United States Destinations

Sunny San Diego offers relaxation and exploration

By Nicholas Spillios

Photo by Dieser Benutzer

Are you looking for a leisurely holiday or do you want the excitement of discovering new places and enjoying new dining experiences? My wife Charlotte and I decided we wanted both relaxation and exploration, and San Diego turned out to be ideal for that.

Of course, San Diego is well known for its attractive climate. It is usually sunny, temperatures are comfortable, rarely reaching extremes, and the humidity is low.

Our holiday plans centred on Seaport Village, Old Town, the Gaslamp Quarter and some leisurely walks along San Diego Bay. The Victory Kiss was also prominent in our plan. But more of that later.

For accommodation, we settled on the Express Holiday Inn Downtown, which is both economical and convenient. While not in the downtown core, it was still within walking distance to the main attractions and the room charge included a continental breakfast, which saved the cost of one daily meal.

From this locale it was a 15-minute walk to the 16-block Gaslamp Quarter along 5th Avenue, a great centre for shopping, restaurants and nightlife. The open-air setting of Horton Plaza draws one to some of the major department outlets including Macy’s and Neiman Marcus. Little Italy was not too far away.

The waterfront area known as the Embarcadero is probably no more than a 30-minute walk from the Gaslamp Quarter. Tourists are drawn here by the USS Midway, the world’s largest serving aircraft carrier, along with two imposing sculptures.

The most imposing of the two sculptures is known as the "Victory Kiss" or "Unconditional Surrender," and at 25 feet in height, can hardly be missed. The sculpture is based on the famous photo taken of a nurse and sailor kissing in Times Square on VJ-Day in 1945.

On our visit, a young couple asked me to take their photo of a similar embrace in front of the statue. Naturally, I asked Charlotte to do the same. She politely refused. Such is the luck of seniors in their twilight years.

We learned that the statue has been on loan to the Port of San Diego but its return has been requested back by the owners. So rush to catch it.

As for the second sculpture, this one is smaller in scale but worth catching. It is a collection of 15 bronze statues depicting none other than Bob Hope entertaining the troops during the Second World War.

This part of the Embarcadero tends to be somewhat congested with tourists during the day so it is best to arrive in the early morning.

Just a few steps away from the sculptures is our favourite dining spot, The Fish Market, which has a view of San Diego Harbour. We enjoyed the red snapper at $13.75, although other seafood choices cost slightly more, including their specialty, Dungeness crab.

Prices are reduced at lunch, which was convenient for us as we opt for the day’s heavier meal at that time.

Near the restaurant is the embarkation point for a ferry trip across the bay that offers a panoramic view of the Coronado Bridge, as well as a stop at the Hotel del Coronado, which for the frugal among us is too expensive to stay at, but is well worth a visit as a National Historic Landmark. The hotel was built in 1888 and features distinctive Victorian architecture.

More active seniors might walk on from the Embarcadero to the strip of shops and restaurants known as Seaport Village, then further past the Marriott Hotel and Convention Center to the Hilton Hotel, where there are spectacular views of San Diego Bay. The cement walk along the bay has numerous rest stops along the way.

Located back at the Embarcadero, across from Harbour Drive is a station of the San Diego Trolley, where we purchased a seniors’ day pass. The trolley’s routes, which stretch from the Mexican border in the south to the Mission Valley in the north, are conveniently identified by colour: blue, green and orange.

As Mexico is right next door, there is plenty of Mexican food on offer in San Diego. This is what we had in mind when we hopped the trolley for the Old Town, a preserved area set in a historic park.

This area actually does have the feel of a small town, with its main street bordered by a square with shops and a small museum that documents the history of the area before California became part of the U.S.

We headed for the Mexico Cafe and Cantina, which was recommended for Mexican fare and a great Margarita. The combination of a tostado, beef taco and chicken verde enchilada for $11.75 was a bargain.

On another day we took the same trolley and stopped further up the line for some serious shopping at Fashion Valley and Mission Valley Center. The crowds at these centres, a fair distance from the city, were heavy.

After a search for a reasonable restaurant, we found an outlet of Ruby’s Diner, a hamburger chain that was clean and presentable. Entering, we faced another large sculpture leaning across the counter, this time of Ruby, an attractive waitress of gigantic proportions - more than 20 feet tall. Americans do things in a big way!

We missed out on two of San Diego’s major attractions: the world-famous San Diego Zoo and Balboa Park, which, with its museums and gardens, is the largest urban cultural park in the U.S.

Those will be for next time. We already plan a return visit.