoyed the video about San Diego and the random hall of skulls.
Day 3: Maritime Museum, Little Italy, & San Diego’s Humane Society
On Saturday, we accompanied my friends Paul and Mel to the Maritime Museum of San Diego, which is a collection of ships right on the harbor downtown. You get to see the inside of everything from an old steam ship to the actual boat used in the making of Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, a movie I haven’t seen yet, but want to now!
This museum was so different and so much fun. We spent a good two hours there and it even held the attention of Paul & Mel’s inquisitive seven-year-old the entire time.
After the museum, we walked over to Little Italy for some lunch, then stopped at Adam’s office, the San Diego Humane Society and saw some very cute dogs, cats, and guinea pigs up for adoption. It was nice to see a shelter that is so well-funded and well-run.
San Diego Food
I’m happy to say that we squeezed in many, many taco stops while we were out in San Diego. The first one was a vegan place called Tacotarian. Was I skeptical that a vegan taco could be as good as a meat-filled taco? Yes, yes I was! Were the tacos and guacamole amazing here? They sure were!
The next day, we had lunch at Puesto, which meant getting a delisious margarita and two amazing tacos covered in grilled cheese (mushroom was my favorite). The Nogada (guacamole with pomegranite, mango pico, and candied walnuts) was fantastic. I regret to inform you that I took zero pictures, as I was too busy eating everything.
My favorite spot of the entire trip was another vegan place called Donna Jean. They are known for their pizzas, but the best dish of the whole trip was their Pesto Fusilli. It’s the best pesto I’ve ever had. Hands-down. And it’s vegan. Go check this place out!
Overall, we had a fantastic trip. Special thanks to Adam for hosting us and taking us to all the places! We hope to come back with the kids in the very near future.
