Posts Tagged ‘san diego’

San Diego is a place that has so much to offer for visitors and people who reside here. You will never run out of places to see and things to do, especially outdoor activities. The top three main attractions are SeaWorld, the San Diego Zoo and the Wild Animal Park. You can shop in Old Town, visit the numerous beaches and visit downtown’s Gaslamp Quarter, just to name a few things to do.

If you are interested in architecture and historical buildings San Diego has a variety of places to see. Irving Gill was the first major architect to leave his mark on this city. He arrived here in 1893 and began designing buildings were designed to be integrated into the desert like landscape. You can see homes he designed in Uptown and La Jolla. The First Church of Christ Scientist is on the National Historic Landmark list and is one if his famous structures.

The Spanish Mediterranean style buildings can be seen throughout the city and one of the best known one is the Serra Museum at Presidio Park. Modernism swept through the city after WW II and can be seen throughout the downtown and business districts.

If you love to visit gardens, San Diego is a gardener’s paradise. You must see Balboa Park’s spectacular gardens of all types. You can visit the serene Japanese Friendship Garden and the Botanical Building and Lily Pond. You will also want to visit the thirty acre Quail Botanical Gardens in Encinitas. There are truly beatiful gardens and landscapes to admire througout the city.

If you are a military buff there are many opportunities here to learn about the military influence that made the city what it is today. One third of the Navy’s Pacific Fleet is ported in San Diego’s harbor. San Diego hosts numerous celebrations and events to honor the armed forces in October. You can see the popular Miramar Air Show which has aerial performances by the Blue Angels. The main military attraction is the USS Midway which is the home of the San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum. The Midway served from 1945 until the Gulf War.

There are a variety of things to do and see in San Diego. You can visit the turn of the century Gaslamp Quarter or enjoy the modern architecture of the Horton Plaza shopping center. The Seaport Village is designed to look like a New England seaport community and is a place to enjoy shopping and fine dining. There are also several harbor tours available so you can experience San Diego from the harbor.

San Diego is a unique and exciting place to visit or to relocate to. There is something here for everyone. No matter your interests you will find something to do here whether it be sunbathing and surfing on the numerous beaches or visiting the many different museums. It is home to three of the best major animal parks in the nation. You will find so much to do here that you will want to return again and again.

San Diego is a wonderful coastal city to visit and enjoy. It has a long and colorful past. There are several exciting places to visit and to discover the rich history of this area. The Old Town San Diego Historic Park is a great place to experience the history of early San Diego.

Visitors can get a glimpse into how this area was a joining of two cultures which turned San Diego from a Mexican pueblo into an American settlement. You will be able to see original and reconstructed building from that period. There are five original adobe buildings that are a part of this historical park and are now museums, shops and restaurants.

The park has many historical buildings to visit. The La Casa de Estudillo is a mansion built around a beautiful garden court yard. Mason Street School was California’s first public schoolhouse. Make sure you visit the San Diego Printing Office – the city’s oldest surviing newspaper office. There are many sights to see and sounds to hear.

Mission Trails Regional park is one of the largest urban parks in the nation. There is over 5,800 acres to explore and it includes two lakes, the San Diego River and the Old Mission Dam. You can visit the 1,592 foot Cowles Mountain which gives you a scenic view of the area. There are many trails to explore and an abundant of bird life.

Heritage Park, an 8 acre country park, is dedicated to the preservation of Victorian architecture. You can visit seven original 19^th century homes that were moved to the park. These homes are now the home to a bed and breakfast, and other novelty shops. At the entrance to the park you can see the Temple Beth Israel which was originally built in 1889 in classic revival style.

Visit the Junipero Serra Museum if you want to learn more about the people and cultures that first settled in this area. This museum is perched on a hill above Old Town and is a Spanish Mission styled structure. The museum contains exhibits on Native American, Spanish and Mexican people who first settled here. You can visit the tower which overlooks the city and you can see for miles. There is also a park surrounding the museum where you can walk the trails or have a picnic.

The Whaley house was built in 1856 and was the first two story brick house to be constructed in this part of the country. There is an urban legend that this house is a designated haunted house. As many as 100,000 people visit each year to see for themselves. There are many interesting and unique artifacts here. You can visit and maybe you will see one of the four spirits who are said to haunt the structure.

San Diego and the surrounding areas are wonderful places to visit and to learn about the diverse cultural that makes up this coastal city.

Encinitas has a different vibe than any of the beach towns north of San Diego – but what is it that makes it so captivating, so special? Many feel its because Encinitas is still lost in time back in the 1960s when California was a much simpler place with small roadside motels along Highway 101. Encinitas hotels didn’t exist back in the 60s, nor were there any Encinitas Bed and Breakfasts or hotels in Del Mar or the Cardiff Lodge.

Encinitas is home to romantic bed and breakfasts, Stone Steps Beach, The Roxy Restaurant where you can buy a glass of rum and an ice cream cone, cute boutiques, funky old hotels on the historic Pacific Coast Highway, Moonlight beach, the La Paloma theater (still featuring weekly surf movies) and romantic Encinitas bed and breakfasts. Encinitas is so laid back that it is often referred to as “San Diego’s Sleepy Surf Town.”

Students, tourists and surfers jam Karina’s Mexican Restaurant for lunch and dinner. The wide sidewalks along the old historic Pacific Coast Highway through “downtown” Encinitas are lined with outdoor restaurants, a seaside “bazaar” and boutique shops. No other beach town in the San Diego area has such a great selection of restaurants – from Mexican take-out to fine Italian dining. If you come to visit, make a reservation at an Encinitas B&B or Carlsbad Bed and Breakfast and bring your appetite!

Moonlight Beach has the best of San Diego beaches and is an easy walk from the Inn At Moonlight Beach Bed and Breakfast Inn. It’s a great spot to soak up some sun, enjoy a game of pickup volleyball, have a picnic or cookout at the big fire-rings, try your hand at surfing or boogie-boarding, body surf, read a book, people watch or just kick back and “chill.” You won’t find a better beach in Encinitas to work on your tan.

Ann Dunham owns and operates an intimate, romantic Encinitas Bed and Breakfast just off the Pacific Coast Highway. Her lovely boutique inn is often called the San Diego Beach Bed and Breakfast said to be more romantic than Del Mar Hotels and more lovely than the Carlsbad Bed and Breakfasts.

The four suites at the romantic Inn At Moonlight Beach are decorated like a Spanish seaside resort. All rooms have coffee maker with Starbucks coffee, refrigerators, wireless internet, color televisions and a private bath. What makes Ann’s Encinitas bed & breakfast so very special is that the hostess, Ann Dunham, bakes delicious breads and muffins for your breakfast every morning.

Terry Hunefeld retired as President of a California coaching company to follow his love of exploring the ocean to monitor birds, dolphins and whales. Hunefeld and his wife Ann Dunham own the Inn At Moonlight Beach in Encinitas near Del Mar and San Diego. For more information visit: Solana Beach Bed and Breakfasts or Carlsbad Bed and Breakfasts.

Imagine a romantic vacation getaway to a quiet, relaxing and scenic village on the beautiful Pacific Ocean. This getaway has charming hotels and Inns, phenomenal restaurants and miles of gorgeous beaches. It’s just those elements that make up the gem that is called Del Mar, California.

Del Mar is Spanish for “of the sea” or “by the sea”, because it is located near the Pacific Ocean and is one of the most beautiful and romantic resort beach towns in the world. It’s here you find world-class restaurants, romantic bed and breakfasts, exotic hiking trails, delightful beaches and a world famous horse racing track

Del Mar has been home to celebrities ever since the 1940’s when Bing Crosby, Pat O’Brien and Jimmy Durante helped turn the Del Mar Race Track Thoroughbred Club into one of the most beautiful and prestigious organizations in the entire racing world. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez were regulars at the track in those days, and Burt Bacharach and Angie Dickenson also had residences in Del Mar. Brad Pitt purchased a home here recently – an $18 million dollar beachfront home – so now Brad Pitt sightings are the new sport in town.

Del Mar isn’t very large, just two square miles along the Northern San Diego County coast between Solana Beach on the north and Torrey Pines State Reserve on the south. Del Mar has a population of 4000 to 5000 Del-Marians (depending on who is counting) who live among the beautiful sandstone canyons interspersed with hillsides or perched on bluffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean, all of them enjoying beautiful sunsets.

Del Mar is home to the endangered Torrey Pine, the rarest species of pine tree in the United States. Only two populations of this endangered species exist – one in Torrey Pines State Reserve the other in Del Mar proper.

Each summer Del Mar plays host to the San Diego County Fair at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. The fair originally opened in 1936, the site selected because it was the perfect spot just off the main highways – while still being near the ocean’s cooling breezes on hot summer days. Selection of a fair queen – Fairest of the Fair – is still a fail highlight each summer.

It was Bing Crosby who took a leading role to ensure that the now-world-famous Del Mar Race Track became reality. Del Mar Race Track opened in 1937 with newspapers dubbing the track “Bing’s Baby.” The next year Bing recorded a song that would eventually open each day of the racing season since those early days – Where The Turf Meets the Surf.

Terry Hunefeld gave up his position as a corporate CEO in 2007 to spend more time at sea. He now volunteers his time on the board of directors of the Audubon Society and leads charter voyages to sea to observe and count seabirds and marine mammals. To learn more, click San Diego B&Bs or Encinitas Beach Hotels.

If you are thinking about what to do in San Diego there is one top place that ranks as one of the best of most lists. The famous San Diego Zoo, located in Southern California is one of the best zoo’s in the United States and is also highly rated internationally. Along with the San Diego beaches and San Diego Seaworld the San Diego Zoo is one of the top reasons to visit San Diego.

The Zoo houses nearly 4,000 animals for visitors to see. Among the animals on display at the Zoo, the entertaining pandas are no doubt the best known attraction. They are one of the main reasons why the Zoo is so popular. Everybody loves watching the cuddly and playful pandas. It is best if you enquire when their feeding times are scheduled so you can see them at their most active.

As well as the pandas, the Zoo has an impressive variety of animal species on display. There are giraffes, lions, leopards and more from Africa. There are snakes from Asia and camels from the Middle East. Pretty much any creature that you can think of will be represented.

The animals themselves have plenty of space to live in their enclosures. The San Diego Zoo is well known for its natural habitat enclosure designs in which the animals live. The Zoo is located in spacious Balboa Park, one of the best public parks in the world. Both the animals and the people who come to see them enjoy the attractive gardens of the Zoo.

You can view the animals in several ways. You can ride on the overhead cableway that gives a wide overview of the zoo from above. If you are keen on photography the view from the upper level of the double decker bus tours gives you an unobstructed view right into the animals enclosures. You are, of course, free to walk about the Zoo as you wish, but it is more entertaining to be there for the scheduled feeding times of the various animals.

Even if you are looking forward to a beach vacation in San Diego, you should set aside time to spend a few hours at the Zoo. Especially if you are holidaying with your family, a visit to the San Diego Zoo will be a great family experience.