[olie]

Hey there Monkey's

My family have just booked up to go to San Diego for 3 weeks this June, travelling from the UK, and I was wondering if any of you Stateside guys could enlighten me with some advice on where to go, what to see, and what to eat/drink?

We're going to be based in San Diego for the entire 3 weeks, but will have a car for that period and I can share the driving with the old man, so travelling to places shouldn't be too much of an issue.

What's in the immediate area that worth a look, good bars? Restaurants? The Zoo/Sea World worth a visit? Any craft breweries? Best roads to drive up the coast etc? Really looking for any local knowledge to help shape our trip! Also please shout with any recommendations that are further afield (LA/ Santa Monica worth a visit?).

Also, it's going to be my parents 30th wedding anniversary whilst we're out there, so if someone could point me in the direction of a pretty classy restaurant I could treat them to that would be great.

Thanks in advance!

Olie

 

[Scrub]

Tijuana

 

[Pesqueeb]

Tijuana

Well that's just mean.

In no particular order:
Green Flash Brewing A google will give you lots of other breweries in the area but this one is my favorite.

Cabrillo National Monument/Point Loma. Lots of (American) history here. On the right day you might also catch a Aircraft Carrier or Sub putting out to sea.

Mission San Diego de Alcala. The Spanish Missions are a major piece of California history (every 4th grader studies them in CA) and can be a good, quiet way to kill a goodly portion of the day. I've found all of them to be very interesting.

Torrey Pines. The park, not the golf course. Pretty neat nature preserve containing a stand of what might be the worlds rarest tree.

Old Town. Bordering on the kitsch, but the old folks will love it.

Point Loma Seafoods.

All the usual tourist attractions apply of course. Haven't been to the zoo in probably more than 20 years. I loved it as a kid, but I've heard it's showing it's age pretty badly. Seaworld can be neat, especially if you have kids, but it's always crowded.

 

[Kevin]

Zoo and seaworld if you want to support capturing wild animals and locking them in small cages for your pleasure.

 

[Scrub]

Well that's just mean.

What do you mean? I heard that there is a great animal show that involves a donkey

 

[Pesqueeb]

What do you mean? I heard that there is a great animal show that involves a donkey

Tell that to Quentin Tarantino and George Clooney.

 

[binary visions]

Green Flash Brewing A google will give you lots of other breweries in the area but this one is my favorite.

Torrey Pines. The park, not the golf course. Pretty neat nature preserve containing a stand of what might be the worlds rarest tree.

Both of these were great. Green Flash might be the best tap house I've ever visited, with about 20 of their own beers on tap.

Also, Stone Brewing is about 30 minutes north of San Diego and is a great spot - nice brewery, lots of microbrew taps that aren't just Stone beers, and beautiful grounds around the brewery to walk around and enjoy your beer. They do regular movie showings too at an outdoor theater. Go here when the weather is nice (what am I saying? It's San Diego... the weather is always nice) so you can enjoy the grounds.

Torrey Pines is a great park and a nice place to walk around.

I enjoyed the zoo somewhat but wouldn't go out of my way to see it again. Some areas are beautiful and expansive and you could see the animals being comfortable, but too many just feel like the small cages they are. It's nice to see the animals up close but I always end up wondering if they could really be happy in a pen.

We also really enjoyed our drive down the Pacific Coast Highway. Absolutely spectacular.

 

[Quo Fan]

I went to the Wild Animal Park, and bought the "in the cage" tour. They put you in a large vehicle, and you get to ride around the enclosure where the animals roam free.