Above: See the entire portfolio of San Diego photographs here.
I traveled to sunny San Diego, California last February and already I want to go back!
There is so much to do in San Diego, it can’t be done in just one trip. San Diego has something for everyone from the history buff to nature lover, from animal lover to foodie and from beach lover to hiker.
The city stretches from the Pacific ocean to the badlands, hikes to palm oases and slot canyons to the east.
February was kind of an off time to be in San Diego, but coming the cold winter weather in New Hampshire, lack of snow and 50-60 degree weather was fine with us. Plus there were plenty of parking spaces and it was easy to get a seat at a restaurant.
I understand that summer time in San Diego is popular with Arizona retirees looking to escape the desert heat. They get on Route 8 from Phoenix or Tucson and head due west until they hit the ocean and a bit of a breeze off the ocean.
We felt warm walking along the beaches in La Jolla and Mission Beach but we did see a few people walking with parkas, hats and gloves on. One local told me that she moved to San Diego from Chicago and bought her first pair of long johns, because the restaurants keep the air conditioning so low. Go figure, move to southern California only to shiver!
We stayed in the La Jolla area to attend a conference and enjoyed the following:
- Watching the hang gliders and sunset at Glider Point.
- Walking around the sprawling campus of the University of California San Diego and looking at the modern buildings and outdoor sculpture collection.
- Watching the seals and sea lions basking on the rocks.
- Grabbing some gourmet tacos at Galaxy Taco
We then moved over to the Mission Beach area for some personal time. We stayed at the Bahia Resort – a bit dated feeling but still nice. And we had one of our best meals at the restaurant right at the resort.
Walking from the resort we enjoyed:
- Strolling along the boardwalk between Mission Beach and Pacific Beach.
- Watching the surfers, the sunset, all the people on rented scooters and bikes
- Checking out the amusement park – Belmont Park
- Walking out on Crystal Pier at Pacific Beach.
- Grabbing some authentic Mexican food at Marcy’s Mexican Food.
- Eating excellent BBQ at Coaster Saloon.
We also explored the area:
- Hiking in Torrey Pines State Park
- Touring a few wineries in Escondido including Bernardo and Orfila wineries.
- Driving to Point Loma, Cabrillo National Monument and having lunch at the Stark Brewery and checking out the artist studios at Liberty Station.
- Checking out the stoners and hippies at Ocean Beach
- Taking in the San Diego Zoo, Photography Museum and Model Railroad Museum at Balboa Park.
We didn’t even get to all of the main attractions in the area including:
- Sea World San Diego
- San Diego Zoo Safari Park in Escondido
- Legoland California
- AQUATICA SAN DIEGO
- USS MIDWAY MUSEUM
- Gaslight District
- Seaport area
- Old San Diego
Plus from San Diego, there are day trip opportunities to the Los Angeles area for Disneyland or Universal Studios which is about an hour and a half to the north.
Certainly, there are a lot of attractions in the area willing to take your money, but we found a lot of enjoyment just walking around and taking in the warm weather and the natural features such as the beaches and watching dolphins, seals and even surfers playing in the ocean.
As a photographer from the Northeast escaping the winter for a bit of a break, I think the highlights for me were getting some tasty authentic Mexican food, walking along the boardwalk and getting the opportunity to shoot some sunsets on the west coast with the sun sinking into the horizon.