San Diego — saltyandthecity

My love for San Diego has continued to grow over the years. Being a native I know some of the cons of living here, but the pros always seem to outweigh them. After living in LA and San Francisco over the years (2 other towns that I love, yes even LA!!), when me and the hubs found out we were having a baby (gulp!), we decided to move back to this salty city. This town deserves its' own page because there's just so much to do, especially with kids in tow. It's also in an evolutionary period, and while I'd love to see this city with a more sophisticated pallet (hey i love my tacos too, but a girl can only survive on them for so long) and more cultured events (this girl loves craft beer tastings, but there is more to life...right?), I hope it never loses the small town feels. Did I mention that San Diego is also the gateway to Baja? Day trip anyone?

The easiest way to navigate the city is to break it up into 2 parts - North County and San Diego Proper. North County is a bit more laid back, while San Diego proper is a bit more urban. You can't go wrong with either, in fact I think a stay in San Diego deserves a few nights in each.

San Diego Proper

San Diego has several little pockets or boroughs and each are worthy of exploration. North Park, South Park, Golden Hills, Gaslamp, Little Italy, Hillcrest, University Heights, Normal Heights and Kensington.

Some of my favs

Balboa Park

It never gets old. We can spend an entire evening here just walking around and with the expansion of Panama 66 a few years ago, most Fridays and Sundays there is live music. If not here then walk around and you will find a street performer on the main drag.

Right now both me and the kids are kind of in love with the Rueben H Space Theaters video game exhibit. The progression of where video games used to be (pong) to where they are today (holy crap!). There’s a tinker studio and a play area upstairs (for under 5). In addition they have amazing features on the big screen, recently we just watched a documentary about Lemurs. We all walked out having a much larger appreciation for Lemurs (bonus, I educated and had fun with my kids at the same time).

The San Diego Zoo and Safari Park

The San Diego Zoo is attached to balboa park, so technically you could do both in a day. But you would be beat! Our Zoo is teeming with animals from all over the world and to appreciate it, you should plan to be there for a minimum of 3-4 hours. If you are staying in North County, another option is the San Diego Safari Park. I like them both, the safari park is a bit more spread out and so are the animals which I prefer (for the animals sake), so I would choose one based on the location of town you are staying in - you really cant go wrong.