San Diego

Hopefully some of the SD people like @FlashMan, @athletics68, etc can chime in....

In late July I will be heading out to San Diego for a work conference and would like some ideas to do in my down time. Will have close to 2 full days of play out there also. Might check out the Padres game the Sunday I get in as they are then gone for the next week. Just to walk around the park. The only thing I really have planned to do is to take the 2hr harbor boat tour.

I will be staying downtown at the Marriott Marina with no access to a car. And I have been to San Diego once in the past (I think 2006) mapping the Boardwalk, Balboa Park, etc. Then stayed at a whole in the wall Days Inn in Gaslamp. So I have done some things. Wondering what your thoughts are....

I live in San Diego. And I am a native. I was born at Mercy (Scripps Mercy). So it's a bit hard to think like a tourist. I guess I few of the more touristy things I like are:

Coronado. There's a ferry that goes from near Broadway Pier to Coronado, where it meets up with one or two of the 9xx-series MTS buses. There's some tourist shopping and eating right there, IIRC. But also, my grandparents always used to stay at the very expensive Hotel del Coronado, which I always enjoyed visiting. Beautiful building, good restaurant(s?), a candy shop, a souvenir shop, etc.

The Organ Pavilion at Balboa Park. Went there a while back because a son of a friend of my parents' was playing the organ for some reason. Really nice place to sit down and enjoy the music and peoplewatch (and planespot, as it's right under the approach).

Liberty Station. It's part residential, part commercial. I went to Corvette's dinewr there last year. It's just a cool neighborhood. A bunch of repurposed military buildings from when it was the Naval Training Center

I see you like beer, may I recommend 1 or a dozen local craft beer breweries?. There are a few to choose from, including Mission - which is on the other side of the ballpark from where you are staying. There are also many more decent craft beer bars, hop on the #2 bus from Broadway in downtown and it will take you along 30th Street, which Men's Journal called the "best beer boulevard in the nation". The #2 runs on a decent 15 minute all day frequency, and it takes about 15-20 minutes to get from downtown to where the beer bars (Hamiltons, Stone (tasting room), Toronado and the Linkery - there's another good one just beyond the reach of the #2 bus called Blind Lady.

Also, I see your interested in the ballpark - if you are only interested in Petco Park you can visit the ballpark when the Padres aren't playing. The "park at the park" is open to the public except for when the stadium is hosting events, you can get a pretty good feel for the ballpark from entering the park. It might be a good idea to do that, so that you can be spared of having to watch the worst baseball team on earth play.

Well, the Padres are the worst team on Earth. Hopefully we get a sweet new owner and the #1 pick in the amateur draft next year.

Downtown has become so vibrant you can spend days down there and sort of get lost in all the hubbub. I don't spend as much time down there as I'd like but if you take in a game on a Sunday (still a lot of fun, despite how poor the home team is) and then exit either north or west you'll simply run into it all and you'll have your pick.

If you want to make it to the beach I know there's a bus which goes straight from downtown to Ocean Beach, which is the old hippie hangout but which now on Newport is full of a diverse crowd, eclectic establishments, plus the pier, plus some great beaches. Eat a burger at Hodad's - made famous on Diners, Drive-in and Dives - right on Newport, though it's often quite busy to get into. La Jolla, at the other end of the beach spectrum, is also a jewel of a place but is farther away and I'm not sure if the bus runs there. Go to the Cove and the Children's Pool if you can make it.

To be fair, I haven't gotten out as much as I'd like the last 5-6 years. I'm no longer the expert I used to be on hangouts around town, especially downtown.

Ah yes, I do remember that burger from Triple D. Looked appetizing. Thanks for the reminder.

Thanks for the insight guys. Will have to revisit this thread in July before heading out. The ESRI convention should keep me busy during the day but I still gotta have some fun in the evenings.

Oh how funny, you're a GIS professional? So am I! I won't be going to the convention though

http://bocasoccerschoolsd.com/schedule/

http://sandiegoflashsoccer.com/schedule/

Playoffs start in mid-july.

Little Italy is a good place to find good food. Even up through Midtown on India St. there some great places for food. My favorite is Blue Water http://bluewaterseafoodsandiego.com/.

I must say that the weather out there is sure looking better than the 100 degree temps that we have been suffering through in Madison. Can sure deal with the 70s.

Just bumping the thread a little as I am already looking forward to it all.

Good that you missed ComicCon. That thing's been really messing up the Gaslamp, apparently.

Little Italy is awesome and not too far from you. Balboa Park is very touristy, but a lot of cool stuff to do there. If you get a chance, maybe a Padres' game (don't expect them to win though ) and you've got to go down to Seaport Village... It's great fun!

You lob the "touristy" epithet at Balboa Park and yet you recommend Seaport Village??!

You've got those two things backwards, my friend. Seaport Village is a phony New England fishing village-themed collection of souvenir shops entirely built for tourists and Balboa Park is full of historic landmarks, museums and is the region's most distinguished public spaces (one of the remaining few good public spaces we have in this age of artificial, theme-inspired private "public" spaces a la Seaport Village).

I didn't say it wasn't touristy, just said it was fun. If you're going to be a tourist in San Diego, might as well do the touristy stuff.

Sea World

I never was a fan of Balboa Park as a kid, but haven't given it much of a chance as an adult. Now I realize that there are actually museums and other such things, there. As a kid, it just seemed like a bunch of mysterious old buildings, some of which were kind of eyesores.

I do like Seaport Village. Some cool shops there, even if it is touristy. Nice tees (tourist tees, but still nice). Some pepper shop, a restaurant or two, and just great peoplewatching and boatwatching.

Coronado... Also touristy, but it attracts enough locals.

I spent 2 nights in San Juan Capistrano and some friends told us to go to the San Diego zoo. It was nice but was a shame that the time wasnt enough to go to the city.

Had fun. Loved the weather. Sitting in the SD airport right now, dreading going back to the head. Something about 70 degree weather and no humidity, along with a nice breeze that makes me happy. Did see a guy in the hotel on Friday wearing a RSL jersey....

Yeah, we're definitely known for our weather. Sometimes it seems like nothing else. Did you have an interesting trip and do anything cultural or touristy or whatever else?

I hiked down to the beach area around Hotel del Coronado and looked at the houses back and forth to the ferry docks. Took a two hour harbor tour. Lots of naval ships out and about during that tour too. Then normal stuff like walking the Embarcadero to the Midway, walking through Seaport Village, and getting up to Balboa Park. Managed to quite a bit since was at a convention during the day. Hated the weather when I got back home and made me long even more for the nice coastal breeze....

I do love our harbor. Lots of good stuff (read: "boats") to see. I've been able to watch some good boat racing on the Broadway Pier as well, America's Cup World Series and RC44's. Good stuff.