In German Means "A Whale's Vagina" [Visiting San Diego]

devCharles

So I'm visiting San Diego with my girlfriend for a week in mid August to visit my grandparents, and, mostly, to hang out in San Diego. I haven't been for 10 years, so I'm not entirely sure what we should do besides go to the Zoo.

I'd be very thankful if I could get some attraction and food recommendations from you guys. Price isn't really an option. We're both 23, if that makes any kind of difference. I'm kind of annoyed that we couldn't go this month, which would coincide with comiccon but whatcha gonna do.

We'll be there from around the 11th to the 18th, so if there's any stuff going on during that time period that you guys know about, that'd be great.

strebalicious

I only ever visited there for a few weeks at a time every couple of years (port visits), but lemme see if I can get you started.

On the drinking front, everyone usually wants to go to Gaslamp to drink. Expensive, but lots of different bars and I usually have lots of fun there. And there's always TJ. I've never gone myself, but most I suppose it's worth seeing if you haven't already.

Mission Beach/Pacific Beach. We never had cars when we went down there, so we rarely went. Nice enough beach area. Went to a concert at one of the bars there and had a kick ass time.

SeaWorld? LEGOLand?

And really, the only reason for me to go anywhere near California: In-N-Out.

That's all I can really think of. Like I said, all sailors want to do is drink, so 75% of my time spent in San Diego involves alcohol in varying amounts and forms.

Santa Claustrophobia

When I lived in Southern California, I didn't get down to San Diego much. So I can't really give much first hand suggestions. However...

Depending on whether or not you're into history, there's Mission San Diego de Alcalá. But that's a bit away from downtown.

There are other things to do and places to go. The Hotel del Coronado is also nearby.

Holy Smoke

As strebalicious mentioned, the Gaslamp district has plenty of bars and decent night life. On the Rocks was a cool brewpub that I recall having a decent sized dancefloor as well. The food in San Diego is fantastic as well. Check out Point Loma Seafood which is a fresh fish market, and has hands down the freshest seafood you will ever taste. C-level is a bar/grill type place on the bay right next to the airport and has good food too. Definitely take time to visit the USS Midway too. On the flight deck there is an A-4 that my grandfather flew over 100 missions in Vietnam, as well as lots of other cool jets/copters.

La Jolla is a nice area north of downtown San Diego. I ate at some rooftop italian joint that was pretty tasty with a view of the ocean. There is a beach there that a ton of sea lions like to lay out on and they can be fun to watch. Lots of shopping and stuff in that area as well.

Lastly I'd highly recommend visiting the Stone Brewery, up in Escondido. They do brewery tours throughout the day and are generally cool guys. They also happen to be one of my favorite breweries so if you're into beer, definitely look into that (and try to Oaked Arrogant Bastard on draft)

These are all based on a couple weeks I was out there visiting last year, and I had an awesome time. San Diego is beautiful and the weather should be nice this time of year. You and your girlfriend are going to have a lot of fun!

devCharles

Thanks for the help guys. I'll be staying in Coronado, so the Hotel del Coronado will be nice. The bar suggestion is definitely good too because my only memories of San Diego were as a 13 year old, and I want to do some of the more grown up stuff.

TJ is something I'll avoid this time though. I've been a few times, but I've heard kidnapping has become a much bigger problem.

falsedef

Balboa Park is really all you need to spend a full day for almost no money. Pack a lunch or buy something cheap and have a picnic after visiting some museums and gardens. San Diego doesn't have that good of food anyways to really justify spending a lot of money, unless you like Mexican and a few other things*

*across the street from Balboa park is a vegan restaurant called to Evolution, where you must buy a vegan softserve in the afternoon, but only if you like tasty unique food

Gaslamp is for 45 year old suburban cardboard cutouts with money to spend. Pacific Beach is OK for drinking if you're younger and you like to party like a Bro. Not that you can really avoid the Bro infestation, though I think they're allergic to the Balboa Park museums and UCSD. And next to UCSD is the Scripps Aquarium, which is also next to the beach.

I plead to you not to visit Seaworld on moral grounds. If you visit legoland, be prepared to be disappointed you didn't spend it on concert tickets and drinks instead.

MetroidZoid

I just went there a month ago on my honeymoon.

About the zoo; make it a plan to get their early-ish; I think we got there by nine, and even in July we were able to park way up close, and it didn't really get crowded until we had already seen the zoo once and a half times over and were on our way out. Also pack a lunch in a backpack, if you can, because zoo food was eh and ungodly expensive.

And Mission Bay Beach / Belmont Park is cool. Ride the coaster, it's fun and will shake you down. There's also one of those wave machines in the park, but it seems pricey and a tad embarrassing if you can't surf (like me). But it's fun to watch people.

Chases Street Demons

If you're a sports fan, the Padres supposedly have a great stadium AND they're actually playing meaningful games. They've had attendance trouble for years now so you can probably get cheap tickets. Dunno how your girl feels about sports but oging to a game is different than plunking our ass down in front of one.

Upon further investigation the Pads are playing home games the 11th and the 12th, then leaving town for a road trip. Playing the Pirates, who are...yeah. So the game quality might not be epic, but the weather should be gorgeous and apparently San Diego has an "ALL YOU CAN EAT" ticket price...which is...AWESOME!

devCharles

She's not super interested in baseball, but I'll try to swing it that way.

*across the street from Balboa park is a vegan restaurant called to Evolution, where you must buy a vegan softserve in the afternoon, but only if you like tasty unique food

Vegan softserve sounds pretty intriguing. I'll give that a shot.

Also pack a lunch in a backpack, if you can, because zoo food was eh and ungodly expensive.

They let you bring food in?

DeathPrawn

Don't actually go to the zoo, go to the Wild Animal Park. It's run by the same people, and it's a heck of a lot better. There's also an awesome sculpture garden right near there you can stop by on the way (http://www.queencalifia.org/).

The other most important thing: eat lots of good Mexican food. You want the dingiest hole in the wall place you can find, the nastier-looking the better. Get a California burrito and some horchata.

LaPuzza

Most fun I had there was on the America's Cup boat Starts and Stripes. They do tours of the bay on that, and you actually get to help a little with the rigging and some other things. Its easy, interactive, and makes you appreciate the technology that goes into the boats (carbon fiber EVERYWHERE) while spending time on the water and getting a great view.