2 Days In San Diego - What Should I Not Miss? :)

[+Sparrowhawk]

I am planning a very cool southern California vacatiion in May. I am spending most of my time in LA, but because I want ot see Mt. Palomar, I have decided to spare a couple of days in San Diego.

 

So what I want to know is: where is a CHEAP (hostel or campground?) place to stay in San Diego near a very cool location that I have got to NOT miss while I am there?

 

Especially, what are caches which show ultimate San Diego coolness for an out-of-town visitor?

 

My interests tend towards anything geeky and scientific, especially astronomy, and really cool graphics, just in general. But I am willing to check out anything genuinely cool.

 

I'll be there mid-week around the second week of May.

[Parsa]

Mount Palomar is a very nice place to hike and cache. There are currently 4 caches in the State Park area. They are:

GC5312 (a beautiful hiking area)

GCF057

GC343B

GC276

 

There are also some nearby caches lower down.

You cannot drive directly from the west (park, forest and observatory area) to the actual summit on the east where there is this cache: GC631

You might be able to ask if you can walk from the observatory to the lookout tower at the summit. It shouldn't be that far. Just say you want to do it as a little hike. There is a way to drive there, but it's all the way on the other side of the mountain. I do recommend the views from the summit, so if you can make it, by all means try.

 

There is camping both in the national forest and in the State Park, but I'm not sure about whether they are open in the winter. It will be chilly up there anyway.

An alternative is to camp at a county or state park.

County Parks:

http://www.co.san-diego.ca.us/parks/camping/info.html

State Parks:

http://www.parks.ca.gov/parkindex/region_i...giontab=0&id=10

 

As for San Diego, I'll let other recommend their top fun caches as well.

 

On the way up to Palomar, you might want to stop by my cache in Escondido called Lorenzo's Gold (my signature cache), GC5193. Most people like that one. There are some easy caches nearby.

 

One favorite place to hike that has a lot of caches is Penasquitos canyon. It really shows off a native southern California riverine habitat. If you go to this cache, GC9B63, you can search for caches in a line a couple miles to the west along the main canyon. There are also a few to the east as well.

 

Another nice place to visit is La Jolla. There are a few caches you can visit in the area, but everone likes this fun old favorite, Greta Garbo's Phone, GC1A9F. Unfortunately, a lot of nice caches have disappeared in the area, so the density has gone down.

 

There are virtual caches in the San Diego Zoo (GC2175, GCHBT3) , Wild Animal Park, Sea World, and Legoland.

 

There are quite a few simple caches in the areas around downtown (Balboa Park near the zoo, Old Town State Park, Coronado, Point Loma, Mission Bay, etc.) Just look at the map of the area around the Zoo caches.

 

I'll write again if I think of anything else.

 

Parsa

[+CurlyKrakow]

I am planning a very cool southern California vacatiion in May.  I am spending most of my time in LA, but because I want ot see Mt. Palomar, I have decided to spare a couple of days in San Diego.

 

So what I want to know is:  where is a CHEAP (hostel or campground?) place to stay in San Diego near a very cool location that I have got to NOT miss while I am there?

 

Especially, what are caches which show ultimate San Diego coolness for an out-of-town visitor?

 

My interests tend towards anything geeky and scientific, especially astronomy, and really cool graphics, just in general.  But I am willing to check out anything genuinely cool.

 

I'll be there mid-week around the second week of May.

If you come down out of the mountains and head into SD proper, here's where I've been.

 

The Gaslamp District. There are some fun urban micros in great places.

1. I recommend "Who's Horton? 2" in Horton Plaza.. I've heard this mall described as "Dr. Suess meets M.C. Esher" and it certainly fits. Fun place to be, cache or no cache.

2. Conventional View is a great spot at dusk or after dark, with incredible views of the Coronado Bridge. As a bonus, Wet Cement happens to be along the way if going by foot between these two.

3. After you're done caching, the Gaslamp is the place to be after dark for a jumping good time. If you want something a little mellower, but still fun.. any bar/restaurant in Pacific Beach is also a great place to unwind.

 

Balboa Park. Tons of museums, trails and of course, the zoo.

1. I've actually only done Balboa Behind the Scenes personally, but it happens to drop you right in the middle of some of the best stuff. If you're there on a Sunday afternoon, go visit some of the HPR cultural houses. Spreckels Pavilion (spelling?) is pretty neat, the Globe theatre is nearby and you're only 5 mins walk from a great bridge view over Hwy 163 too. PS, if you stop by the House of Ukraine, tell them Nick says "hi".

 

I'm sure others will pipe up too, but those are the ones I've done and enjoyed.

[+Dan-oh]

When you come to San Deigo, Balboa Park is a must! We loved looking for Katy-did, a multi right in the park. It will take you on a short walking tour and get a cache at the same time.

 

Parsa's plug for his 'Lorenzo's Gold' is right on track. Its a short multi in Escondido's Kit Carson park. There are now 4 caches in that park after my most recent Lassie, get help! cache. (hey, gotta plug myself too) It won't take you too far off track as you head up to Palomar.

 

Hope it helps. Have a great trip!

[+Sparrowhawk]

I am definitely interested in checking out the city too.

 

Anything that resembles "If you go THERE, you KNOW you have been in San Diego!" is what I would love to do.

 

Where I am, there are places that are so uniquely Portland, it's almost like visiting here does not count unless you have been to those particular cool places. I would love to have the cacher's version of what would be the San Diego equivalent experience.

[Parsa]

San Diego isn't a one horse town. There's so many things to do, that anywhere you go will have an attraction, or some historic or scenic site. Even within the city limits you could spend months seeing things, let alone in the outlying towns.

 

I would think the zoo would count as a big attraction of course. The San Diego zoo is so famous, and you can get a couple caches in there.

 

The zoo is in Balboa Park, and to me, Balboa Park is really the heart and soul of San Diego. It's very beautiful and historic, and the vast majority of the city's museums are there:

http://www.balboapark.org/museums.html

 

It's fun just to walk down the long Prado and look at this historic area that was the fairgrounds for two world expositions.

 

Here's the exhibit calendar:

http://www.balboapark.org/aboutschedule.html

But it's better to look at the links for the individaul museums.

Map of main Prado area:

http://www.sd.fisc.navy.mil/images/MapsIma...oa-Park-map.gif

 

The caches in the park area pretty much center on this cache:

Butterfly Garden

Look at the map of the area, and the list of nearby caches.

 

Another cool place is Coronado Island. You get to cross San Diego's famous bay bridge. (The bridge toll booths still exist, but there's no longer a toll.) The views of the city on one side, and the ocean on the other are fantastic. There's also the Hotel Del Coronado that was in the movie Some Like it Hot.

Ferry Landing Cache (GCGEE0)

bay view circle (GCGDBW)

Night Lights (GC1110)

 

Other attractions are:

Sea World (GC88DD)

Belmont Park and its wooden roller coaster in Pacific Beach (GCG7JR)

Mount Soledad near la Jolla for fantastic views (GCGVJQ, GC6C37, GCHBD6, GCGP1Q)

Seaport Village and the Convention Center (GCG1T3, GC7BDB)

The Gaslamp Quarter (the old Victorian "new city" center) (GCF667)

Old Town, the Presidio, and Bazaar del Mundo (GC6CED, GCF06B, GCGE40, GCG5GH, GC5BE4)

Mission San Diego de Alcala (GCHGHT)

 

Here's all the places I mentioned and more:

San Diego Attractions

 

Parsa

 

Parsa's Stats

Edited February 5, 2004 by Parsa

[+Sparrowhawk]

I will definitely have to hit that Balboa Park place, then.

 

Where's a cheap (and safe) motel near there? It would be cool if it were run by a geocacher! I'm dreaming, of course...

 

I have a feeling I am going to seriously regret budgeting only 2 days of time outta my vacation to spend in San Diego!

[+CurlyKrakow]

I will definitely have to hit that Balboa Park place, then.

 

Where's a cheap (and safe) motel near there? It would be cool if it were run by a geocacher! I'm dreaming, of course...

 

I have a feeling I am going to seriously regret budgeting only 2 days of time outta my vacation to spend in San Diego!

If you really want an interesting (and exceptionally cheap, about $16/night) place to stay, I spent last Memorial Day crashing (and caching!) at a hostel right in the middle of the Gaslamp.

 

Definitely not for the faint of roommate(s) or anybody who goes to bed early, 'cause you're on the 2nd story right above the bars and eateries that are going full-tilt right up 'til last call (2-3am), but it's mere blocks from the 'downtown' caches (I think I picked up four or five within .5mi) and only about 1-1.5mi from the Park Ave entrance into Balboa Park. If you like having crazy travel stories to tell when you get back home, this is a great place to stay. If you want a room to yourself and watching the evening news or SportsCenter before bed, it won't be your thing... but I just thought I'd throw it out there for you as an idea.

 

BTW, if you're a sports fan at all, see if the viewing platform for the PETCO Park construction is open.. it's nearby and this place is going to be a gem for watching baseball.

[Parsa]

Here are:

 

Hostels in San Diego

 

Otherwise it's going to be Motel 6 or something.

 

Parsa

[+Mister Bow Willow]

To me, the coolest thing about San Diego is the amazing variety of the geology, the botany, the climates, and the fauna.

 

To fully capture this diversity, I would devote one day to a driving survey of San Diego County. You will see ocean, lagoons, suburbia, inland valleys, mountains, and desert. The trip is mostly secondary roads and is about 250 miles (depending on some options). It will be a decidedly un-city trip. There are numerous camping possibilities en route.

 

I would start from the ocean head inland on CA-76/79/78. Return via CA-86 and I-8.

 

I recommend the “Explore! San Diego County” Map from AAA. If you can’t get that the other standard map is the Thomas Bros. Map book but that will set you back about $20.

 

If something like this interests you, send me email and I’ll give you a lot of details and suggested stopping points.

[+djs_111]

Hi,

I'm flying into Las Vegas on May 10th and driving to San Diego for a few days too...if anyone wants to do some team-caching just let me know!

[+Sparrowhawk]

Hey dude, let's see if we can hang out then or what.

[+JandM]

Wow. This list is great. We are going to San Diego for 6 days in July. We're staying in Chula Vista, but my brother lives in San Diego and we'll be spending plenty of time checking out the area.

 

Sparrowhawk, thanks for inquiring. And thanks for everyone's input! We hope to hit a bunch of these caches too!

 

Thanks!

Melissa (and Joe, too)