San Diego Off the Beaten Path Tips by Shadownlite

Point Loma is a great place to go as the sun goes down. Point Loma is located at the very end of San Diego Bay at the Cabrillo National Momument. From this point, you can see both a great cityscape of San Diego and out to sea.

The site is the location of the first landing of the Spanish and it has a historical center there with guides in many languages, a gift shop, a small military museum about the Bay during WW2, a area talking about whale watching, a trail to drive along the bay which ends in the area where you can walk in tidepools, and a small museum about the Spanish Landing.

This is also a great place to watch the Naval Fleet come in....it is impressive to watch them have a Huge aircraft carrier make it's way into the Bay.

The area costs $5.00 for entry but the pass is good for 7 days.

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Phone: (619) 557-5450
Website: http://www.nps.gov/cabr/

Balboa Park is located next to the San Diego Zoo. It is the home off many of the museums in San Diego and also many fountains, floral/cacti gardens, park areas, and shops. It even has a replica of London's Old Globe Theatre where Shakespeare plays are held.

In 1915–1916, the Panama-California Exposition, honoring the completion of the Panama Canal, was held in Balboa Park. In, 1935–1936, San Diego held the California-Pacific International Exposition in the Park. Many exhibits came directly from the Chicago World’s Fair. The buildings, which are in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, from both Expositions still stand and house the musuems that are there today.

One Tuesdays of every week of the month different museums have free entry so you may want to check into the Balboa Park visitor's center and find out which musuems are free that day or check out: http://www.balboapark.org/visitors.html#freetours to find out which museums are free on which Tuesday.

Museum times for openning and closing can be found on the webpage for Balboa Park or by calling the phone number for the Visitor's Center..

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Phone: Tel: 619.239.0512
Website: http://www.balboapark.org/
Other Contact: on most maps of San Diego

Old Town is a historical park , located in the center of San Diego, that keeps the feeling of the original Spanish settlement. The people who work within the park wear traditional dress so it adds to the atmosphere.

The buildings are kept in the condition they were hundreds of years ago. Many of them now house museum displays and shops. Many of them are also haunted. They also have the original cemetary within the park.

The La Casa de Estudillo is one of these buildings that is now a museum display. The Spanish style Hacienda house is set up just like it was hundreds of years ago. It is free and open to the public to take a look at how the original San Diego residents lived.

There are also early Victorian houses kept in original condition...some are Bed&Breakfast places and others are famous.

The Whaley House is on of these famous Victorian Houses, which has the distinction to be deemed "Haunted' by the US Government. They have tours of this house which costs a small fee for entrance. Many visitors have "ghost encounters" there so do not be surprised if Whaley himself makes an appearance.

The Bazaar Del Mundo also is a part of Old Town....here you will find international shops which have wares from South America and Mexico. The Bazaar always has Latin music on display and they put on displays of traditional dances in the plaza there. There are also many restuarants around the plaza with great Mexican food and wonderful margaritas.

In the streets surrounding the park are many great restuarants...most serving Mexican food and all very good. Also up the hill from Old Town is one of California's original missions located within a beautiful park that is worth a look.

Old Town is well worth the time and it's best to get there early and finsih out the day eating at one of the many great restuarants in and around the park.

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Phone: inside USA:1-800-777-0369
Website: www.parks.ca.gov
Other Contact: outside the USA: (916)653-6995

Comic Con is a yearly event in mid to late July that takes place in San Diego. It is a 4 day convention of comic artists, movies, tv shows, and other multimedia of the scifi/fantasy nature.

You get to mingle with artists, actors, fans, and dressed up/costumed people as you walk the dealer's floor or attend panels/Q&A's for tv shows, comic books, and movies. There is much swag (free stuff) handed out and where else can you purchase that limited edition action figure you have been looking for? There is something for everyone at Comic Con. Let your inner geek come out and play.

It is best to buy the 4 day pass in advance to avoid long lines at the door and you can get the passes ahead of time on the official website. They are around $45 but this is subject to change each year so check at the website for the exact price.

It is also best to book your hotel/motel way in advance since rooms get booked up fast as Comic Con nears. A LOT of people attend this event so hotel rooms get very scarce as the time for Con approaches.

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Phone: 619-491-2475
Website: http://www.comic-con.org/cci/
Other Contact: San Diego Convention Center, 111