For traveling Husker fans, San Diego is a great place to spend a week in December, especially if you follow the advice of the natives. We tapped native San Diegans we know for advice on what to do and where to eat in America's Finest City.
Fer sure, dude, they gave us this gnarly list:
1. Sea World: A wonderful attraction and source of pride for San Diegans. Sea World started here. Don't miss the Shamu and dolphin shows. You'll be awestruck by the mighty orca whales, their speed and intelligence, and their amazing trainers. The dolphins are equally awe-inspiring for their speed and acrobatics. At night, the 320-foot skytower is lit as a Christmas tree.
(A word about night in San Diego: You're headed to America's great southwestern desert, but San Diego is not Phoenix. So pack a jacket. The ocean temperature, about 60 degrees this time of year, influences the weather. Daytime temperatures are in the 60s downtown. At night they drop fast into the 40s and 50s, and you'll wish for long pants and a hoodie.)
2. San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park: In the travel literature, the San Diego Zoo always gets top billing. But its sister, the Wild Animal Park, is a unique attraction favored by many locals for its relaxed atmosphere and wide open spaces. It's a bit of a drive, 35 miles northeast of downtown San Diego, in Escondido. On the drive out, you'll pass agricultural fields and wineries and boulder-strewn hills of sagebrush.
3. Cabrillo National Monument: Get a bird's-eye view of San Diego and the Pacific Ocean from atop a 422-foot-tall thumb of land that juts into the ocean and essentially creates San Diego's harbor. The monument commemorates the sea voyage of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, who parked his ship nearby in 1542. Atop the point is the Old Point Loma Light House. From this spot, you get a tremendous view of downtown San Diego and the Coronado Bay Bridge. Look west and you can find the Coronado islands, which look like smooth mountains rising from the ocean. You might even spot a gray whale on migration.
4. The “Hotel Del”: Built in 1888, the Hotel del Coronado beach resort, with its signature red-roofed turrets, is a National Historic Landmark. It is always dressed up for the holidays. You can visit its shops and boutiques. There's free parking if you buy something at the hotel, but one local source recommends parking on a side street.
5. Rubio's fish tacos: A San Diego original, Rubio's serves fish tacos Baja-style. The restaurant started with a stand in Mission Beach and now has 180 locations. If you can't get to Rubio's, look for another place with fish tacos made with soft corn tortillas.
6. Other Mexican restaurants: El Indio taco shop, a San Diego tradition and local favorite. It was the gold standard for decades. Roberto's taco shop, a chain of fast-food restaurants, serves inexpensive, authentic Mexican. The best place to enjoy a plate of “rolled tacos and guac” is at the South Mission Beach location, by the rollercoaster. Then hit the surf shops along the boardwalk.
7. C-Level: Perched at one end of Harbor Island, this fine restaurant offers spectacular views of the San Diego harbor and skyline. Meals are a little pricey, but the experience is worth it. The menu, found online, has Everything Crusted Ahi (yellowfin) Tuna for $18.95, Blackened Mahi Tacos for $15.95 and more.
8. Hodad's: For great beef, check out Hodad's in Ocean Beach, which has been recognized on the Food Network's “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” as a top spot for cheeseburgers, milkshakes and onion rings.
9. Children's Pool in La Jolla: A pool of seawater protected from the waves by a sea wall and colonized by seals. These wild creatures are quite a sight lounging about on the sand. The pool is at the center of a bitter dispute between some San Diegans who want to reclaim it for kids' use and environmentalists who say the squatting seals should stay.
10. Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcala: This is California's first church, founded in 1769 by Father Junipero Serra. A great example of Spanish architecture, it's still used for Catholic Masses, so parking's tight on Sundays. This remarkable and significant historical shrine provides insight into the beginning of Catholicism in this corner of the world, so remote from the Mother Country of Spain and yet so similar.
11. Gaslamp District: Similar to Omaha's Old Market, the Gaslamp, also known as “the historic heart of San Diego,” offers a wide variety of dining, shopping and entertainment options. Checkout gaslamp.org for coupons. More shopping: Viejas Outlet Mall, Fashion Valley Mall, University Towne Center in University City (near La Jolla), Carlsbad Outlet Mall, Horton Plaza.
12. Seaport Village: Located along the Harbor, near the Holiday Bowl parade route, the village is a bit touristy, but locals like to visit now and then for the variety of novelty shops. It offers outdoor entertainment, a video arcade for the kids, and lots of dining options along the harbor.
13. Sunset Cliffs: Get your cameras out! Sunset Cliffs has breathtaking views of the Pacific and is hands-down the best place to view a sunset in San Diego. Note: It's not the best choice if you have small children or limited mobility. Beach access is limited, and beaches are unsafe for small children because of the unpredictable surf.
Other cheap fun: Watch surfers at Tourmaline Surfing Park, near Tourmaline Street and La Jolla Boulevard; stroll along the Ocean Front Walk along the Pacific Ocean at Mission Beach.
14. Mount Soledad Veterans Memorial: Locals say this is a cool place to see, especially for vets. The cross atop the mountain has been a source of controversy and court battles. It is targeted by the ACLU for removal.
15. Golfing: If you can't afford to play Torrey Pines, try these: Tecolote Canyon, a par 58, 18-hole course nestled in a canyon; Mission Bay Golf Course, a short, cheap course for a quick round and a nice walk. At night, the 18-hole executive course has illuminated tee boxes, greens and fairways.
Other fun stuff: Balboa Park, including the San Diego Zoo; Reuben H. Fleet Science Center; San Diego Air and Space Museum; Quail Botanical Gardens in Encinitas; Scripps Aquarium; Old Town; La Jolla Shores Beach; Legoland; and Moonlight Beach in Encinitas.
World-Herald staff writers Leia Mendoza and Chip Olsen contributed to this report.
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