Exactly the reasons why I wanted to check out a game there lol. Hopefully, I will get to go again down the road. Our UC is there at the convention center every year so there will be another opportunity at some point.
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Greetings San Diego, I hope it’s ok to pop into your corner of the Refuge for trip activity recommendations. Cheers to the recs from a few days ago in response to another First Flight traveler, will be doing some research into those for sure. Ferry to Coronado sounds fun.
My wife and I are coming to town for a wedding the weekend of Dec 9 and staying an extra couple of days. The plan is to hit up the zoo on the Monday, but definitely interested to hear what else the locals recommend. No golf on this trip as I will be with my wife who does not play, so we’re just looking to spend some time together in a place neither one of us has been. Open to hotel recs that are in good areas but also won’t break the bank, $160-$170/night is the price ceiling, we’re in a place our wedding hosts have for Fri-Sat but after that we’re on our own. Just a nice place to sleep, no need for fancy resort amenities. We’re in La Jolla for the wedding but after that we’re not picky. I figured anything I book through Chase or the standard chains that has ok reviews is good enough, but just in case there is one to avoid I’ll put that out there.
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No real hotel recommendations from me, I would say location is most important which also depends on if you will have a rental car.
I would say for sure pick a day dedicated on Zoo/Balboa Park/Little Italy. Zoo to Balboa Park museums to Little Italy could be a fun full day. You’ll burn so many calories that you’ll enjoy eating the food Little Italy has to offer.
Then I would pick a coastal beach town (or two) and spend a day doing that. The touristy one is Ocean Beach / Pacific Beach but I don’t really like that area myself. I would recommend Encinitas / Carlsbad personally. Del Mar isn’t as great as tourists think as well. If you’re up for it, I would do a morning hike at Torrey Pines reserve (stop by the golf course obviously on the way) and then spend the second half of the day at one of these beach cities.
Third day you’ll probably be exhausted so I’d do Coronado ferry / waterfront downtown.
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Cheers for that! Zoo is definitely in the plans so I like the sounds of zoo+museums+food. My wife actually just found a Legoland package deal for a 2 night stay and park access we may take advantage of, since a decent hotel plus park admission alone would make the cost savings worth it. We don’t have kids but have a borderline unhealthy thing with Lego, is it weird for 2 adults to book that place by themselves? Then we can wander around Carlsbad probably same day as we go to the theme park. Maybe walk by the Cameron Gallery to show my wife my golf spending habits could be so, so much worse.
Also thinking about possible whale watching since it looks like mid-December is right at the beginning of Gray whale migration. Still TBD there since no one has published tour dates yet.
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Cameron Gallery is in Encinitas not Carlsbad, but it’s also a bit lame since they don’t let you inside. You have to window shop, literally.
And I would say Legoland is probably fun enough without kids but I also am a huge Lego person. Last time I was there was as a teen though.
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Scotty Gallery is a bit…lame as @AlexandWinston said. You have to stay outside and they put things that are for sale in the windows. So you are actually window shopping.
But you can also buy Scotty things that you can’t get anywhere else. So if you like Scotty stuff, it is worth a worth a stop if you are already in the area. But I wouldn’t go out of your way to go there unless you are a legit scotty collector.
But I agree with @AlexandWinston that it isn’t what it used to be/could be.
Whale migration is really cool, but isn’t a science. It changes year to year based on when the whales are moving. December to April is the range, but that doesn’t mean they are coming down or going up the whole time. That is just the time frame that they could be in San Diego (going South early and North Late).
Zoo is very worth it. Great Day mapped out for you there with Balboa park and little Italy.
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Yeah I’m not a big Scotty guy, just thought it would be funny to show my wife a putter with a 4 or 5 figure asking price. Definitely lame it’s window shopping only.
We’ll just have to stay tuned to the tour guides for the whales, might be a gametime decision type thing when we’re in town
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If you are staying in Carlsbad, highly recommend breakfast or lunch (or brunch!) at Shorehouse Kitchen.
And, if you are a coffee person, there is a Lofty Coffee a few doors down from Shorehouse Kitchen, or much better, there is the Roastery in Encinitas. The coffee is great and the scratch made pastries (especially the chocolate croissants) are fantastic.
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If you go to that area,
The Goods
Lofty Coffee
Shorehouse Kitchen
Campfire
Jeune et Jolie
Honestly one of my favorite little areas in San Diego.
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You also won’t see any 4 or 5 figure putters in the window.
IF IF IF they have one there for sale, they are bought by someone who spent the night sleeping in line so that they were “first customer” when they open at 10 am. That isn’t a joke. They have a line of flippers that either spend the night or show up at 3 am to be first in line to buy whatever putter show up that day to flip. It sucks and is lame like Alex said. But if you were already in the area, it can be fun to look at the window and say you went. But that is about the extent of the coolness.
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There is also a shorehouse kitchen in La Jolla that my wife and I love if you are looking for a quiet bite morning after the wedding. Great rec from spiff above. It’s definitely a local favorite!
I know you frequent the aviation thread so I will plug our air and space museum in Balboa park, It’s one of the best in the country. San Diego has an extremely rich aviation history. It may be tough to make both that and the zoo happen though, zoo is open 9a-9p but museums are usually 10-5.
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Hey guys I’ll be in town from June 2-11th in PB. Originally from Temecula, living in Mesa now. I’m going to try to play TP either course. Does it still work to show up early and get a tee time or have they done away with that?
Ya, that still works
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Any trick to it? Is 5am early if I go on like a Tuesday or Wednesday?
Sunrise is 5:40am, I would say if it’s Tuesday or Wednesday then 5am you might be at worst 3-5 in line depending on the luck. There’s always locals who show up, but on a midweek day no more than a handful usually. If you’re content with either course you’ll probably get out.
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I appreciate the info. No preference on the course just trying to get out early and play.
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yeah skip cameron is such a waste of time
Update got to TP at 4:30am on Wednesday. I was 3rd in line. I got on at 7:12 on the North Course
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Any open tee times early in the morning tomorrow? Around the PB area?
No golf in PB area, closest courses worth playing are torrey, balboa, and coronado.
Balboa Park is in EXCELLENT condition right now if you are interested in trying to walk on there. Can hang out at the grill and have breakfast on the porch while you wait for your name to get called of the waitlist. The greens were absolutely perfect last weekend when I played.
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