The Other Side of San Diego

Despite being in LA for 11 years, I didn’t know what a traveler’s paradise is San Diego. Although, just 1.5 hours drive from South Orange County, this drive on any Sat takes 2-3 hours. There has to be a reason!

San Diego is popular for the ‘World famous' tourist attractions – Sea World, San Diego Zoo and the one I recently discovered, the Wild Animal Park. But relatively less known ( at least oblivious to me ) is a side of this southern CA city that is equally fun to visit.

Janhavi and I had one free weekend before a hectic schedule that spanned 3 months. So after much searching for a relaxing yet entertaining place we settled on San Diego.

Drive from LA to San Diego is a testament to the saying, ‘it’s the journey that’s important not the destination’. Driving south on 5 freeway along the Pacific Ocean, stopping at vista points, outlet shopping at Oceanside, the wilderness of Camp Pendleton and being stones throw away from a nuclear reactor are all part of ‘San Diego Experience’.



We started leisurely on Sat, naturally hit traffic, took a break at Oceanside, ate by the beach watching a surfing competition and finally reached San Diego close to 2pm. Our first order of business: Aircraft carrier USS Midway. Once inside, we got headsets with mp3 audio players that give guided tour of points of interest inside the ship. Three levels are open to visitors inside the ship – Upper Deck, Engineer level and main level. We walked about the main level which has anchor room, flight preparation rooms, crew bunkers, officers and CO quarters, etc etc. One has to see the matchbox style bunkers to believe it!! Without going into much detail the inside of the ship offers a window into the lives of the sailors. We skipped the engineer room and went straight to the upper deck. Not least since those decks are not blog worthy but because my interest lay elsewhere.

The most interesting deck on the ship for me was the upper deck where 10-15 planes are parked. You can go right up to these planes, even sit in the cockpits of some and walk into the helicopter loading area. It’s amazing. Most of them are from 1950-60s but some are recent too!

My favorite, the sexiest of the lot, is F-16 (made iconic by the movie Top Gun). Right on the heel is F/A-18 Super Hornet another awesome jet. ‘F’ stands for fighter i.e. Air to Air. ‘A’ for attack or air to ground. F-16 is therefore a fighter, F/A-18 on the other hand is designed to fight and attack.

Besides the jets, what makes this my favorite desk is that its outside, it’s out in the open. There is plenty room to just wander about, sit on benches along the edge, and enjoy the view; views like: USS Ronald Regan parked at the Naval base, city of SD and the harbor in general. One can even visit the bridge or island as it’s called on the carrier but the weather outside was just too tantalizing.

After wards, we strolled along the park next to the Sea Shore village about 2 blocks away. There is plenty of street entertainment at the village, bike rides, ‘rickshaw rides’ not to mention outdoor eating options. I have eaten at the Greek joint here, which is right at the ocean front and it’s not too shabby, but this time we went over to the Fish Market to sit on their outdoor patio. By now you must have realized SD is all about ‘outdoor’. The patio is right by the harbor, is the closest restaurant to the Midway and completes the Midway experience with a sunset on the horizon.

There is an upper level open air seating also but its more upscale. We were happing sipping our beers, on the wooden deck like patio by the water in our flip-flops. It was a Corona moment.

And that was that. Usually we’d drive back to LA around this time but this weekend we had decided to stay. There are good lodging options by the Ocean front from the most inexpensive to the luxurious. Our trip was decided last minute so we had to content with mountain-view hotel some 10 miles away.

Day 2: Conorado Island
We had big plans for Day 2 that did not materialize. We were hoping to cover the small Coronado Island and visit the boat ‘Star of India’ which is parked 2-3 blocks away from the midway. We discovered we had to choose between them and choose the former.

I had been to the island before, mostly in the afternoon, and therefore remembered the place as being busy and bustling with people. On a chilly summer morning, like the day we visited, it was just the contrary.

There are two ways into Coronado: from the East and South. The East entrance is the famous ‘Coronado’ bridge which, I suspect, is the well known and most used one. I, on the other hand, prefer the South entrance. On the map it looks like the bridge to Key West, FL. It’s a road on a narrow stretch of beach with Ocean on one side and Naval base separated by a narrow bay on the other. On a good day one can see many destroyers and frigates parked here. The drive is awesome.

In Coronado, probably the 2 most done things are: pictures of SD skyline and Coroado Hotel. Like a true tourist we did both. The millennium park offers the best photo op for the skyline; on the left is USS Ronald Regan and the tip of Midway is just visible and on the right is the high soaring Coronado Bridge. We spent some quite time here.

There are shops eating options here each boasting the ‘best’ view of the city across the bay. There is even a ferry between the city and island; so the adventurous biker can rent one at the Sea shore village, take the ferry across the bay and into Coronado.


Next we drove past the Coronado Hotel, some would recommend a tour of the hotel, but sticking to our ‘outdoor’ theme of this trip we gave that a skip and instead hung out at the beach near by. I hadn’t realized how neat the beach behind the hotel is until then. Driving in the area around Coronado shopping district brought back memories of Kinghtsbridge in London. Its peculiar construction, white color, curvy roads seem to be borrowed from London’s premier shopping area.

Now, as touristy as the area around the Hotel is the rest of the island, unfortunately, lacks charm or uniqueness of its own. This has disappointed me every time I’ve been there. Once inland the town looks no different than any in Orange County. On the beach front, there are houses here, mansions almost, that would make most onlookers jealous. Not so much inland. 

So we stayed close to the beach, soaked in the weather there and headed back home to face couple months of grueling schedule.

If you have enough time, check out ‘Cabrillo Monument’. It’s out just outside and high above the city giving a bird’s eye view of the city, its harbor, naval base and amazing sunsets in the Pacific Ocean. Remnants of its past from WWII are open to visitors. So is the cemetery for fallen soldiers. One can also visit the tide pools at the beach front. My only complain: door to the park close at 5pm. So get there in time.

(Parking tip: For USS Midway, although paid parking is available at the ship, park at the Sea Shore 2 blocks away, first 3 hours free with validation)