San Diego Fulfills Leisure Time Expectations.

By Bobbie Green

When the snow is piled high in other parts of the world, the mild year-round weather in close by Southern California city of San Diego is a big draw to tourist. When triple digits hit the desert this cooler coastal town lures desert dwellers to a get-away vacation there.

San Diego offers a fun time anytime. If the weather is too cool to swim or ski in the beautiful Mission Bay, you can always enjoy the fifteen museums in Balboa Park.  This time around we went to the San Diego Model Railroad Museum. What a delightfully fun place.  The local model railroad clubs set up the intricate and very detailed displays of our nation’s railroads and their route’s.  Your home town may be represented there or maybe the plant or warehouse you worked in at one time, along with landmarks like Mel’s Diner. The trains are running and unlike mine, they stay on the tracks.  It is apparent the set up is truly an arduous labor of love—with visitors being the benefactors.

Those who visit Balboa Park will find parking in the Inspiration Point parking lot and can take the free tram to on/off points though out the park including the zoo. One can spend 3 hours or three days in this park of art and culture.

Another popular attraction is the USS Midway, a legend in its time. Her career spanned 47 years. She was decommissioned in 1992 and has been open to the public at the Navy Pier, near Sea Port Village, in San Diego since 2004. This aircraft carrier served her country longer than any other to date. The USS Midway was the first ship built too large for the Panama Canal. Visitors today can not only see all the decks, crew quarters and mess halls, the flight deck has approximately 22 fighter planes and helicopters on display. Some have ladders allowing visitors to sit in the cockpit. Exhibits on the Hangar deck include a children’s section where they may enjoy simulator rides. Allow yourself plenty of time and wear comfortable shoes, Ladies no heels.

From the Flight deck on the Midway you get a view of the 25-foot tall statue “Unconditional Surrender” sculpted by J. Seward Johnson. The statue is fashioned after the famous photo taken on V-Day in New York of a sailor kissing the first women he saw, which happened to be a nurse. It sits just at the edge of the Bob Hope Memorial Plaza.

Next door to the Midway you can get tickets to the Harbor Tour, either a one or two-hour tour with a knowledgeable narrator. He gives a little history and details about the harbor scene and much information about the many navy ships that are in port that day.

Amid all these attractions is Sea Port Village with its shopping and many dining choices.  My favorite is still Anthony’s Fish Grotto, serving San Diego since 1946 with home-style seafood at reasonable prices.  The Restaurant sits on the waterfront next to the Harbor Tours Booth.

Tourist can park their cars and get around town on Old Town Trolley that offers on/off locations at most attractions and tourist spots. Their trolley runs frequently, on time and locations are well marked.  The new guy in town, VIzit Tours with the double Decker Bus (Big in San Francisco) has not worked out all the bugs in their routes yet and on/off

locations are not clearly marked. The top of the bus is fun to be on and hopefully they will soon get it together with a map of locations.

The trendy Gaslamp Quarter is great for restaurants and night life. And everyone wants to make a stop in and see colorful Old Town and eat Mexican food.

We stayed at the Hyatt Mission Bay and had a fantastic view of the bay and the ocean. We could even see the old wooden roller coaster. The bedding in the rooms was especially nice and their pools are simply beautiful. The Old town Trolley even has a stop there. How convenient is that?

A memorable experience for all ages can be had in San Diego.

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