california, travel

Visit San Diego Like a Tourist Part 2

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Back again to share with you another day in San Diego and some fun ideas for your trip to the sunshine state. Today’s post is a day full of fun, experiencing Balboa Park which is definitely a tourist destination, and also includes a couple fun local favorites for food and drink. When visiting anywhere I love to not only see the normal tourist destinations but also check out some of the local’s favorite places. On my personal list always is 1) a local record store and 2) a speakeasy style bar.

A top spot on my list was Balboa Park.

Balboa Park is a 1200 urban cultural park with open space areas, museums, art museums, gardens, the Zoo, places to eat, theater and more! It truly is remarkable to look at it and really fun to walk around in. Historically it is also very incredible. Balboa was a spot for the 1915/16 Panama-California Exposition and the 1935-36 California Pacific International Exposition. Named a protected park in 1835, Balboa is the oldest parks dedicated to public recreational use and is also on the register of historical places. If you get a chance to visit this place, take out a chunk of time to really walk around and explore.

Also, got to hang out with my best friend’s brother, who was an amazing tour guide and got me to ride my first scooter! I know, I live in DC with them everywhere and I’ve always been too afraid to try. It was a blast and I absolutely recommend it!

We had the chance to check out the Botanical Gardens that are located within Balboa Parks. And apparently it is one of the most photographed areas of the park. It was built for the 15-16 Exposition and is actually the largest of its type of structure, which apparently is called ‘lath’ which is the tiny slats like a trellis, that is usually hidden under plaster. You can see it in my pictures below.

The buildings themselves are also part of the art!

Visit the cool restaurant and bar inside the grounds as well. They make a mean old fashioned, and have really cool art within the green space inside as well. Balboa Park is a visual treat!

A must visit is Extraordinary Desserts located in the downtown area of San Diego. They have a more extensive menu at their Little Italy location versus the Bankers Hill location, but both has amazing and super fancy desserts. It was pure heaven!! Their Vietnamese coffee is also excellent as well.

A quick Lyft ride away is Record City. I love checking out record stores in general. They make me happy and its exciting to see what will be in them. This one was a gold mine and I found some great stuff and the prices were really reasonable. The store staff was great. I was a little bummed they didn’t have a listening station, but the place was really packed full. They will play a record on the store record player if you want to listen to something as well. They have a good mix of new records and old, and probably the most soundtracks I had ever seen.

This might be the perfect time to pick up some in and out if you’re hungry (although you might still not be hungry after your treat at Extraordinary Desserts). I always get as much In and Out as I can whenever I’m in California because I never know when I’ll be back. If In and Out isn’t you’re thing, maybe Poke is. So, you get in your car and head over to Good Time Poke. You walk in and instead of sitting to eat the friends you’re with keep walking and head towards the large freezer doors. You’re confused about what is happening but you roll with it because why not?! You open the freezer doors and walk through into the coolest Tiki Bar/Speakeasy that you can’t get into through any other way. You’ve made it to The Grass Skirt, where they mix Mezcal and Absinthe like its no big deal. They have a small outdoor (but secluded) and the inside has some surprises as well! Definitely super fun and something that should be on your list.

One place I never got to get to was the Gaslamp area! I heard they have some amazing speakeasy, weird and cool bars as well! But the Grass Skirt is super fun and their drinks are amazing!!

Do you have favorites in the Downtown Area or Pacific Beach? I’d love to hear them!

Check out my first Visit San Diego Post here!! And stay tuned; I have one more post about my time in California coming up!!

 

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travel, Uncategorized

Visit San Diego Like A Tourist: Part 1

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Whenever I travel I have some goals and usually a plan or a list. Its my thing and most people think I’m crazy, but I like to go and see and do all of the things. Over the past year I’ve learned a lot about myself as I’ve gotten to do some traveling solo. You can read my article on Red Tricycle about why I feel EVERY mom should get the opportunity to solo travel. So, when I got the chance to visit San Diego solo I hit some of the best tourist spots, and a couple cool local spots and I wanted to share them with you.I’ll be sharing them in my Visit San Diego Like A Tourist series with some fun ideas for your days in San Diego!

Stop in the cute little North Park area of SD and visit the “Greetings from San Diego” mural, which strangely enough is in a gas station parking lot facing an alley. North Park is full of murals so have fun! After visiting the “Greetings” mural I learned a few really neat things about it. The mural is part of the Greetings Tour, started by artist Victor Ving and Photographer Lisa Beggs. They have been traveling since 2015 across the country painting vintage postcard-style murals, helping to revitalize communities and bring bright colors and happiness to cities across the country! They have completed 41 murals in 20 different states. The one in San Diego was the very first. There’s a few on this side of the country that I hope to track down soon.

There are some really cute neighborhoods all around San Diego. We chose to visit North Park, which you know is San Diego’s pre-imminent hipster town because there’s a restaurant called Son of a Toast, specializing in all things avocado toast. I mean, need I say more. Check out Dark Horse Coffee Roasters, home of quality beans that are roasted on site, Nitro on tap and homemade syrups, like vanilla bean. Perhaps my favorite thing in North Park was this book store. Stop for breakfast on the edge of North Park, at The Misson (you can see the North Park sign from the front porch seating). Their breakfast burrito and mexican mocha is yum! North Park embraces this very vintage California vibe, and everything about this books store says that. Finding a good used book store and local coffee is always on the top of my list when traveling anywhere, and North Park nailed it. I wish I had had more time to really walk the streets and eat all the food.

 

Head over to Coronado to get the classic San Diego Beach experience. The Hotel Del has been in music videos and was the place were EVERYONE who was anyone in vintage Hollywood went. Presidents Harrison, McKinley, Taft and Wilson were hosted by the hotel, and by the 1930s the Prohibition era really was its first hayday with Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, Rudolph Valentino, Mae West, Bette Davis and more making it their beach playground. Even up to present day it has been a spot for celebrities and politicians to visit including every President since John F. Kennedy. You can also find it in the movie Some Like It Hot.

Then end your night at when Goose and Maverick sang their heart outs and lost that lovin’ feeling, at Kansas City BBQ of course! Some of the best pulled pork and bbq sauce I’ve had! You’ll have fun taking in the movie memorabilia, and military challenge coins, patches and photos.

 

Then close out your day with a treat at the famous Yogurt Mill. Bring your cash (because that’s all they take) and your yogurt know how, because you want to order your yogurt “Child Size Dropped”. Don’t ask questions just do it!  Tip your scooper well – each window has a designated scooper with their own tip jar. It’s yum yum guys!

San Diego has so much to see, touristy and local favs! Everyone has places they love and want to recommend. I’m excited to share a few places with you in this little series.

 

 

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