California Part 1: San Diego

I had already told you guys, that my mom came to visit us in AZ for a whole month. We took her to Flagstaff, Sedona, Vegas, The Grand Canyon and to other beautiful places.
Although I was in a midst of a massive advertising campaign for Arizona, I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity that my mom was here to travel to new places which I/we had not seen until then.

My cousin, Kinneret, her husband and three children moved to San Diego about three months ago.
When we started to plan mom’s trip in the United States, my mother asked if we could travel to San Diego to visit them. I realize that adapting in a foreign country is extremely challenging and it is wrapped with longing and yearning for home and family. So, we checked distances on the map and agreed that a 5-6 hour-drive is not that bad. We booked a hotel for three nights and informed Kinneret that we were coming.
I did not know where I was actually going, I read through the web a little bit, making a list of destinations that we would like to see, but we did not plan it in details, because based on  my experience, a trip intended to meet with  friends and family gets a different color.
Luckily, Ilai, Kinneret’s husband, grew up in San Diego, so he made a private, wonderful tour guide.

I do not really like driving the main roads in Phoenix. Arizona’s traffic laws bother me, because of the fact that it’s completely legal to text and talk on the phone while driving a huge truck/SUV at an hysterical speed on the highway. Anyone who heard that I was planning to drive to California warned me that it would be much harder to drive there than in AZ.
Surprisingly, I did not feel that way. Maybe because most of people there were driving small cars and not SUVs (the price of fuel in California is almost as twice as the price in Arizona, which explains the smaller cars); maybe because in California using a mobile phone while driving is prohibited by law – in fact driving there reminded me of driving In Israel, which is not easy, but at least it is less intimidating than driving here.
So we arrived in San Diego after a 6-hour- drive, in the late afternoon. Actually, we had two full days in San Diego.

We spent one day exploring the Sea World, which definitely was a unique experience.
Now some few recommendations regarding The Sea World:

– The park opens at 10 am and closes at 5 pm – you should arrive at 10:45, cause thats the hour all the attractions open.
– Avoid visiting the park on the weekends or on holidays, otherwise you will find yourself standing in a tiring queues for each attraction or ride.
– The entrance to the park costs $90 per person, but most often there are coupons that give a- $20 discount per an adult. Generally speaking, in the US, it’s customary to use coupons in many different businesses and this is true for clothing stores, restaurants and amusement parks.
– I highly recommend bringing a lot of water with you – the park is a tourist attraction- and it’s expensive. During the various shows, you will be sitting under the sun and a large cup of soda will cost you about $12 or more.
– At the entrance to the park, take a brochure to see what time each performance takes place – it changes on a daily basis, so it’s a good idea to plan the day according to the shows.

Now that I have finished with writing and informing you about the technical details, I can say that I enjoyed myself no less than Kinneret’s 10- year- old twin boys. I just loved the shows, and I enjoyed them like a little girl! Do not miss the performances of seals and dolphins. There is also a once-a-day show of Killer whales (the black and white whales) but because in 2010 one of the Whales drowned its trainer – there is very minimal interaction between the animals and the coaches.
Although the park claims proudly that most of the animals in the various shows are actually rescued by teams, and even though the performances are truly impressive and enjoyable, if you are animal lover like me, you will face an uneasy conflict with yourself.

La Jolla beach & Mount Soledad

We opened the second day at La Jolla beach, although it was cool and we could not get into the water, we enjoyed the cool breeze and the white, majestic seagulls walking along the beach.
There are coffee shops and restaurants along the promenade on the beach, and there are several good spots  from which you can see the seals sunbathing.

From there we drove about 15 minutes to Mount Solidad. It was given this name because of the fact that it is the only mountain in the area and there is a huge plateau around it. The mountain is a 360-degree observatory that overlooks the entire city; you can see the Mormon Church, the University of San Diego, and the unique structure of San Diego, caused over the years by the severe earthquakes.

On top of the mountain there is a monument of a giant cross and many pictures, in memory of the fallen soldiers of World War II.

San Diego port – “Star of India”

From there we drove to San Diego port – “Star of India”. It is possible to park right along the harbor using a meter. It is called” Star of India” after the oldest ship in the world that is still active. The ship was built of iron and metal in 1863, at a time when all ships were built of wood; it was an innovative experiment. It is one part of the ancient ship collection of the Maritime Museum, which is located in the harbor. You can also see the ship from the movie The Pirates of the Caribbeans anchoring in the harbor and it is part of this special museum collection too.

There is also an old aircraft carrier that served the US Army from 1945 until the early of 1990s and is now used as a museum (USS Midaway museum). Entrance ticket  costs $20 per person, we spent there about 4 hours.

Next to the aircraft carrier you will find the famous and most impressive statue of “Kissing The War Goodbye” which is a reconstruction of the historical photograph taken on August 14, 1945. It depicts a sailor kissing a nurse in Times Square in NY on the victory day over Japan. The statue is known as the “Unconditional Surrender” and is about 25 feet.
Right next to the statue there is a great restaurant called “Fish Market Restaurant”.  You can sit on the terrace, right on the water, and even if sea food isn’t your favorite, you will find what to eat there.

Between the old ships museum and the

USS Midaway museum there is a booth you can buy tickets for a cruise. We took the cruise of “Flag Ship”, the cruise is two hours long, with an informative and interesting explanation about the area. The price was attractive, $ 30 per person, but Grupon usually has a coupon  for two tickets for $ 29.

Coronado Island

We returned to the car and drove to Coronado. Since 1920, the residents of Coronado island had asked the government to build a bridge connecting Coronado and San Diego. But the US Navy opposed to the request for fear of earthquakes.

Construction of the bridge started only in 1964 and the bridge was opened for use in 1969.
It is a particularly high bridge and it was built so that even the highest aircraft-carrying ships can pass under easily- without damaging it. It was recently awarded the dubious title “The Deadliest Bridge” because, unfortunately, about 400 people jumped off the bridge and committed suicide.

You will also find there the famous hotel, Hotel del Coronado, which was built in 1888 and made the island to a famous and luxurious holiday resort for the rich and the famous at the time .It is still quite an attraction today.

Balboa Park

We got back onto the bridge and drove to Balboa Park. Balboa Park is an attraction that you should explore for at least one whole day. Unfortunately ,we had only two full days (we will certainly return, especially since it is only 6 hours away from us), so we could not devote the time really needed to this magical place as we should have.

 
The park was built in  honor of the Panama-California exhibition host in San Diego in 1915 and since then many cultural institutions had been established within its boundaries; therefore, you can find there many museums, beautiful gardens, the theater that won the Tony Award and various performances. At the entrance to the park, it is suggested to go to the visitors’ center and take a map that includes the details of the various shows that take place there, the electric train timetable in the area for those planning to use it and of course the map of the entire park.

If you want to visit a number of museums, you can buy a “Multi-Day Pass” card that gives you access to almost all the museums or check online for coupons for specific museums that interest you. As I have mentioned, we did not visit any museums due to lack of time but still enjoyed walking on the paths and marveled the breathtaking architecture of the buildings.

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