your san diego guide - from baja to orange county

San Diego This Week Announcements
Spectacular views, including this one from Coronado, abound in San Diego. The fully narrated Old Town Trolley Tours let you hop on and off to view San Diego's most famous sites. The May 2008 issue is here. Where else but San Diego can you swim in the ocean and an hour later be in snow-capped mountains or admiring desert flowers or even listening to mariachis in a foreign country? This totally unique area is one of the largest counties in land area in the US and is home to over two million people. It stretches from the Mexican border up to the suburban malls of Riverside County and the sailboat settings and world business headquarters of international firms in Orange County. To enjoy it all will take many visits through all seasons. So you'd better get started now! Below is a concise overview of the areas that make up San Diego.

With its famous beaches, spectacular deserts, proximity to Mexico and urban excitement, San Diego offers something for everyone! Here is an overview of some of the best areas to visit while you’re in town.

OLD TOWN
California history began near Old Town San Diego where the first homes and businesses outside the presidio were built. There are a number of historic buildings outside the State Historic Park in Old Town including the Adobe Chapel, the first parochial church in the first parish of California.

Old Town State Historic Park–the most visited state park in California–recreates California life during the Mexican to early American periods, 1821–1872. Admission to Old Town State Historic Park museums and buildings is free. Once you’ve seen the historic sights, stick around for the diverse shopping and exciting nightlife at the area’s wonderful Mexican restaurants and bars.

POINT LOMA & SHELTER ISLAND
Point Loma is a spit of land jutting out into the Pacific just west of San Diego’s Lindbergh Field Airport. Offering some of the best views and most dramatic sunsets in the west, Point Loma is home to the Cabrillo National Monument and the Old Point Loma Lighthouse. Cabrillo National Monument commemorates Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo’s voyage of discovery. Check out the Visitor Center and Exhibit Hall or take a ranger-led program to learn about Cabrillo’s life and times. The Old Point Loma Lighthouse guided ships to San Diego Bay between 1855 and 1891. After 36 years the old lighthouse was replaced with a New Point Loma Lighthouse at the base of the hill. It’s the only remaining skeletal tower on the west coast.

Shelter Island, surrounded by the San Diego harbor and connected to the northern part of Point Loma by a causeway, is home to spectacular pleasure craft and good seafood restaurants. The Island is the center of San Diego’s year-round sportfishing and yachting industries. A wide range of fishing trips from half-day to multi-day excursions are available.

CORONADO
The enormous Coronado Bridge, an engineering marvel, connects this quaint island community to downtown San Diego. Beautiful parks, antique shops and cafes all reflect the influence of the ocean that surrounds them. Sandy beaches abound, so while you’re there, take a dip, play your favorite sport or go jet skiing in the bay. The world-famous Hotel del Coronado, built in 1888, still dominates the peninsula. Its shops, restaurants, parlors and spectacular lobby have appeared in countless movies and been the backdrop to some of the great love stories of our time.  As local legend has it, the “Hotel Del” is even home to a few ghosts!

DOWNTOWN & LITTLE ITALY
San Diego’s downtown is vibrant, offering non-stop shopping at Horton Plaza by day and the charms of the ever-popular Gaslamp Quarter by night. The Gaslamp is one of San Diego’s premier dining, shopping and entertainment districts where you’ll find 90 restaurants with food to suit every palate and an eclectic blend of bars, clubs, theaters and live music venues all within a few blocks. While you’re there, keep an eye out for the City’s old Victorian commercial buildings and the new home of the San Diego Padres, PetCo Park. Just north of downtown, you’ll find Little Italy. In the past decade, the area has undergone extensive revitalization and is full of enticing restaurants, art galleries, boutiques and cafes. Watch residents play Bocce Ball at Amici Park and walk along India Street, sampling the sights, sounds and tastes of this unique neighborhood.

LA JOLLA
La Jolla, or “the jewel,” a small coastal village, is just 15 minutes north of downtown San Diego. Surrounded on three sides by the brilliant blue Pacific and backed by the steep slopes of Mt. Soledad, La Jolla offers a romantic, Mediterranean ambiance. Shop at one-of-a-kind boutiques and art galleries, see a play at the famous La Jolla Playhouse, and visit the Birch Aquarium to discover the wonders of the oceans. Check out the Museum of Contemporary Art, to see famous works and an unparalleled view of the ocean. Play golf at the Torrey Pines Public Golf Course, home to a major PGA tournament. Walk the beaches or snorkel in the world-famous La Jolla Cove, where you can see bright orange Garibaldi, California’s state fish. At the end of the day, head to one of the many award-winning restaurants overlooking the water.

OCEAN BEACH
Remember those great movies featuring sunkissed Californians surfing, living and playing on the beach? Well, the image is alive and well in Ocean Beach. Carefree OB, as the locals call it, is still an authentic, California beach town. Today, however, you can also enjoy antique and vintage shopping, one-of-a-kind stores, casual or upscale dining and a myriad of special events, like Farmers Markets, street fairs, parades and the like throughout the year. If you want to kick back, relax and enjoy a sunset over the ocean after you’re done exploring, there’s no better place to hang.

CARLSBAD
Carlsbad, with its picturesque downtown and spectacular coastline, lies about a half-hour north of San Diego. In spring, stroll through the spectacular flower fields offering 50 acres of spring flowers in every color under the sun. Children will love Legoland and the Children’s Discovery Museum, both of which are educational and fun for the whole family. While you’re there, visit the 14-acre Carlsbad State Beach, one of the best places in San Diego to swim, surf, scuba dive and fish. On your way to Carlsbad, be sure to stop in Del Mar. Offering great boutiques and a quaint village, the community is home to the world-famous Del Mar Racetrack. Watch thoroughbreds race in season “Where the Turf Meets the Surf” and enjoy the Del Mar Fairgrounds, where events are held year round. Stop by one of the many ocean view restaurants to meet locals and enjoy a fine meal as the sun goes down.