Who does not like to enjoy himself or herself in the Great Outdoors by participating in all sorts of sports such as baseball, softball and basketball, not to mention football? Even if you cannot take an active part in the physical exertion, there is always an absolute vicarious pleasure in looking at the players go against each other in the form of teams. San Diego has many sports teams, and these include pros, amateur leagues and college-level groups interacting with each other. All in all, it makes for healthy competition and a whole lot of team spirit which amuses and amazes the onlooking spectators and fans. A couple of colleagues from Solar Panels Central Coast love to go watch the basketball and baseball games every year at least once.
San Diego and its Sports Heritage
Besides the NFL, there are basketball and rugby teams. A Tennis competition takes place each year, and while there is no hockey series, even this sport is practised in the city of San Diego at the junior level. While San Diego has not won many major sports trophies or titles, the town did grab the AFL title way back in 1963 thanks to the Chargers. There is a golf tournament every year in San Diego. Athletes can be seen sprinting and doing the pole vault in several track and field areas in the region. At the amateur level, some yacht clubs for the rich and famous are a part of the establishment. Finally, there are one or two marathons held annually, and they sure test the limits of the participants’ endurance to the hilt.
On With the Details
The baseball team known as the San Diego Padres may be seen practising rigorously in Petco Park. The San Diego Rockets and Clippers are the twin basketball globetrotters on the scene. At the amateur level, ice hockey teams abound such as the Skyhawks and Gulls. Soccer reminds one of such global superstars as Maradona and Pele and Ronaldo. The Sockers constitute a significant team dealing in football in this regard. There are also a couple of lacrosse and rugby teams in San Diego. The former include the Seals on a prominent basis, and the latter comprises the Sevens. As for tennis, the Aviators and Buds are famous for their smashing shots. The city has quite some venues where the hand and eye coordination and sports skills are carried out with passion, zest and energy.
Some of these teams worth their weight in gold includes the following:
The Guardians are professionals who don’t take the stress and win more or less.
The Seduction is an exciting bunch who light up the sports arena.
The Gulls are a delight to gaze at when they are doing their stuff.
The Padres whose fans keep on multiplying.
The Fleet give their game a name and fame.
The So Cal Scorpions are a danger to the opposing team.
The Chargers train hard and play harder.
The Tijuana Roller Derby Girls may be an amateur team, but they make up for their lack of experience by putting in the extra effort.
Therefore although the Chargers may not have regained their memorable victory of 1963, there are plenty of other teams who keep the torch of pride burning bright. Get a parking pass and enter Petco for some baseball action. The Gulls play ice hockey, and on Friday nights you can buy cheap beer at the Valley View Casino Center where they are in full form. Sockers are up to their magic in Tijuana’s Estadio Caliente. For basketball fans seasonal tickets are available, and you get drinks too for a nominal sum of money. The Aviators combine killer instinct with acumen at matches that take place throughout the year for tennis fans. Whether San Diego will get a professional football, basketball or hockey team in the future is an open question. With some effort and good luck, they just might!
San Diego is a beautiful place to visit. For the tourist who wants to make the most of his stay in San Diego, there are many hotels and luxury resorts that will offer comfortable experiences for the hedonist or epicurean. The balmy air, sandy coastal regions, and culinary delights will serve as pleasurable points for the tourist to ponder when returning home to his native city. The best hotels are concentrated in the downtown region and near the beachfront.
Stay a Little Bit Longer
In the downtown area, the four and five-star hotels are a dime a dozen. The Hotel Del Coronado is a luxury resort ideal for large families who want to enjoy the ambience together. This particular hotel has an amazing janitor service provided by Office Cleaning Newcastle. You should not miss another luxury hotel is the La Valencia Hotel & Spa, located in La Jolla. The ideal boutique hotels include the Andaz and the Kimpton. For the middle-class tourists, the Residence Inn in the downtown area is the perfect spot. If you are a failed poet, mediocre writer or struggling artist and have limited cash on you, the Hilton Garden Inn and the Rambler Motel should be your first choice since they do not cost an arm and a leg. Also, there are two hostels, one situated at Loma Beach and the other one at Ocean Beach. These give trekkers and hikers a safe place to spend the night.
These are just a few of the wide gamut of lodging options spread out before the tourist feels a little confused upon landing at San Diego Airport. The full-fledged hotels lend butler service and also have gyms and spas for the health-conscious among us. There are residential areas on rent that offer you breakfast in bed. For the Average Joe (or Jane) there are clean and comfy hotels and motels. If anyone happens to be a loner and wants privacy, there are a limited number of condos on rent. Some of the hotels have special fun-filled activities to amuse the children so that they stay busy. Families can avail them so that their ankle-biters don’t bother them for a while.
The room lodging tax is approximately 10.5% and is implemented on hotels and motels. Camping grounds in the open air and RV park accommodations abound for the adventurous spirits among us. Vacation rentals are another option for the tired and jaded who want the sand’s simplicity and surf from the vantage point of a beach chair while they sip on Pina Colada. As for family resorts, Hotel Del Coronado stands out like a giant among dwarves. If you have some extra bucks, don’t forget to stay here. It has a Kid’s Club for the energetic little ones and Victorian Guest Rooms for the august and austere adults. Other rich folk looking for a hotel with a country house touch should frequent The Lodge at Torrey Pines with its bucolic bliss. Also, the Pantai Inn situated at La Jolla has an eastern look to it.
Balboa Park in San Diego is a beautiful site that houses more than a dozen museums. The park is a source of urban exploration that is spread out over a large area. The natural scenery the park affords the average tourist is mindblowing in its depth and variety. You will need a vehicle to get to the park, although if you are fit enough, you can cycle there instead. The leading museums in Balboa Park are five in number. They cost anywhere from $13 to $20 as far as the entry fee per person is concerned. As for the rest of the museums, they will set you back financially as much as $15 or as little as $5. If your budget allows you to explore some more just for the sake of curiosity, these museums hold different attractions that will cost you additional fees.
Food, Fun and Fantastic Forays
You can sit in a restaurant in Balboa Park and feast on some of the most delicious meals. There are more mundane dining experiences for those on a shoe-string budget. The museums shut their doors in the evening, but the bridge and urban structures are still open to the public. Also, all dining opportunities continue far into the night. Quite late at night, a large truck carrying good food at reasonable rates arrives for those who want to sample some tasty treats without putting a dent in their wallets. Balboa Park’s gardens almost seem like exotic jungles in their complexity and are a sight to behold.
Try It for a Ticket
If your plans include just going to the park for a single day, you can enter the premises for $46 or $27 depending on whether you are a full-fledged adult or a kid respectively. For those who want to extend their visits, you can spend a whole week there for $57 if you are a grown-up or $30 if you are a youngster. Finally, for those who are positively addicted to the experience, there is the year-round pass that allows families to enter for a nominal $229. Adults alone will be charged $129, and the senescent and educated youth will both be charged a meagre $99. As an additional bonus, the Museum of Us lends all locals of San Diego County and officers in the army alongside their families cost-free entry on Residents Free Day. Personal identity cards are a must to avail this chance. Also, some material goods are not allowed inside the museum.
Last Words on Making it to the Museums on Time
If you have kids who have tagged along with you, you will need to see that they do not cause too much of a breach of discipline. There are hotels in San Diego that cater to taking extra special care of children, and that is where you should stay with them when not frequenting the museums. It may mean a little extra cash flowing from your hands into the hotel’s accounts, but it is worth it in the end. Also, try and spend your hard-earned money on clean, hygienic food instead of street fare that probably has its share of bacteria-laden comestibles that may give you a severe case of Delhi Belly. Enjoy your trip to the museums of Balboa Park in a rational, safe and cost-effective manner, and you will not regret the decision you took.
To the novice tourist who happens to find himself or herself in San Diego, the question is how will he or she go from one place to another. Here one thing to remember is that he or she always has a choice. They can say no to a car or bus and choose to pedal or walk the nearest outlet’s distance. Free will reigns supreme. On the contrary though, if the sightseeing enthusiast wishes to, they may drive by car. This is if the person is unfit due to such conditions as obesity or old age. The places situated around San Diego are accessible in periods ranging from the quickest 7 minutes to a lengthy 2 hours.
Visitor’s Rights
You can go to the park or museum for some light entertainment. Also, the zoo offers natural sights for the amusement of children and teenagers. Some hotels are especially amenable to the boisterous habits of kids. They provide babysitters and services for children, no matter how naughty they happen to be. A short trip to the stadium will mean that you can take part in spectator sports. Taxes will be in place wherever you go in San Diego. They are a nuisance, but that is the way of the world. That includes leaving the waiters a tip every time you leave an haute cuisine restaurant. Woolly jumpers and windbreakers for winter months and T-shirts and tank tops for summer season come under appropriate clothing rubric. There is musical entertainment, theatrical shows, live dramas, and tragicomic plays for the man or woman interested in the performing arts. There is a golf course that appeals to the capitalist and rich man inside us all. There are carports Sydney for you to park your car and go have blast at the golf course.
Many Sights to See
There is a long driveway in San Diego that affords every person who visits it some scenic views. The coastal region is truly a marvel to behold. The blue sky and aquamarine sea, not to mention the golden and silver sands are wondrous to look at in all their glory. Remember that it is the journey that matters and not the destination. Enjoy every moment of the trip. Among some of the local highlights are Downtown Embarcadero and Point Loma. The latter has a military barracks and graveyard situated inside its jurisdiction. Ocean Beach is where you can have plenty to nosh upon when you feel the least bit hungry. Soledad Mountain juts out from the landscape like a work of art in all its splendour. Then there is the University of California San Diego where students studying in various subjects and the quest for knowledge go round the clock. There are an aquarium and Seaview at Scripps. Gaze in admiration at the marine life swimming in its natural habitat here.
The Pacific Beach offers one a panoramic view of the coastline which extends for miles and miles. The cuisine, the traditional setup, the Great Outdoors environment and niche markets, and local communities to look into in San Diego. For those who prefer to spend some time drinking alcohol, several breweries and pubs are worth their salt in the city. As for Tijuana, you will need a full 24 hours to explore it yourself or with your family. The same goes for Balboa Park, which also houses the zoo. Belmont Park is another venue with rides and amusement fairs in operation at all times. You can find some of the tastiest and most delicious Mexican food at the restaurants and eateries in the region. The experience of visiting and staying in San Diego is one which is worth it. Book a ticket now, and all we can say is Bon Voyage!
For those who want to take a quick tour to San Diego, the downtown area is not far from the airport. While it takes different periods walking, cycling, car or bus, the region has every amenity located at a convenient distance. Coming down to basics, downtown San Diego is situated three and a half miles from the airport. If you were to book a taxi cab, it would cost you around three five-dollar banknotes.
Visiting Nearby Outlets
There is a saying that everything in San Diego is within reach. All it takes is approximately one-third of an hour to get to wherever you want to go. Other places besides the airport located at a distance from downtown San Diego include the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Hotel Circle, Mission Bay, Ocean Side and Tijuana. The time by car to reach these regions is 120 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 45 minutes and half an hour.
The Ins & Outs
There is a mass transportation network extant in San Diego. This includes within its ambit: buses, trolleys and trains. Remember that you will need to give a certain amount of money as a tip whenever service you avail. The local services staff expects this much of San Diego. The park is a swell place to explore Nature in San Diego. Also, the zoological gardens are a fun way to see the animals in all their animated wonderment. Lodging could be in a hotel or inside a luxury apartment depending upon your choice—Pack clothes according to the weather, summer or winter. The beaches are a surfer’s delight. Search for seashells on them at leisure. You can view actors and actresses in a theatre or play golf at your discretion in San Diego. Besides Tijuana being closeby, so is the Mexican border for those wanting to try some Tacos and Enchiladas. The region has many casinos for the chance and luck merchants among us all. Enjoy your stay in downtown San Diego and send a postcard back home so the people sitting there could eat their hearts out and feel jealous of a vacationer like you.
Other Options
There are pedestrian and cyclist paths and the airport leading to Little Italy and the downtown region for those who travel light. Don’t forget to consult a map if you are unsure about your whereabouts in the unknown area. There are many support structures in place, so you will not face any hazard or complications as a pedestrian or cyclist. By car, all it takes is 10 to 12 minutes to reach the nearest habitable place. By bus, it is a different story, though. If you are ready to put on a pedometer and count those steps, the nearest convenience store may be less than an hour away from the airport. Finally, for those who prefer to cycle there a way to it, all it takes is 15 minutes at max. Explore the region and get to know the people and the cuisine. You won’t regret it, that’s for sure.
