San Diego California is the 2nd largest city in California
and the 7th largest city in the United States. Prized by residents and
visitors alike for it’s beauty, diverse array of activities and
entertainments, and its rich cultural amenities, San Diego is a wonderful
place for travelers to spend as much time as they can spare.
Sightseeing in San Diego is particularly rewarding. Presidio Hill is
San Diego’s birthplace and the Junipero Serra Museum marks the
spot where Senor Serra built the Mission de San Diego Alcala in 1769.
A tour of the Gaslamp Quarter, courtesy of the Gaslamp Quarter Historical
Foundation, revels the neighborhoods rich and seedy past. Today the
Gaslamp Quarter is the heart and soul of downtown San Diego, but it
was once the red-light district known as the Stingaree, where Wild West
“law man” Wyatt Earp ran no less than 3 gambling halls.
From there head to the lovely, Victorian home-lined streets of Hillcrest,
the heart of San Diego’s gay community.
San Diego is absolutely blessed with parks. Visitors can fish, camp
and swim at Mission Bay Park, take educational nature walks in Tecolote
Canyon National Park, or hike and bike the trails of Black Mountain
Open Space Park. Of course Balboa Park, with its various arts and cultural
associations and 15 museums is the most impressive park in town. Balboa
Park houses the world renowned San Diego Zoo and the 800 species it
looks after in its meticulously re-created habitats. An interesting
alternative to the San Diego Zoo is the San Diego Wild Animal Park,
which lets its rhinos, giraffes and zebras run free in the valley.
The Pacific Ocean provides water bound outdoor adventure for San Diego’s
visitors. Windsurfing, water skiing and boating are just some of the
options. San Diego has several beaches for visitors to enjoy. Mission
Beach is the center of the popular Strand; it gets pretty crowded, but
the parking is free. Blacks Beach has some good surfing at the south
end, but visitors should be prepared to put up with no rest rooms and
unsanctioned nudism. La Jolla Cove, right next to Scripps Park is gorgeous
and an excellent spot for scuba diving, but it is part of the San Diego
La Jolla Underwater Park Ecological Preserve, so hands off the wild
life.
