We’re sharing the top things to do in San Diego to get the full SD experience. From the north county to just north of the Mexican border, there is SO much to do in America’s Finest City we had trouble narrowing it down to just 13. 

If you are a newcomer to San Diego – or even if you’ve been here before, but didn’t get to do it all – these are the SD must-do’s that even the locals rave about. San Diego is beloved by tourists and locals alike, it is populated by transplants new the city, and ones that came and never left. 

No one ever asked “what are the fun things to do in San Diego?” because you literally walk out the door and find fun everywhere. Beaches, bars, restaurants, events, festivals, and hiking and nature are what make this place what it is.

Of course, we start with travel tips for where to stay, how to get around, and what to expect in the different San Diego neighborhoods

Best Things to Do in San Diego Right Now

1. Coronado Island & The Hotel Del Coronado
2. Mount Soledad
3. Ocean Beach “OB” and Sunset Cliffs
4. Cabriillo monument
5. San Diego Zoo and Safari Park
6. Balboa Park – Activities, Museums & Restaurants, 
7. Peacific Beach “PB & Mission Beach + Belmont Park
8. Torrey Pines Natural Reserve – Hiking & Beach
9. La Jolla Cove
10. Del Mar Race Track – Horse Races & Fair
11. Downtown San Diego, Gaslamp, Little Italy
12. Hillcrest and North Park
13.  Liberty Station Public Market 
14. Bonus: Hidden San Diego Attractions!

Things to Do in San Diego – Episode Transcript

7 (53s):
Hello fellow travelers. Welcome to this weeks episode of the Travel Squad podcast. Today, we are exploring the city of San Diego, the beautiful city. We all call home.

3 (1m 5s):
There is SO much to do in San Diego. There’s always new events, festivals, restaurants, and tons of things to do, but there’s definitely some iconic things that San Diego is known for. I’ve lived in San Diego for about five years. I’ve done a lot. So, you know, you’ve been here for 10 years, right? That

2 (1m 21s):
Is

3 (1m 21s):
Correct. And you guys have been here for eight years,

4 (1m 24s):
Eight correctamundo. So

3 (1m 26s):
We’ve done a lot.

2 (1m 27s):
So San Diego, you probably know it as the whale’s vagina from the 2004 movie anchorman as Ron burgundy, newsman legend,

4 (1m 37s):
Still an idol of mine living here in San Diego, Mr. Ron burgundy,

3 (1m 41s):
Have you seen the big costume bobblehead guys? They now have at Petco park with Ron Berg, He’s really famous around these parts, right?

2 (1m 49s):
And you’ll find a lot of Ron burgundy memorabilia at our San Diego airport.

4 (1m 54s):
That is very true. There’s so much to experience in San Diego, whether you travel alone with friends or with family, San Diego offers activities for all in this episode, we are sharing the top 13 must. Do’s when visiting or living in San Diego,

3 (2m 9s):
Let’s start it off with some tips for San Diego.

6 (2m 12s):
Biggest step is you need a car. There’s not good public transportation around San Diego. There is a trolley line. There are buses, of course, but there’s not anything like a typical metropolitan city, like New York, for example. And so it’s very essential to have a car. You can lift an Uber everywhere you go, but having a car is really helpful because if you want to explore different parts of the county, it can take you over an hour to drive from north to south without traffic. And so just being able to see as much as you can see renting a car is way more affordable.

3 (2m 45s):
Yeah. It would be a pretty expensive Uber to go from say Del Mar to Chula Vista. Yeah,

4 (2m 49s):
Yeah. For the short little distances, if you’re going to be downtown to Hillcrest and we’ll get into those areas later, but it’s definitely doable. But for the majority of you’re definitely gonna want that vehicle for sure.

3 (3m 2s):
Yeah. Speaking of the different neighborhoods, that’s something you should know about San Diego is they all have a very unique personality. And like Brittany said, you can’t really walk from one neighborhood to the next, but you’ve definitely got to check them all out because they’re so different

4 (3m 16s):
On top of that, San Diego has very chill vibes throughout the entire city and even the county for that matter. But there’s different personalities in each of the neighborhoods, as Kim was saying, this is a Southern California town. It is a beach town, but even though people think it’s beachy ego, a few miles inland starts to become desert humid. So a lot of very landscapes, but definitely very chill Southern California vibes without that Los Angeles hustle and bustle feel, which I really love about San Diego,

2 (3m 46s):
San Diego is a little bit pricey, but you can find reasonably priced places. And I do believe that it’s pretty affordable

3 (3m 53s):
Compared to say a new Yorker, Chicago it’s on the lower end, but it’s still a bit pricey. So

4 (3m 60s):
Yeah, living costs are really expensive here, but in terms of going out to eat food is just average American prices and nothing too, too crazy. I, yes.

3 (4m 8s):
And then the last tip before we get into the must do’s is if you’re coming here, you’re probably going to be looking at hotel circle for a hotel. There’s a lot of hotels over there and motels, different price points, and it’s a good central location, but you should know that it’s not a very fun area to be in. It’s kind of in mission valley, it’s in the middle of like a freeway area. There’s not much around. So it’s

6 (4m 31s):
Literally surrounded by other hotels. So there’s not much to do on the circle.

4 (4m 36s):
There are a couple of malls in the area, but still not necessarily within walking distance. I mean, hence the name hotel circle. That’s what there is around there.

2 (4m 44s):
Squad tip, which is like a pro tip. But from the squad, if you look at hotels on hotel circle, you’re going to see that it’s within a mile or maybe even less of downtown. And while that is accurate, you should know that you’re still gonna have to take a bus or an Uber, which is going to be like five to 10 miles, depending on what, whichever route you go. And the reason why it’s labeled as a mile when you’re looking at it online is there is a very big hill Bachman that you’re going to have to walk up. And then once you walk up, then you’re going to walk all the way down sixth street into downtown. That itself is a little bit less than a mile, but it’s not recommended to do that. So I do know people who have been fooled thinking that they were going to be downtown in that area.

4 (5m 28s):
Yeah. They have that advertised in that area just because of the radius to there. But in terms of main roads to get there, it’s definitely farther and not as walkable as you would think.

6 (5m 38s):
So our first must do, and these are in no particular order at all whatsoever. These are just must use that we think you should do. So our first must do is Cornado island and hotel Del, and I love Coronado and ho hotel gel because it holds a very special place in my heart. Jamal and I actually got married on the beach at hotel Del Coronado. And it was just a very simple ceremony, but it was uniform.

4 (6m 3s):
Yeah. So core natto is actually a separate city from San Diego, but from Downtown San Diego and even from Cornado, you could see back and forth real quick. It’s very famous for its iconic bridge that stretches between downtown to core natto. But the claim to fame there is the beaches and The Hotel Del Coronado and The Hotel Del Coronado is actually one of the few surviving examples of a specific American architectural genre, which is the wooden Victorian beach resort look. And as a matter of fact, this Victorian style hotel is the second largest wooden structure in the United States after the Tillamook air museum and Oregon.

2 (6m 43s):
I did not know that. Yeah, I do know that they filmed. I think it’s some, like it hot with Marilyn Monroe there.

3 (6m 49s):
A lot of famous people have stayed there over the years and it said to be haunted,

4 (6m 54s):
That it is

6 (6m 55s):
So funny story that you mentioned that Jamal and I stayed the night at The Hotel Del Coronado on our wedding night.

3 (7m 1s):
Did it get creepy?

4 (7m 2s):
I hope

6 (7m 5s):
So. You know, we’re lying in bed and we had the bathroom light on it. And while we were laying in bed, it turned off without

3 (7m 12s):
God

6 (7m 12s):
Anyone touching it. And Jamal was freaking out just

4 (7m 16s):
Because I know the story that the hotel’s haunted.

2 (7m 18s):
So wait a minute. Did the, did a light bulb go out and

4 (7m 22s):
Buy when the lights turned off,

3 (7m 24s):
The switch move?

4 (7m 25s):
Well, you guys are all getting ahead of yourself. Just imagine a light. And then all of a sudden there’s no light anymore. Okay. The light went off that simple. Then I went to go check on it, come to find out that it is a sensored light. So when it senses no activity in there, even though you have the switch on, it turns off because it’s just like a push button switch. It’s not a flip up flip down,

6 (7m 46s):
But when you walk through the hotel, especially on the floors where there’s rooms for guests, you can feel the hotel Creek, you can feel that it’s still it’s wooden architecture and you can feel the structure of it.

4 (7m 58s):
Yeah. And it’s a really fancy hotel. So when Brittany says like, you could hear it creaking, it’s not like it’s old run down. It’s still in very good condition. It is a popular tourist attraction, still a popular place for people to stay celebrities alike. And like Kim was saying, a lot of celebrities have stayed there. A lot of American presidents have stayed there and even royalty visiting from overseas have stayed there.

2 (8m 19s):
I really want to do their Sunday champagne brunch. It’s like

6 (8m 24s):
It’s $100 a person. Yeah. I know what you’re talking about. I’ve looked into it.

4 (8m 28s):
Fancy schmancy.

3 (8m 29s):
Maybe I would be a spread.

2 (8m 32s):
Oh my goodness. Yeah. I really want to do that so bad. I’ve done bottomless, mimosa brunches, plenty of other places, but never there. And I want to,

6 (8m 39s):
So just to know that there are only two ways to get to Cornado. You either have to drive over the Cornado bridge, which is over the bay to get to the island. Or you can take the strand, which is just a straight piece of land connecting Imperial beach to which is Imperial beaches. Another part of San Diego.

3 (8m 58s):
That’s a nice little drive.

6 (8m 59s):
It is a very nice scenic drive.

3 (9m 1s):
Also, if you’re coming to San Diego around Christmas time, the weather’s going to be great and you can actually do ice skating at The Hotel Del right in front of the ocean. And they just kind of like pop up this ice skating rink. And it’s really cool.

2 (9m 14s):
Cool. And later at night they have a whole bunch of bonfires on the beach as well.

6 (9m 18s):
Yeah. It’s a really nice place to go on top of just the beaches in the hotel. There is a park called Centennial park and it gives really great views of downtown San Diego from that park. So if you’re looking for a nice view, go check it out. It’s also not far walking distance from Coronado brewing company. So two for one,

4 (9m 36s):
Number two on our list is going to be Mount Soledad. Now Mount Soledad is a veterans Memorial on the top of the La Jolla Hills. And the Hoya is a very exclusive neighborhood. If you will. A lot of affluent people live there. And at the top, they do have a veterans Memorial with a big giant cross at the top of the mountain. And it gives you 360 degree panoramic views of the city. So you can see to the ocean, you can see a little bit to the north on a clear day, you could see south to downtown and even to Mexico. So really, really nice scenic point to go see a beautiful 360 degree view of San Diego. Have

6 (10m 14s):
You done that, Kim?

3 (10m 15s):
I still have not done that.

2 (10m 16s):
Wow. You know, it’s such a simple thing, but every time that we have people visiting us, we always take them there. And it’s always a highlight. Like they love

4 (10m 26s):
It. It’s a crowd pleaser for them.

2 (10m 28s):
It really is. And it’s so simple and free.

3 (10m 31s):
You can live here for five years and still not have done things that every first-timer should do

6 (10m 37s):
Exactly

3 (10m 37s):
So much to do. Number three on our list is sunset cliffs and the Ocean Beach area of San Diego

2 (10m 44s):
Also known as OB OB.

3 (10m 47s):
So OB is known for its like hippie grungy kind of vibes. Very, very chill, lot of pot smokers, but a cool area. And Sunset Cliffs is a beautiful cliff side. Part of the coast where obviously is great for sunsets.

4 (11m 4s):
Hence the name. Yes.

3 (11m 5s):
It’s beautiful. Brittany and I have done a little jogging over there in the mornings and there’s actually a beach right below it. So you can get to it from two ways. If the tide is low enough, you can walk down the stairs and then walk over toward the beach. Or you can repel down the mountain with a rope that they’ve put up and it’s called garbage beach, but it’s not garbage. It’s beautiful. There’s not like lifeguards there. It’s a little more lesser-known so giving you an inside scoop here.

4 (11m 30s):
It’s the name? Garbage beach. Cause I think the locals want to keep the tourists out here. We are giving you a squad tip by the way, squad tip garbage beaches. Good.

3 (11m 41s):
I like it because there are no lifeguards there. So you can drink on the beach and you can bring your dog without a leash.

4 (11m 46s):
Kim likes to break the law though. Is that what she’s saying? I,

2 (11m 50s):
I didn’t say that sunset cliffs is a special place in my heart because when Jamal and Brittany moved down, we moved to that area and I used to go running to sunset cliffs all the time. I ran with you too once Brittany. And remember,

6 (12m 3s):
I am not a big runner, but I did run with you once. And we used to always do walks to sunset cliffs.

2 (12m 8s):
Yes. And do you remember when I was texting with a guy and I was so into the text that I missed the fact that I was walking into a fence and I stumbled and fell into someone’s yard

6 (12m 18s):
And

2 (12m 19s):
Completely scraped up my leg. And then they came out because I screamed so loud and I was like, I’m sorry, I tripped over your fence.

3 (12m 26s):
Oh, I remember before I moved here, when I came down to visit, we went there and we were climbing down to the water

4 (12m 32s):
And down the stairs.

3 (12m 33s):
Yeah. And the tide was coming up and I was like against the cliff wall trying to like shimmy across. And I remember getting stuck and you guys were just sitting there laughing at me, taking pictures of me

4 (12m 43s):
As you were an amateur at that time. Yeah.

2 (12m 45s):
And in a given weekend, you’ll usually find a wedding out there as well. It’s a popular spot for weddings and it’s just a really popular place to, at least for us when we have people visiting to take them out there. Yeah.

4 (12m 57s):
A lot of people go out there. You have tons of homes that line the streets. So it’s a major street that runs through sunset cliffs. There’s homes on one side on the other side, obviously there’s the cliff, but there is a walking path there. So people take their dogs, people run exercise. But my favorite spot of sunset cliffs is the stairs at the very, very end. A lot of surfers go there on take the stairs down, do some surfing in that area. But at low tide, it’s really, really nice because you could walk out on the rocks. You can see a lot of tide pools and see some crabs starfish that are just there on the rocks for you to look at. And it’s really, really fun to do really beautiful and definitely go there and watch the sunset.

4 (13m 38s):
I can’t tell you how many times Brittany and I have gone there to watch sunsets, nothing quite like it.

3 (13m 42s):
Another big thing that OB is known for is their farmer’s market on Wednesday nights. I think it’s from

6 (13m 47s):
Four to 8:00 PM

3 (13m 48s):
And it’s really fun. They’ll have belly dancers. They have little music performers, lots of vendors, food. It’s chill. It’s very, very hippy vibes,

4 (13m 56s):
But there is a lot of good places to eat. And Ocean Beach, some of my favorite restaurants in San Diego, one of them is pizza. Port love their pizza. They’re an awesome brewery as well. And hoedads, they’re very famous for their burgers. I love myself a hoedads burger. So lots to do down in that Ocean Beach, sunset

3 (14m 15s):
OB noodle house too. Oh my God. I love OB noodle house. They have these PB Jaymo shots that are peanut butter and Jamison and some other stuff that they will not give away the recipe. And they’re so good.

2 (14m 27s):
The squad tip for hoedads, there’s another location downtown. That’s not as busy this location and OB is busy simply because it’s right there on the beach and because it’s really good. And I really like Wonderland bar I’ve personally spent an entire day there getting wasted

3 (14m 42s):
Squad tip for Wonderland is that every day at sunset hour, they do a shot with the bar.

2 (14m 49s):
Oh no shit. Oh,

4 (14m 50s):
See, I still watch the steps every day.

3 (14m 53s):
All right. Number four on our list is Cabrillo Monument. I love this place. I’ve been there several times. It’s also another one of those crowd pleasers.

2 (15m 1s):
Okay. It took me five years to get here. So don’t feel bad about masala that yeah. Everyone told me that I should go see it, but you have to pay a little bit of a cover charge. So I didn’t go. And then finally I had a friend visiting from overseas and I took her there because I said, everyone says we should go there. And I couldn’t believe how beautiful it was. And that it took me so long to get there.

4 (15m 20s):
Yeah. So the reason why there is a fee Cabrillo Monument is actually a national monument and it’s on the Southern tip of the point Loma peninsula. And that point Loma peninsula comes down and it creates one of the entrances into the San Diego bait. But the monument commemorates the landing of Juan Rodriguez, Cabrio in San Diego bay in the year 1542. And the reason why it’s so significant and the U S government has declared it. A national monument is this is the first time Europeans set foot on what would later become the west coast of the United States.

6 (15m 54s):
So if you go cost about $20 for a car to enter, but if you walk or bike in it’s $10, they do have a few free days that you can get in like veteran’s day or MLK day. But if you’re not going on one of those days, be prepared to pay the entrance fee

2 (16m 8s):
Quickly though. You said it’s $10 for walkers. It’s going to be like several miles. Because again, it’s at the tip of the point Loma peninsula. So be prepared to walk or you’re going to have to have an Uber or Lyft drop you off.

6 (16m 20s):
That’s true because it’s at the point of point Loma, there are beautiful views into downtown and onto Coronado, which has the Navy base on it. And I personally did a Bayside trail and it was a two mile out and back along the point of point Loma looking out onto that area. And it was so beautiful.

2 (16m 40s):
Isn’t that the hike that you lost your

6 (16m 42s):
Toenail? No.

2 (16m 44s):
You know what I’m talking about though? Now

6 (16m 46s):
It was not a two mile hike, but I lost my toenail on just

2 (16m 49s):
Kidding.

4 (16m 50s):
It’s a little baby hike to lose a toe nail on, but it’s really nice out there. Beautiful scenic views. Like Brittany said, you can see into core natto, but you can see into the ocean. It gives you views of the bay. So it’s really good. I don’t want to say Panorama, but you have lots of different sites to see from that point. It’s just so beautiful to see the dramatic seaside that San Diego has for you guys. And

2 (17m 11s):
I think you can see Mexico from there too. Of

4 (17m 13s):
Course

6 (17m 13s):
You can. And there’s also tide pools. And I don’t know if you guys have gone to experience the tide pools there, but I’ve enjoyed it. They have a lot of information along the area, just letting you know what you can see. It’s very beautiful. So number five is the zoo and safari park.

3 (17m 29s):
I love the zoo,

4 (17m 30s):
The San Diego who’s world, famous world. We used

3 (17m 33s):
To have pandas.

4 (17m 34s):
We used to have pandas until China took them back. Huh?

3 (17m 38s):
That’ll be back. I know.

4 (17m 40s):
Well, just random little tidbit for people who didn’t know, every Panda that you see in a zoo outside of China, China owns them. They lease them to countries and each country has to pay like a million dollars for so many years to have the Panda and the exhibit. And I don’t think San Diego renewed the contract. So we no longer have the world famous Panda. But beyond that, there are so many other animals that you could see at the San Diego zoo. It’s really famous for their exhibits, that they have, how much space they give a lot of the other animals. But along with the zoo, San Diego also does have a safari park, which is about 30 miles outside of the city of San Diego. And their safari park is open to visitors.

4 (18m 20s):
You can actually do a real safari out there where they have giraffes, antelope, other African big game animals. And you take a tram around like it’s a real safari, but the safari Park’s claim to fame is that it is actually a major conservation center for a lot of endangered animals. And if you guys just want to remember back to our episode where we did the big certain opics or road trip, and we talked about going to pinnacles, and we mentioned the

3 (18m 47s):
California condor,

4 (18m 48s):
The California Condors, as a matter of fact, before they released them to the wild, they were actually taken care of and bred in the San Diego zoo, safari park.

6 (18m 56s):
And going back to the zoo because Jamal really didn’t touch much on the zoo at all.

4 (18m 59s):
No, I just got so excited about the safari park too, but the zoo is great. Yeah, I didn’t mean to get ahead or anything like that.

6 (19m 4s):
The zoo is so big when you enter, you should take one of the maps and just be strategic. Look at the areas that you’re interested in going to and map it out on a route because it is so big. You can spend all day there walking around. So just some things to know, they do have a few hidden escalators through the park to take you up to some exhibits. If you guys didn’t know that it took a while for Jamala and I to find some of those and kind of work those into the paths that we used to take, because Jamal and I actually had a membership to the zoo at one point in time. So did it,

4 (19m 35s):
Hey, the zoo memberships,

3 (19m 37s):
I only used it once though.

4 (19m 38s):
That’s unfortunate. But like Brittany was saying those escalators, you could get to the gorilla exhibit on the backside with the escalators versus having to go all the way up the hill from the front side. Yeah.

6 (19m 48s):
Yeah. And then also the zoo has a sky Fari. So at the front of the park, they have a tram, a sky tram, I should say. And it’ll take you to the back of the park. However, it’s just one way. So if you’ve kind of completed everything that you wanted to do at the front of the park, take it go all the way across the park. It’ll take you to the very back and then you can hit up what is in the backside of the park. It’s true.

2 (20m 11s):
Okay guys. So Jamal, Brittany and I went to the zoo on May 28th, 2012. And I have a few quotes of Jamal from Jamal of his zoo, loving free spirited,

4 (20m 26s):
Pulling this up on your phone, your save notes, huh?

3 (20m 29s):
The notes on what Jamal said at the zoo in 2012,

2 (20m 32s):
Because you know, I do have like, like Jamal is a very, very funny guy. And he says these really silly, funny things. And so I was like, oh, that’s a good one. I’m going to write that one down. And so Jamal made a few zingers that day at the zoo. One was about the cheetah and he just has this big, goofy smile on his face. And he looks at me and he says, big cats are so beautiful.

4 (20m 55s):
They are

3 (20m 56s):
Just

2 (20m 57s):
Stick kids. You just see him saying that. And then he fell in love with a pygmy Falcon. And he had a conversation with the pygmy Falcon. He said, that bird is so cool. He’s like a Falcon, but miniature that’s right, buddy. I’m admiring you. I was really impressed by the pygmy Falcon.

4 (21m 14s):
I was impressed by the pick me Falcon. I mean a Falcons, a bird of prey. They usually hunt kill. And they’re huge. This thing was picked me mean little. It was like the size of Tweety bird. Oh my gosh. And it was, could kill you.

2 (21m 27s):
You said it yourself like a Falcon, but miniature. Yes, it was. And then finally, when we were looking at the rhinos, you really enjoyed the rhinos. Anyone that’s looking at our website knows that, you know, the safari was one of your most favorite things.

4 (21m 41s):
The real one and

6 (21m 42s):
Brett

2 (21m 43s):
And Jamal looked at that rhino with admiration and said, look at him, basking in the sun was she knew it was back in Africa.

4 (21m 49s):
Yeah.

6 (21m 51s):
Those are some good quotes.

2 (21m 53s):
If

4 (21m 53s):
You will, from Jamal,

3 (21m 54s):
If you only have the time in San Diego to do one of the parks though, I would recommend the zoo. What’d you guys agree? I would, If you had to choose one,

4 (22m 3s):
The far parts and just as good. I know you’re not too prone on the safari park.

3 (22m 7s):
I just think the zoo is better. You know, what’s weird about the zoo though. I guess it was just animals, but every single time I go, animals are always fucking, Always, I’m like, okay,

6 (22m 18s):
They have nothing better. The

3 (22m 19s):
Turtles like are very loud too. They make some weird noises,

4 (22m 23s):
Giant tortoises, even. Yeah. Those things are huge. Brittany and I have encountered a couple of the mating at that point.

6 (22m 29s):
I also didn’t know zebras had such a big penises

3 (22m 33s):
And rhinos too.

6 (22m 34s):
I thought it was like a fucking fifth leg.

2 (22m 37s):
I remember you telling me that. And I remember seeing the pictures too, because like legit, I thought it was a fifth leg too. It’s like a kickstand that just like it comes out of nowhere. You know, you were like net standing next to a British lady and tell that story. Yeah.

6 (22m 52s):
I was standing next to a British lady and she goes, oh my goal,

4 (22m 57s):
What?

6 (22m 57s):
I think it is, it was so good.

2 (23m 1s):
Her comment or

6 (23m 3s):
Both,

4 (23m 5s):
But nonetheless dirty jokes aside the zoo and the safari park are definitely really, really famous, iconic things in San Diego. And like I said, the zoo is world famous. I promise you more than likely. You’ve never been to a better zoo in your life.

2 (23m 18s):
And that’s just not us being biased. That’s fact.

4 (23m 21s):
Correct.

2 (23m 22s):
And so the zoo is right there around Balboa Park area. And that is number six on our list. Balboa Park,

3 (23m 29s):
Balboa Park is as famous in San Diego as say central park is to New York.

2 (23m 35s):
It’s a big deal.

3 (23m 36s):
It’s actually bigger than central park.

6 (23m 38s):
Really? I would’ve never guessed.

4 (23m 41s):
I didn’t know that I know central park is narrow but long, but Balboa Park is a big, giant square. So I guess makes sense when you put it that way. Yeah.

3 (23m 49s):
And when you think about what’s in Balboa Park, the zoo is in it. There’s lots of hiking, walking trails. Me and Brittany did a difficult hike. It was labeled difficult. We got up at five in the morning. It was not even light out yet. We’re like ready to do this difficult hike. It was strolling through the park Like 10 miles or something. And that was probably why it was labeled difficult, but it was not difficult. We were, we were walking by like people sleeping in the park. Anyway. It also encompasses a lot of museums. And that’s one of the really big draws of Balboa Park, your, all the museums.

6 (24m 22s):
And we encourage you guys to explore, you know, your own backyards. And a lot of people do live here in San Diego. So if you guys are listening here in San Diego, just want to remind you that on Tuesdays they have free museums to the residents of San Diego and they rotate which museums are open to the public and free every Tuesday. So there’s a list online that, you know, this Tuesday, there’s going to be four that are free. Next Tuesday. There’s going to be another four that are free for the public. So it’s a good way to kill some time and get to know your city a little bit by,

2 (24m 50s):
And we’re not talking about museums where you go in and see paintings. Yes, we have those, but they have an air and

4 (24m 56s):
Space museum,

2 (24m 58s):
Natural history

6 (24m 59s):
Museum.

2 (24m 59s):
What else is there? Reuben H fleet

3 (25m 2s):
Using them of man Torture abuse.

6 (25m 5s):
Yeah. So the torture museum, isn’t one that rotates on the free rotation. But I have been in with my dad and oh my God, there are some crazy ways that they can fucking torture you, man.

2 (25m 15s):
I went to the torture museum in Mexico city with Nicole. And it was just so disturbing. You can’t look away. You just can’t look away. I know, but at the same time, you’re like who the fuck thought of this? Like that’s disgusting.

4 (25m 28s):
There are so many ingenious ways to hurt another human being as sad as that is, you know,

2 (25m 32s):
Unbelievable. So they have that there, but

4 (25m 35s):
Also beyond museums, it is a park. So there’s a lot of recreation to do one of my favorite things to do there. And it’s really, really popular is plate Frisbee golf. And in Balboa Park, there is a famous field called Morley field where you can play Frisbee golf. And you’ll see a lot of people out there don’t be intimidated because a lot of people that are out there are actually real Frisbee golf sharks. So, so good at it. I always feel like an amateur when I’m out there, but don’t let that intimidate you. But it’s one of my favorite things to do in Balboa Park. And since it’s San Diego, the weather’s always perfect here for 95% of the year. So it’s always a good time to go to the park and play Frisbee golf.

3 (26m 14s):
Yeah. There’s also an actual golf course. There’s tennis courts. There’s a swimming pool, a public swimming pool. You can go to

6 (26m 20s):
Japanese tea gardens

3 (26m 22s):
And lots of restaurants too.

6 (26m 24s):
Yeah. Have you guys eaten at the

3 (26m 25s):
Prado? Yes.

4 (26m 26s):
It’s one of my new favorite San Diego restaurants actually in the elbow park.

2 (26m 31s):
And you can always see weddings continued us going on. It’s just a really nice place. And they do have a bridge that goes over the 1 63 highway that you can walk into a portion of Balboa Park where all the museums are housed and it’s a huge, huge bridge. And one of my favorite things about flying back into San Diego, if you’re sitting on the right side of the airplane, you will be able to see that bridge very prominently. Versus if you’re on the left side, you’ll be able to see Downtown San Diego when you’re landing. Good to

6 (27m 0s):
Know.

4 (27m 1s):
Yeah. Because the Park’s over the flight path. So the planes coming really, really low here in San Diego. And so it’s really fun to see if you’re an aviation enthusiast, but number seven on our list is going to be the Mission Beach Pacific Beach area. And in Mission Beach, it’s really famous for Belmont Park, which is pretty much a seaside amusement park. You could equate it to Santa Cruz, beach boardwalk, or maybe the Santa Monica pier because there is a rollercoaster. They do have a few rides attractions. So it has that feel. But in Mission Beach and Pacific Beach, there is a huge promenade that you can walk across that lines, the beach, which is really, really nice.

6 (27m 42s):
I remember going to Mission Beach as a kid and there was always a sky that would roller blade down the prominent in a Speedo.

2 (27m 49s):
Good for him.

4 (27m 50s):
No, probably still is that guy roll of breaking down in his FITO.

6 (27m 53s):
There’s a great place to lounge and people watch.

3 (27m 56s):
Yes. And it’s a, it’s one of the touristy areas. So there’s restaurants, there’s a couple bars. It’s family-friendly. And then if you walk down the beach boardwalk, what would you say? Like a mile or so you get yourself into PB Pacific Beach. And this is one of my favorite areas of San Diego. I lived in Pacific Beach for four years and it’s got a reputation for being a party neighborhood. I have a reputation for being a party neighborhood. So it’s really fun. There’s lots of bars. Nightlife has got cool vibes. There’s people out all the time. Yeah. You can definitely get into some fun and PB. And so what PB also has is a famous rollerblader who doesn’t wear Speedos, but he does rollerblade in extremely slow motion with slow exaggerated movements.

3 (28m 44s):
Every single day he’s out there. His name is slow-mo and he even has an Instagram that you can go check out.

4 (28m 49s):
Oh, wow. I’ll have to check it out. Almost like the bushmen in San Francisco famous for being in a certain area. But like Kim was saying Mission Beach, Pacific Beach, really good nightlife. But the beaches there are great, but it is a good alternative to downtown area as a nightlife area of San Diego. Very famous for that.

3 (29m 9s):
I do love the beaches. There’s a pier there and there’s a lot of surfing, good surfing right there. If you get into north PB a little bit, it’s a little quieter. Whereas if you’re down more in the central PB Mission Beach, it’s a little louder bars, a little bit more rowdy.

2 (29m 21s):
So who has written the rollercoaster at Belmont Park?

6 (29m 25s):
I have,

4 (29m 26s):
I unfortunately have not. I want to write it so bad, but Brittany, when she says, yes, she’s talking about when she came down here as a kid and wrote it, but now Brittany still loves rollercoasters, but she’s not a wooden roller coaster fan. Cause she thinks they’re too jerky. I don’t mind them. So I want to ride it, but it’s like, I don’t want to do it alone. So yeah. I was going to say, if somebody raises their hand, who wants to ride it with,

2 (29m 47s):
We we’ll do it and we’ll bring it to you live on our Instagram.

4 (29m 52s):
But before we get, yeah, that sounds fun.

2 (29m 54s):
Right. Okay. So real quickly though. Yes, I have done it. Yes. It was as an adult, but it was super late at night and I don’t know how much I had to drink.

4 (30m 2s):
It made it more fun. I imagine

3 (30m 3s):
I never would go on it cause I was scared of roller coasters, but ever since we went to Disneyland in China and I rode Tron, I am no longer scared. Oh,

2 (30m 11s):
Oh yay. Squad trip to six flags magic mountain. Oh, whoa,

3 (30m 17s):
Hold on. Hold on

4 (30m 17s):
A little too extreme roller coasters for Kim. But before we get off of Mission Beach, PB area, if anybody goes there, definitely go to baked bear. One of my favorite sweet treat places in San Diego, they’re very famous for baking cookies, all types. Whether they be Snickerdoodles chocolate chip, macadamia nuts, they’ll bake fresh cookies and you can make cookie ice cream sandwiches with lots of different flavors of ice cream

3 (30m 42s):
Ice cream sandwich.

4 (30m 43s):
I haven’t been there since they’ve done

6 (30m 45s):
Waffle ice cream sandwiches. Yeah. They have everything.

4 (30m 48s):
Now one of my favorite sweet treats,

3 (30m 50s):
There might be a line, but it’s okay. Just wait in it.

4 (30m 53s):
Yeah.

3 (30m 54s):
One more thing you should know about NPB is Kate sessions park. It’s on the top of Mount Soledad road and it’s not a big park. It’s a decent sized park. There’s lots of dogs off leashes there, but it has the most amazing view of, of San Diego. You can see the ocean downtown, the whole sprawling city. Very, very pretty. It’s a very chill place to be. I like to bring a bottle of champagne, a little cheese and crackers. Sit out there and just Sunday then let my dog run around. Definitely a place you would want to check out if you are in PB. It is one of my top three favorite places in San Diego,

4 (31m 28s):
Top three. Wow.

6 (31m 31s):
You know the next time that you’re there, go up Solidad mountain road up to the Memorial.

3 (31m 36s):
Check it out. Check. Add that on. Okay.

6 (31m 38s):
Our number eight must do is Torrey Pines, state reserve. And it is in the La Jolla area. And it’s such a beautiful place to hike with ocean views. Kim and I have done some hiking there, Jamal and have done some hiking there. The Ana, have you been there to hike?

2 (31m 53s):
I have not hiked there, but I have been there.

3 (31m 56s):
Most of the hikes are pretty easy, maybe moderate, but not very difficult at all. Very pretty. The beach too is beautiful. It’s just like, there’s no seaweed. It’s a big beach. It’s all clear. It’s one of my favorite places to swim.

2 (32m 10s):
This place also has a Torrey Pines golf course, which is very prominent in that area. And this is where Scott Peterson, if those of you who are familiar back in the early two thousands, he murdered his wife and his unborn child. And then he left he’s from Modesto area, came down to San Diego and he was caught hiding in plain sight on the Torrey Pines golf course there in Torrey Pines. Wow.

6 (32m 36s):
So one of the hikes that Kim and I did at Torrey Pines, we actually were able to whales out in the distance. Do you remember that Kim? And we continued up the road cause it’s kind of up a mountain and there’s one point where you can end up going onto the beach and ending the hike on the beach. And then walking back to the lot from there, just very nice, very scenic place to go.

3 (32m 55s):
You can also walk more south and end up in black speech, which is one of San Diego’s I think only nude beaches,

6 (33m 3s):
Naked

3 (33m 4s):
Beach. So you’ll see a lot of other things besides whales out there

4 (33m 8s):
And the golf course that they have out there is really famous just as well. They have a lot of PGA tours that come to Torrey Pines. They have it every year, but the name Torrey Pines actually gets the name from the Torrey pine trees that are in the area. And this is the only place on earth where the Torrey Pines grow. They’re endangered just as well. So you can definitely see that if you’re into botany or into trees.

6 (33m 32s):
And just one last thing, if you are going to the state reserve portion, just know that there is a $10 parking lot fee. Hey travelers, let’s break for a quickly over to talk about our San Diego itinerary we created for first time visitors. This full day guy takes you on an epic day down the San Diego coast,

3 (33m 49s):
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6 (33m 55s):
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3 (34m 3s):
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4 (34m 8s):
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3 (34m 23s):
Okay. Moving on to number nine on our list, just in the same area is La Jolla Cove. And this is a cool little place. That’s very family-friendly La Jolla is a really nice area that you can see sea lions. There’s lots of sea lions out there also really great for snorkeling. Yep.

4 (34m 38s):
A lot of people go to La Jolla Cove. So La Jolla, again, just as a reminder to anybody listening is one of the more affluent neighborhoods of San Diego, but it is on the waterfront and you can go to the Cove. They are famous for their seals, sea lions that are there. It can get a little bit of smelly with all the big animals that are hanging out over there. But nonetheless, a lot of people go there to go kayaking to go snorkeling, but it’s still just really fun to see, to go see the wildlife. I would equate it almost. If you were in San Francisco to go to pure 39, you see the seal sea lions that are there. You can do the very same thing here in San Diego at La Jolla Cove.

2 (35m 17s):
And you can also go down into the beach and swim and you have sea lions all up in the water there. Okay.

3 (35m 23s):
I actually have gone swimming in La Jolla Cove. I went snorkeling out there. You can see tiger sharks in that part of La Jolla in July and August. And that’s when I was out there and there were sea lions right

4 (35m 33s):
Next to me out there.

3 (35m 35s):
Well, I was, I mean they can be, oh no, the leopard sharks.

4 (35m 39s):
Yeah.

3 (35m 40s):
Oh my God. No, No, no. These are leopard sharks are like max, like four feet, usually smaller, not dangerous at all. Or else there would be no fucking way I would be out there, but it is kind of cool to have sea lions like swimming right next to you just jumping out of the water. Yeah.

2 (35m 55s):
So that being said, don’t try to touch them or pet them or anything like that.

6 (35m 59s):
When I first moved down to San Diego, they actually revamped this area. You were only previously able to look down at them and they rebuilt it so that you can go down the staircase and onto the beach and be up close.

2 (36m 10s):
And it’s not just beach there too. You’re going to find like the nicest of nicest restaurants in that area. And it’s going to be pretty tough to find a parking spot unless you’re a parking spot manifester.

4 (36m 22s):
Yeah. A lot of restaurants and posh shops. Again, the Hoya is a more affluent area. So a lot of ritzy shops and restaurants in that area.

3 (36m 31s):
There’s one restaurant I am dying to go to. There is

6 (36m 33s):
At Georgia.

3 (36m 34s):
No, I’ve been there. Beautiful. I am dying to go to the Marine room because certain times of year when the tide is high enough, it’s right on the water. So the waves will crash into the window. Oh. While you’re eating right inside there. Did you have the waves crashing on the windows too?

2 (36m 50s):
I’m just kidding. I’ve never been. Oh,

6 (36m 53s):
So moving along are number 10 must do in San Diego is a Del Mar Race Track in the summer. Fair.

2 (37m 0s):
This is a fun one guy

4 (37m 3s):
On a side note. This is seasonal. The is only one time a year. And the Del Mar Race, Track and fairgrounds where they have, it’s very famous for the Horse Races, but they only happen at certain times of year. So it is seasonal. If you’re here at the right time,

2 (37m 16s):
Has anyone ever been to the race track while races were going on? I

4 (37m 21s):
Have

3 (37m 22s):
I’ve bet on horses and they usually do concerts after. So you only pay six bucks to get into the races if you’re there before the concert starts, I think they end at like 6:00 PM. The races do. Then you get the concert for free. So I’ve seen Weezer there. I’ve seen ludicrous Ziggy Marley Ludo. It’s a way

2 (37m 41s):
I would feel like it was some kind of work socializers. So I don’t know necessarily what the ticket cost was since I got it for free, but yeah, you’re able to bet on the horses. And then of course, you know, when you, when you get to go collect your winnings and they have a window where you have to report to the IRS for people who win big, because race betting is a serious, serious sport. And then they do walk the horses out into a certain area where you can look at the horses up close and personal and then decide on who you want to bet

3 (38m 11s):
Fun fact, the Del Mar Race Track and fairgrounds is one of the oldest attractions in San Diego. It’s been here for a very long time.

2 (38m 20s):
Jessica Simpson and Nicholas Shay came to the Del Mar Race Track when they were married and filming the newlyweds show. And if I’m not mistaken, I think entourage filmed an episode out there.

3 (38m 29s):
Another fun fact, I’m planning my 30th birthday party here.

6 (38m 35s):
So Jamal and I have never been to the race track, which we should go because

3 (38m 40s):
You will go

6 (38m 41s):
To, but we have been to the Del Mar fair. Have you guys been to the Del Mar

3 (38m 45s):
Fair? I miss the fair. Every

2 (38m 47s):
I’ve only been once, but I never bought a bed.

3 (38m 51s):
How many beds?

4 (38m 52s):
Only one from there data, just giving us a hard time. But the Del Mar fair is San Diego. County’s fair. And it’s really, really popular to go to. And it’s actually one of the better fairs that I’ve ever been to, even in comparison to the California state fair. I don’t want to put that down because that’s close to our hometown and I love it. But the San Diego Del Mar fairs, great, and lots of food, lots of good exhibits. And definitely if you’re here during the summer, they run it all the way from the start of June, till 4th of July. So if you’re here during the summer months, definitely be sure to catch it.

6 (39m 27s):
There are so many good places to eat at the San Diego fair as well. There’s so many good vendors, Jamal and I love walking around and planning out what we’re going to eat and snack on throughout the entire day. So,

2 (39m 37s):
And what are some of the, your guys’s favorite things that you’ve eaten at the fair,

4 (39m 40s):
Too much of good stuff to even recall. One of the more famous vendors is chicken Charlies. If anyone’s ever heard of it. And have you guys ever heard of

3 (39m 47s):
Chicken

4 (39m 48s):
Charlie’s chicken Charlie’s is really famous. I ended up getting something from them once, which was a Krispy Kreme donut hamburger. That was actually pretty good. I was basically a triple cheeseburger and my buns were the donuts, Krispy Kreme donuts, original glaze.

6 (40m 5s):
But last year we went there and we got, it was like a Hawaiian bowl. And so they took half a pineapple and they carved out the middle and inside of it, they put a whole bunch of rice and

4 (40m 18s):
Pineapple chicken. Ooh, we

3 (40m 19s):
Should have that next

6 (40m 20s):
Time. It was so

3 (40m 22s):
Good. Next time we podcast record Jamal.

4 (40m 24s):
Yeah, maybe it’s got to wait for pineapple season, but lots of good food to answer your question. I don’t have a favorite. I mean the fears, you just always want to eat junk food and there’s so much good junk food that it’s really tough to make a decision. And they have a lot of ethnic stuff. Middle Eastern Greek, barbecue, chicken Charlies. So the whole schmorgus board.

2 (40m 46s):
And if you didn’t pick up on the joke earlier, you can also buy a bed there as Jamal and Brittany happened.

6 (40m 50s):
They have a ton of exhibit halls and in the exhibit halls, they have, you know, mattress firm and they’re testing out beds, hot tubs, swings, massaging, chairs, everything you can think of, you can find in the exhibit halls.

4 (41m 4s):
Yeah, go get a free massage in the exhibit hall. Why not? We do, but moving along, number 11 on our list is checking out the downtown area and downtown is famous for several things. But one particular district in downtown is the Gaslamp district. Gaslamp

3 (41m 24s):
That’s my hood.

4 (41m 25s):
And it’s the iconic historic downtown area of San Diego right now. It’s just really famous for its bars and restaurants and more so the nightlife, this is downtown areas, nightlife.

3 (41m 36s):
I was actually downtown last night, enjoying the nightlife at Omnia part of the on group. But yeah, they have a lot of clubs nightclubs. They also have like bars that almost every bar turns into like a nightclub S kind of a place at night. So even if it’s a restaurant, you have to be 21 to go in. So it’s not really family friendly at night and it gets wild out there,

4 (41m 60s):
But there is a lot of other stuff to do right across the railroad tracks. As a matter of fact from the gas lab area is the San Diego convention center where they have Comic-Con every year, very famous for that, right by the convention center, they have Seaport port village, which is another touristy area.

3 (42m 16s):
You should also know Gaslamp though, besides just the nightlife. It is historic. So there’s a ton of really cool buildings. And we don’t have that deep of history on the west coast, but it is nice to see more of like 18 hundreds, early 19 hundreds type of buildings out there

6 (42m 31s):
And really close to downtown is a little neighborhood called Little Italy. And it has so many good Italian restaurants and bars. I love their farmer’s market. They have farmers on Saturday on Saturdays. They have like over 150 vendors and crafts and plants, and it’s just really cool to walk around. And

3 (42m 49s):
They’re really exploding with restaurants, really good restaurants and Little Italy besides Italian ones.

4 (42m 54s):
One of my favorite things about Little Italy going back to Belmont Park, we were saying the planes fly over Balboa Park. That’s on the hill, but below the hill is Little Italy, even closer to the airport. So if anyone is an aviation enthusiast likes to see planes where even you don’t think you’re an aviation enthusiast, it’s still fun to be in that area and see how low and close the planes fly to the downtown area where you are. It’s one of my favorite parts of San Diego, just simply for that.

2 (43m 22s):
I love being on the five freeway when you’re stuck in traffic and just all these airplanes like seriously, it’s within 60 seconds of each one, the way that they’re just timed perfectly to land Southwest Alaska, Delta, they’re just flying over you. And you’re like, shit, man.

6 (43m 37s):
One last fun fact about Little Italy is we did go out to our restaurant to eat on the date that our podcast launch, which was August 15th, 2019. And we went to a steak house called born and raised in Little Italy.

3 (43m 50s):
It’s one of the newer ones and Little Italy. It’s super cute inside. Food’s good. And they have a rooftop bar.

4 (43m 56s):
It has like a 1920s art deco ambience inside. Yeah. Yeah. So that’s the downtown area, but a lot of party area has migrated outside of downtown, but still you can’t go to a city without seeing the downtown area. And there’s a lot of little hidden gems and fun things to do in that area.

3 (44m 14s):
I lived downtown and I worked downtown. So if you want any downtown tips hit me up.

4 (44m 19s):
You’re downtown gal drinking a cosmopolitan and whatnot.

3 (44m 24s):
I got all the rooftop bar information.

2 (44m 26s):
So from Little Italy, continuing up the hill, that’s where you’re going to reach Hillcrest and North Park. They’re two separate neighborhoods,

4 (44m 33s):
But are number 12.

2 (44m 34s):
Number 12. Yes. Thank you. Two separate neighborhoods, but they kind of blend into one,

3 (44m 39s):
But very different. North park is more hipstery chill. A lot of breweries there. Hillcrest is the gay neighborhood. So you got a lot of gay clubs. This is where they do the pride festival and parade every year, really fun event. If you’ve never been to it,

2 (44m 53s):
Hillcrest one, I used to live there when I first moved here and you can walk everywhere. So I know like we’ve been talking about the fact that San Diego is not a walk-able place, but Hillcrest is just like its own community. So I would walk to the library, I’d walk to the grocery store. It didn’t make sense to drive. This is why I had to learn how to parallel park because there’s no place to park. And when I would go out at night, these are the clubs and they’re right around the corner from me. Cause I lived in like the most central area. So I just, I don’t know. I love their bars. I love the scene. Everyone is so friendly. Everyone is just so good looking too.

3 (45m 25s):
They have a really fun gay club there called riches.

4 (45m 28s):
No, not the brass rail. Is

3 (45m 30s):
That the one you went to with the assets?

4 (45m 33s):
No. It’s time. The cell we’ll get on that side 10 here later. Why don’t you finish your thought?

3 (45m 37s):
So Rich’s is a gay men’s club, but obviously women and men go there and they have men in just like tidy, whities dancing on the stage. So went there one year for one of my friend’s birthdays and she got a little tipsy. It was her birthday obviously. And she reached up to the guy on stage and we were putting like ones in his underwear and she pulled his underwear down trying to like pull his Dick out. And he was like, woo. And I have a video of it. It’s really funny. But yeah, don’t do that. But enjoy Rich’s

2 (46m 8s):
Most. And that’s a really popular place to go for Sunday brunch. Yes. Bottomless mimosas.

4 (46m 15s):
But like we were saying Hillcrest and North Park, they’re two separate communities, but they kind of blur the lines in terms of transition from one neighborhood to the next, from one block to the other and getting onto what Kim was saying over there to me, she’s referencing one time I was out with our friend James, who Kim’s really good friends with just as well. And we were actually in north park, not even Hillcrest area. And we were doing a little bit of bar hopping because north park is famous for their brewery. So I just want to put this out there real quick. If you go to north park, San Diego is famous for their craft brew scene. A lot of breweries are in north park. Some of my favorites, modern times, my CAS fall brewing come here.

4 (46m 57s):
Definitely be sure to check them out. But we were doing a little bit of bar hopping and we went, we’ll not do a brewery. We actually went to a bar and I forgot what it was called. I want to say maybe it was the Eagle or whatever it was, but we were drawn to it because we saw a sign that they had happy hour special. And I think it was $2 shots or something to that effect. You know, really inexpensive. We go in, see that they have a pool table. We start playing pool. Then all of a sudden James sees that they have re hot dogs. So some hot dogs are sitting in a little crock pot with water or whatnot. He makes himself a hot dog. I know, I know. I definitely didn’t eat it and believe me, I like to eat a lot of food. I’m not too judgmental on it, but I was like, no, this is a little too much for me.

4 (47m 39s):
But nonetheless James helped himself to some hot dogs. And then he got a hot dog, I guess. I don’t know. I don’t remember actually, but he held himself to at least a hot dog. He’s like, oh, I got to go to the bathroom. He comes back and he’s like, hi, I think we’re in a gay bar. And I was like, really? And then he’s like, yeah, he’s like, I just went to the bathroom, man. There’s like a photo of a guy with assless chaps on and it’s yeah. He’s like, I think, I think we’re in a gay bar actually. And then Once he said that, I finally gave a real good look at the ambiance going on around. And I went to the bathroom myself. I’m like, holy crap, we’re in a gay bar. And we didn’t even, not that it’s a big deal or anything like that, but it was just so funny because once he said that the decor was so obvious that it’s like, how did I not see this before?

4 (48m 26s):
But we totally were. But north park, nonetheless is one of my favorite areas of San Diego. It’s actually really up and coming still because it used to not be a good area, but it’s been gentrified recently. And again, a lot of bars, a lot of restaurants, a

3 (48m 39s):
Lot of good restaurants.

4 (48m 40s):
Yeah. So really up and coming area. But more claim to fame. North park is going to be the breweries.

3 (48m 45s):
Yeah. I have two places in north park that I really love. One is in contro amazing restaurant. Great for date night, Wednesdays buy one bottle, get one for penny and Redwings is another gay bar, but really fun. And they do karaoke there.

6 (48m 59s):
Oh, fun. Well, speaking of bars and restaurants, Kim actually took me to lips in north park

3 (49m 5s):
For your bachelorette party.

6 (49m 6s):
My bachelorette party and lips is a restaurant, but we went to the late night show and it is run by drag Queens,

3 (49m 15s):
Drag queen show.

6 (49m 15s):
Yeah. And it was so much fun for my bachelorette party.

2 (49m 19s):
I used to live in north park and I would go out and party all the time and they have a wonderful mom and pop Mexican restaurant Rigoberto posts that sells like $5, $6 burritos that are the size of a baby arm. And those helped me through some long nights.

3 (49m 34s):
I can’t believe Mexican food. Isn’t on our list. But obviously if you’re in San Diego, you have to hit up. One of the many, many Mexican joints we have here,

2 (49m 42s):
And we’re not talking about taco bell or something like that, where we’re talking about the mom and pop shop.

6 (49m 49s):
So one last thing that is in Hillcrest, like I mentioned before in Little Italy, Hillcrest also has their own farmer’s market and it’s on Sundays and they have organic produce. They have food stalls that are from like around the world and they also have clothing and shopping in that area.

4 (50m 4s):
One of my favorite things about going to the Hillcrest market and even touching back onto the Little Italy one is getting the food from the food vendors, not even necessarily the produce. I remember specifically the Hillcrest one Bernie used to like to go to this one Thai place and they would make coconut pancakes.

6 (50m 20s):
Yeah.

4 (50m 21s):
So we would get that and they would actually sell a Curry concentrate that was frozen. And we would make curries with that too. So a lot of good food to be had if you visiting San Diego, not staying at an Airbnb and not going to be cooking. And you’re just like, I don’t need produce. Why would I go one? It’s still fun to just be in the atmosphere of the farmer’s market, but you can definitely make lunch out of it by sampling the food that they have there.

3 (50m 44s):
All right. Number 13 on our list is Liberty Station. This is, I think it’s more of like a developing area. It was very military for a long time and still

4 (50m 54s):
Is to be military barracks as a matter of fact.

3 (50m 56s):
Yeah. So you’ll still see a lot of influence of military, but they have a newly opened, I guess. It’s not that new. It’s been around for a couple of years now, but it’s the Liberty public market. And this place is amazing. It’s kind of, you can kind of think like Pike’s place market in Seattle. It’s kind of got that vibe. Lots of food vendors, stalls. There’s a bar. There’s a lot of outdoor seating. There’s this big wooden ship that you can like sit in and have fun with. It’s really chill to go there and get food, get drinks and just hang out. It’s family friendly. I’m a big fan.

6 (51m 24s):
I love it too. I love, I don’t know if you guys have tried. They have a Maine’s lobster. They’re so good for lobster rolls and sandwiches.

2 (51m 32s):
Oh, that’s up. Kim’s alley

3 (51m 35s):
Food. I love

4 (51m 37s):
No, I definitely do like Liberty Station. Again, it has the public market that you can go to really fun, unique thing here to do in San Diego, but what’s really cool and unique about it. Like I said, is it is former military barracks. So at the former military housing, they’ve turned into shops, restaurants. So really unique way to experience San Diego in that sense, really good food in the public market. And one of the more famous breweries to come out of San Diego, more on a national scale is stone brewery. They have a taproom out there. Otherwise you would have to go maybe 45 minutes north to go to their original one. So if you’re not going to be going that far, this is a great place for you to go to their tap room and try all the different variations of stone beer.

3 (52m 24s):
They also have green park public space that drinking in public is legal to do, bring your own alcohol

4 (52m 32s):
And open alcohol rule.

3 (52m 35s):
I forgot to mention this, but also certain areas of Balboa Park have open alcohol legal, do your research.

4 (52m 41s):
You learned something new every day, but it doesn’t surprise me that Kim’s the one sharing this news. It feels like she would be the one to find that out first. So that’s our list of 13. There is a number 14 that we want to say as secret San Diego that you can do if you come visit. But even a lot of locals don’t necessarily know about it. And it’s not one of the must do’s, but if you have the time, definitely do it because their unique thing,

2 (53m 4s):
I consider these your personalized squad tips. Yes.

3 (53m 8s):
So the first one secret San Diego is the spruce street suspension bridge. You can Google this and you can figure out where it is, but it’s just a random suspension bridge in the middle of, is it mission

6 (53m 21s):
Hills? Yeah. Mission Hills area. And it goes over a canyon area.

3 (53m 24s):
Yeah, it’s really cool. It’s actually, once you get on it, it’s a little shaky and it’s like, Ooh, but it’s cool. Check it out. There’s another bridge nearby too. Okay.

6 (53m 32s):
All suspension bridges are they’re a little bit shaky

3 (53m 36s):
Comes with it. I guess.

2 (53m 37s):
So mission Hills is pretty much right between Little Italy and Hillcrest as you’re walking up the hill, but there’s so many canyons along the way. And so it’s really like a suspension bridge is built out in the canyon.

4 (53m 51s):
Yeah. And that’s one thing I just want to articulate to our listeners too. A lot of people think of San Diego and it’s really beachy. And I told you, you go a few miles inland and it can start to get really desert change of climate. But San Diego is a very, very hilly city. So yes, by the beach, it’s going to be flat, you know, ocean sea level, but really, really hilly. So this has mentioned bridge going through the canyons really nice.

2 (54m 13s):
And then the next one is Adobe falls out by San Diego state university.

6 (54m 18s):
I think Kim is the only one to do with this one from our squad.

4 (54m 21s):
And this is her secret tip. This is her squad tip, but solo chem tip at the time.

3 (54m 26s):
Yeah. We’ll have to go out there because it’s really cool. So here’s what it is. You might have to break a law to get there.

6 (54m 32s):
Typical kin

3 (54m 33s):
No big deal.

4 (54m 35s):
It might be a misdemeanor. So

3 (54m 36s):
Yeah, just breaking and entering.

6 (54m 38s):
I just want to point out the fact that in our episode, on how we all met, Kim said I was about,

3 (54m 45s):
You were in the principal’s office for some reason, but you don’t remember.

6 (54m 49s):
We don’t remember, but Kim is constantly giving us tips on how to break the law and what to do. So I just want to point that out here.

3 (54m 58s):
Okay. Noted. So it’s by San Diego state university, like Zena said, it’s in a residential neighborhood, there’s a fence. It’s already got an opening of the fence. You just have to kind of like squeeze your way through it. And then you walk for maybe about a half a mile through this nature area. And you get to a section of Rocky waterfall Creek, like area and all of the rocks are spray painted with art. So it’s just this colorful, beautiful, like waterfall area. A lot of people do drink out there. Not saying you should, you know, you can make your own decisions on

4 (55m 29s):
That. I’m sure it comes taking a white cloth,

3 (55m 32s):
But you’ll also see people out there spray painting at the same time too. So it’s really cool.

4 (55m 36s):
So if you are going to do a little bit of trespass in to get there, you’re not going to be the only one. So point being no one’s getting arrested.

3 (55m 44s):
Yeah. There’s there. When I went, there was a lot of other people there. Not too many, it wasn’t too crowded, but yeah.

4 (55m 51s):
I mean, when you told me about it, I Googled it. And I said, I didn’t even know this was here in San Diego and it looked so cool. I really want to go myself,

3 (55m 57s):
Actually check it out.

2 (55m 59s):
We’ll take you live. As we cross,

3 (56m 1s):
We go to Adobe falls and then we’ll go read the rollercoaster Mission Beach.

2 (56m 5s):
Sounds like a great day.

4 (56m 7s):
Any final thoughts on San Diego before we get into questions of the week ladies?

2 (56m 11s):
The one thing that I was thinking of when we mentioned Mexican food is we do have California burritos here. And I don’t believe that any other place sells California burritos. It’s original to San Diego and all they do stop French fries in the burrito.

4 (56m 25s):
Well, it’s basically a Carnegie Sada burrito with French fries in it.

2 (56m 28s):
Pretty much. Yeah. But if you come to San Diego, you have to try it because it was made for us.

3 (56m 33s):
Coty has, has the best California burrito just saying,

4 (56m 37s):
I’ll have to try that one. I have a few places that I like a California burrito, but the Mexican food down here is really delicious. But I say this and I’ve said it before. I don’t know if you all agree. I still think the Mexican food up at home in Northern California is a lot better and they just have different styles. I mean, there’s still good food down here. Don’t

3 (56m 55s):
Stan has bombed tacos. You guys say tacos. El Gordo is really good.

4 (57m 0s):
I love tacos El Gordo. So definitely try it down here. Maybe let’s make that tip. Number 15. It’s a Mexican food.

3 (57m 9s):
The must do breakfast burritos to all right. It’s time of the

2 (57m 17s):
Week.

3 (57m 19s):
Okay. Our first question is what is your favorite thing about San Diego?

4 (57m 24s):
That’s so tough to really come up with a favorite. San Diego is just such a beautiful city in terms of whether to live lots of social activities, things to do good restaurants. But I would say my favorite thing about San Diego is that each neighborhood is unique in its own, right? So even though you’re in the same city, it could be a completely different feel from one neighborhood to the next. And it’s always like, you’re finding something new about San Diego.

2 (57m 50s):
You know, San Diego is a really big area, but I love how each neighborhood itself is super small and just how everything is so easy to drive to. And from, I also love that we’re so close to the border and we can cross over into the Tijuana airport and do some easy domestic flights within Mexico.

6 (58m 10s):
Yeah, definitely. I love San Diego for so many different reasons. One it’s really close to the beaches. If there was something along the beach side, that’s my favorite. I would say sunset cliffs. I’m also a really big hiker and San Diego has a lot of different hiking trails to offer throughout the city. And then also in east San Diego, I love the proximity to the border and I love that. There’s a lot of different small towns outside of San Diego that are historic, like Julian wood, their apple pies. And there’s some really good hiking places. And I love how you can drive anywhere in San Diego and like 20 minutes of your central.

3 (58m 44s):
My favorite thing about San Diego is kind of what you guys were all saying too. It’s a big city, but it still has small town vibes. It’s chill. It’s not like LA or New York or whatever. I love that. And I love the beaches. Oh. And I love that. There’s always something to do. There’s always an event festival, a show. There’s just so much shit to do here. I love it.

2 (59m 5s):
I love that our bars give out free hot dogs.

4 (59m 9s):
Unfortunately, I haven’t been to that one.

6 (59m 10s):
So another one of our listeners asked us, when is the best time to visit San Diego?

3 (59m 15s):
Yeah. You would think it’d be summer, but you would be wrong.

2 (59m 18s):
I think that September is the hottest month in San Diego.

3 (59m 22s):
We’re in October right now as we’re recording this and it’s 80 degrees, it’s been 80 degrees this week.

6 (59m 27s):
Yes it has. Or more

4 (59m 28s):
Which for most people actually hearing this, they think, oh, they’re complaining about 80 degrees in October. Well, it gets humid. So the month of September, October can be humid during the days. At least in October at night, it definitely does cool down. But the weather in San Diego is pretty much perfect year round. We don’t really get a lot of rain, but if you’re going to come here, there are some things that you can do in winter time that make it really nice and unique. But for the most part, I would honestly say maybe April to June before it starts to get really, really sorry, just as a visit in terms of temperature

3 (1h 0m 1s):
Disagree

6 (1h 0m 2s):
To,

3 (1h 0m 2s):
Because we have may Greg, June gloom hard.

4 (1h 0m 6s):
I love June gloom. So that’s why,

3 (1h 0m 8s):
That’s why I was saying people think at the beginning of summer, oh, it’s summer. Let’s go to the beach, but it’s actually cold and cloudy here. Yeah.

6 (1h 0m 15s):
I would say August and September, if you want real San Diego summer vibes are probably the best time to go.

4 (1h 0m 20s):
I still feel people are at the beach. It may not be the best as in the sun’s beaten down on you. But I still think that’s a good time, but I’m not a beach person living in San Diego. So that’s my biased opinion. And that’s what makes the squad so awesome. Is we each have our own opinion on things. Yeah.

3 (1h 0m 35s):
The 4th of July is an amazing time here. It’s so fun. We get a lot of people. The beaches are crazy, but September and October, August even are my favorites September and October is nice. Love tourists, love traveling. But that’s about the time when the tourists leave San Diego, but the weather’s still really nice.

2 (1h 0m 51s):
And winter has never really, I feel like in the winter, there’s two weeks after Christmas that it gets super cold. And then after that, it’s fine. But yeah, as Jamal mentioned, it doesn’t rain too much. So if you are visiting our beautiful city, please make sure that you can conserve the water. Yes.

3 (1h 1m 7s):
All right, everyone. Thank you so much for listening to our San Diego episode and enjoying our hometown with us. We hope you took some travel tips and we hope you come visit us soon. If you do hit us up and let’s meet up,

4 (1h 1m 18s):
Please subscribe to our podcast, leave a review, tell us what you’d like and tune in every travel Tuesday for new episodes.

2 (1h 1m 24s):
And if you aren’t already be sure to follow us on Instagram at Travel Squad Podcast

6 (1h 1m 29s):
Next week, pack your bags and grab your passports because we are telling you all about how to survive a Mexican wedding. Woo.

8 (1h 1m 37s):
Yay.

3 (1h 1m 40s):
Bye guys.

6 (1h 1m 41s):
Bye