SoCal Vacation Ideas

[chris snell]

Rachel and I are spending Christmas with family in Bakersfield and then heading off to San Diego for a week of relaxing and sightseeing. It's been a long time since I've been there and I could use some ideas for activities. We're in a rental car, so anything off-road isn't an option, sadly.

Here's what I have so far:

- Visit EE and pick up another Pelican case.

- Spend a night on Catalina Island. Any recommendations for a nice hotel/b&b here?

- Spend a night at the cottages on the beach at Del Mar or San Onofre on Camp Pendleton

- Stay at the Coronado Island Navy Lodge for the rest of our time in San Diego


Here's what I need:

- Restaurant suggestions. (Especially Korean food, as there is none here in San Antonio)

- Activity suggestions (wineries, art galleries, beaches, kayaking, cycling, hiking, etc.)

 

[Slappy]

Brunch at the Hotel Del Coronado. We usually stop there for a champagne brunch on the way back from mexico. You can't go wrong.

 

[2FUELS]

Joshua Tree, bring your climbing gear!

 

[p m]

Here's what I need:

- Restaurant suggestions. (Especially Korean food, as there is none here in San Antonio)

- Activity suggestions (wineries, art galleries, beaches, kayaking, cycling, hiking, etc.)

Here are my favorites -
Hash House A Go-Go in Hillcrest - for anything from breakfast to dinner,
Pomegranate
in Hillcrest, for some Georgian food and wine,
Jack's in La Jolla for fancier stuff, including excellent foie gras.
Rock Bottom for beer and fish (fried smoked salmon) and chips,
Karl Strauss for beer etc.

Activities - there are wineries around San Diego, but I'm not sure if there's anything really worth travelling about 30-60 miles from town.
Art galleries - San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park has two beautiful works by El Greco, which may or may not be on display. Other than that - Little Italy, Hillcrest, and La Jolla are full of stuff of very different caliber.
Beaches - Coronado, and anywhere from Mission Beach to Del Mar. Torrey Pines State park has a parking lot adjacent to about five miles of continuous walkable beach. You can descend to the same beach from the Glider port (near Salk Institute in La Jolla) or from La Jolla Farms St.
Kayaking - Mission Bay (which I personally don't like because of really shitty water quality) or La Jolla Shores. Near LJ Shores (the street is called Avenida de la Playa) there are three or four kayak rental places (or you can ping me - I can give you my inflatable already strapped to the Volvo). LJ Shores is close to my place, so I go paddling almost every weekend.
Cycling - Mission Bay or Coronado are your best bets.
Hiking - Torrey Pines State Park will take you nearly the entire day, if you walk all the trails. Mission Trails is okay, but dry and the views cannot be compared to Torrey Pines.

that's about it...

edit - after seeing the other replies - your choices for any sort of outdoor entertainment grow tremendously with the distance from San Diego. Closer than Joshua Tree are - San Bernardino National Forest (with 11k ft Mt. San Gorgonio) and Idyllwild (with 11k ft Mt. San Jacinto). Talk about hiking...

 

[montanablur]

X2 on hash house a go-go...

 

[Choqiees]

There's Korean House down in Convoy St. don't get mixed up with the one right beside it which also a a Korean joint yet way differs in taste department.

 

[lrsafari]

If you like to get dirty...

The Oceanview mine in Pala, Ca. Digforgems.com . It is an active mine with the opportunity to find tourmaline, kunzite and other gems and crystals. Inland from Oceanview near the casino.

 

[chris snell]

Thanks for the recommendations and keep them coming.

Peter, we'll definitely try Hash House and Pomegranate sounds awesome, as do the rest. We'll definitely check out the kayak rentals.

Rachel is really excited about Dig For Gems. I think we're going to do that.

I'm having second thoughts on Catalina. The hotels seem crappy and I'm not sure that it's worth the time. I think I'd rather head north for a day and go to Leo Carrillo SP.

For the Korean, I think I want to hit one of these:

http://expeditionexchange.com/forums/showpost.php?p=21351&postcount=162

http://expeditionexchange.com/forums/showpost.php?p=22060&postcount=232

 

[p m]

You can do a Catalina trip in a day - I'd rather stay in a hotel Newport Beach or Laguna Beach than in Catalina, and it's only in 40-minute boat ride.

 

[chris snell]

Ok, I think we're gonna bag on Catalina. Not worth the boat ride.

I've got our San Diego hotels booked but I need to find a good place to spend our last night. We're flying out of LAX the next evening, so I'm thinking some place between Encinitas and Oceanside. Would appreciate any suggestions.

Peter, if you're up for kayaking, we're looking to go on either the 29th or 30th.

 

[specops1526]

Drive a little south of the Hotel Del Coronado and see if you can watch the Navy SEALs training.

There's also an Aircraft Carrier in the SD Bay near downtown that's open to the public.

You can check out the Point Loma Lighthouse, Cool little spot with good views.

You can check out Point Loma Seafood: 2805 Emerson St., San Diego, CA 92106, (619) 223-1109

This place isn't bad too: http://www.kcbbq.net/. But you're from TX so...

There's a Korean place in Marina del Rey which is about 5-6 miles north of LAX. Been there once and it was pretty good: http://www.wharo.com/

 

[JMK]

Del mar is bad ass. I grew up just east of there and its a nice area. Del Mar has nice beaches. I don't know about Korean food places but there is a kick ass Thai place just north on the 101 called Siamese basil. Address below.

527 S Coast Highway 101
Encinitas, CA 92024
(760) 753-3940

Torrey pines state park has some alright hiking. Its pretty much right there. If you want mountains you'll have to go inland a bit. biking is the same. There are a whole bunch of museums in Balboa Park as is the zoo. There is a lot to do in SD. I miss it there. Hope you have fun!

 

[p m]

Ok, I think we're gonna bag on Catalina. Not worth the boat ride.

I've got our San Diego hotels booked but I need to find a good place to spend our last night. We're flying out of LAX the next evening, so I'm thinking some place between Encinitas and Oceanside. Would appreciate any suggestions.

Peter, if you're up for kayaking, we're looking to go on either the 29th or 30th.

Call me 619 8400612 - it'll depend on weather, it's not as much fun when you get soaking wet with 60-degree weather at the first minute. But there's always Mission Bay for kayaking.
I am game for some desert or snow four-wheeling.

 

[chris snell]

Had a great vacation in Bakersfield and San Diego.

We took a lot of the recommendations that were posted here:

Hash House a Go Go: Awesome food. We ate here twice and I ordered the same thing (sage fried chicken) both times. The bloody marys were great, too.

Pomegranate: My favorite dining experience of the trip. Definitely amongst the tastiest meals that I've ever eaten. Thanks for the recommendation, Peter.

Kayaking at La Jolla Shores: We had a great time. Got a little cold after sunset and Rachel got a little seasick but we still had fun.


We stayed in a few different places: W Hotel, North Island Navy Lodge, and the San Onofre USMC-run cabins. W Hotel was nice and the Navy Lodge was very comfortable, as well. Can't say the same for the San Onofre cabins. They were spartan and cold. Only the Marine Corps could make a beachside cottage suck this bad. We made the best of it, though.

I really enjoyed Coronado Island and would move there in an instant if it weren't for Rachel's Army commitment.

Thanks again, everyone.

Here a few random, crappy iPhone pics.

 

[J. Toronado]

If you find yourself on I-15 past Baker stop at The Mad Greek and then hit Calico for some rental car 4x4. Both are not to miss.

 

[p m]

I'm glad you liked it, Chris - I wish you called me, I kept my kayak strapped up to the Volvo ready to go!

 

[group captain mandrake]

In-N-Out Burger, yum.

Things I miss about San Diego:

The Padres
The Chargers
In-N-Out Burger
Alberto's, Roberto's, ect... carne asada burritos
the weather
beautiful scenery


Things I don't miss about San Diego:

insane real estate prices
gazillions of people
very high cost of living
crazy traffic
California liberal laws/politics
Ron Burgundy

 

[p m]

In-N-Out Burger, yum.

You've got to be kidding.
In-N-Out sucks.
There are so many good burger joints in San Diego.
... and, on top of this, why would one need a burger [in a fast-food joint] when one can have a carne asada burrito?

 

[Timmy!!!!!!!]

Things I don't miss about San Diego:


Ron Burgundy

Are you serious? How can you hate this guy?

 

[group captain mandrake]

Yes, I like In-N-Out Burger! I almost never eat fast food, but if we had In-N-Out Burger around here, I would make some exeptions for a few double-doubles. Are you saying you prefer Mc Donald's, Burger King, Wendy's, ect...(all are gross in my opinion); or are you comparing In-N-Out to $8.00 burger joints?
By the way, I have perfected my carne asada recipe (That is another thing we can't get around here.) The only thing Alberto's/Roberto's have on me is I can't make a tortilla the size of a manhole lid.