San Diego - suggestions please!

[mommytoC]

We're going to San Diego in March (I have a meeting on Coronado Island), and would appreciate help planning activities around my meeting sessions (Friday (late afternoon), Saturday, and Sunday (morning)). We're arriving on Thursday and flying home on Tuesday, and are considering:

Friday - Scripps aquarium
Sunday afternoon - whale watching excursion
Monday - San Diego zoo

Re: whale watching, our girls (who'll be (almost) 6.5 and 3) haven't shown any signs of motion sickness, though I do - and would appreciate any recommendations on seasickness aides. Thoughts on our trip plan, or other suggestions? (DH and the girls will explore Coronado Island during my meeting.) We'd also appreciate any restaurant recommendations. :) TIA!

[Tondi G]

I have had good luck with this site for area info and good suggestions on restaurants

http://www.localwally.com/

My MIL had good luck with Bonine for motion sickness meds. I also purchased some homepathic pellets for motion sickness before our cruise and no one in our family needed anything more. http://www.amazon.com/Boiron-Tabacum-1M-80-plts/dp/B0058A9IAA

If you are staying on Coronado you could take the ferry across from Coronado to Seaport village and take the girls for a ride on the carousel. http://www.seaportvillage.com/

Heard great things about this place for Breakfast! HUGE potions

http://www.hashhouseagogo.com/

If you don't have them where you live and you like burgers go to In-n-Out for a yummy inexpensive meal! http://www.in-n-out.com/locations.asp

I don't know if they are of interest to you but the flower fields up in Carlsbad I think happen from March through May. They have some good outlet shopping close by too!

[pinay]

Where in Coronado is your conference? If you're near the ferry landing, one of our favorite places to eat is just around the corner- Coronado Brewing Co is pretty family friendly and the beer selection is good, as is the food. We also like Village Pizza and Lil Piggy's BBQ at the landing (the corn fritters with the cinnamon butter are scrumptious!). I don't think any whale watching excursions leave from Coronado, so if you have to head across the bay you may as well take the ferry round trip. If you have enough time, I would also suggest walking over to the Midway and doing the self guided audio tour. If you check in at the info booth they have a kids guided tour brochure you can fill out as you walk around and at the end your kids get junior pilot wings- we did about 2 hrs before DD burned out, but we saw plenty.

At the zoo, I would definitely recommend doing the bus tour right off the bat- it takes you around most of the park so you can get an idea of the layout, then after the tour is done you can hop on and off the express buses for the rest of the day. You can bring your own snacks in, but if you don't want to bother with that we like the restaurant over by the elephant exhibit. I've also heard good things about Albert's restaurant in the zoo, but we have yet to try it.

A great place for breakfast in downtown is Cafe 22, which is just down the street from the New Children's Museum- they typically have fantastic interactive exhibits that keep kids engaged for hours.

Have fun!

[fivi2]

We went to San Diego this past August. On your list, we did the Zoo. We enjoyed it quite a bit, but it is expensive!

One other thing we did that I don't see mentioned very often was the San Diego Botanic Garden in Encinitas. (http://www.sdbgarden.org/hcg_home.htm)

We were on our way to Anaheim, but it is a bit north of San Diego. They have two different children's gardens that were a lot of fun for my kids. One is aimed at older kids with a huge (fake) treehouse, a sound garden, a butterfly garden, a little stream, etc. The one for little kids had a bubble station, a train garden, and something else... They are on opposite sides of the botanic garden from each other. It was also a pretty botanic garden in general and not too expensive.

It may be out of your way, and it isn't worth canceling something else that you really want to do, but we spent close to three hours there and had to drag our kids away. So it may be worth a stop if you head to Carlsbad for the flower fields as pp suggested.

[mommytoC]

Where in Coronado is your conference? If you're near the ferry landing, one of our favorite places to eat is just around the corner- Coronado Brewing Co is pretty family friendly and the beer selection is good, as is the food. We also like Village Pizza and Lil Piggy's BBQ at the landing (the corn fritters with the cinnamon butter are scrumptious!). I don't think any whale watching excursions leave from Coronado, so if you have to head across the bay you may as well take the ferry round trip. If you have enough time, I would also suggest walking over to the Midway and doing the self guided audio tour. If you check in at the info booth they have a kids guided tour brochure you can fill out as you walk around and at the end your kids get junior pilot wings- we did about 2 hrs before DD burned out, but we saw plenty.

It's at the Marriott, so near the landing - thank you for your Coronado restaurant suggestions, they all sound great (as do Tondi G's for San Diego :))! We'd definitely take the ferry across the bay prior to whale watching, and hopefully, check out the USS Midway too.

On our aquarium day, we'd plan to eat lunch in La Jolla (any suggestions?), and stop at the Children's Pool to see the seals.

I'm not sure if we'd have enough time to go to Carlsbad or the Botanical Garden, though I know we'd love both...especially since we don't see flowers until mid-May
at home!

[mom2binsd]

Over at Seaport Village we like to eat at the Pier Cafe, get there at a nonpeak time to ensure a window seat and the kids will love watching all that the bay offers. The food is pretty good, reasonable and I've always had good service and it's very kid friendly.

My kids love to walk around Seaport Village, cute shops, bridges with ducks in ponds, pretty landscaping, the bay to look at, Ben and Jerry's ice cream, the carousel.

Find out if there are any low tides while you'll be up in LaJolla, on La Jolla Shores beach there are some neat tide pools. March is too cold for swimming but great for tide pooling (bring some water shoes). We used to love Moondoogies to eat at but they're closed.

Another great place to visit with kids is Cabrillo Monument and Balboa Park, lots of great open spaces to run around and there's a children's museum there that isn't too big but lots of hands one.

My all time fav place to visit when I'm there, Pt.Loma Seafoods, it's off the beaten path and a very casual/popular place, it serves fresh seafood and also chicken if the kids don't like fish. You order at the counter (deli style), then they call your name. You can eat outside by the boats or inside at their casual dining room...and I mean casual, patio/resin table and chairs. The fish sandwich is awesome, great fries, beer and wine also available. If you go between 11:30 and 1pm it is crazy, locals love it....but go a little early or later and it's ok. The parking lot has an attendant (but it's free), it clears quickly or you can try to find street parking. I detest Anthony's Fish Grotto, so many tourists go there and the food is terrible.

One thing a friend of mine who recently came back from a convention in San Diego commented on was the number of homeless/mental ill vagrants all over the place. I think living there I got used to it, and during the cold winter months the homeless population soars as even the homeless seem to like to go where it's warm. I mention this only because we live in a small city with very little visible poverty and I think in five years I've seen one "beggar" or hobo as DD calls them. BUT when we visit Chicago she is very disturbed/upset when she sees homeless, she is old enough to be able to read the signs they carry and she is full of questions and concerns and it really strikes a cord with he. Most places you'll be will be are not hotspots but the homeless are concentrated downtown, and I think very rare over on Coronado (people joke that because Coronado has so many restrictions/bylaws that even the homeless can't afford/be bothered to live there!)

For fun, grab a realestate magazine while you're there, unless you come from another high COL area, the prices for little cottages are pretty humorous!

[mommyp]

Most of the La Jolla restaurants/cafes are near the Children's pool. Smashburger is pretty good. We don't usually eat out in La Jolla, so I'm not too sure of the options over there. If your kids have energy to burn, there is a great playground at La Jolla Shores beach, which is between the aquarium and the village. At the zoo, the Albert's restaurant is good (although more expensive) and always full of kids.

[AnnieW625]

For La Jolla we have eaten at Karl Strauss twice. The food is good and so is the service. The kids meal is good, but usually one of us orders and entree, and the other orders a pizza to split with DD1. There is a Burger Lounge though on the opposite corner that smells devine, but it was really crowded the last time we went and we were in the mood for a sit down dinner.

[mommytoC]

You guys are the best :)...thank you so much for your help!