San Diego-need advice

[Lucyt1207]

We are flying to San Diego on Wednesday night, 4/12 and staying at the HI, across the street from the pier Thursday and Friday before our 4/15 cruise aboard the Oosterdam. We were planning on doing the trolley one day and maybe the zoo the other day. Now from the extended weather forecast, it looks like San Diego will have rain from Wednesday thru Friday. What can we do in San Diego if the outdoor plans don't work out? Is the zoo still an option if it rains? I know DH wants to visit the submarine at the pier...but that won't take up 2 days!

Any advice will be much appreciated. I am travellng with DH and DS(age 16).

Lucy

[W84Me]

Balboa Park is really nice. There are many indoor museums to wander around in, Aerospace, Natural History, etc.
The San Diego Zoo is great...but you will get wet if it's raining...Horton Plaza in the Gaslamp District (1 mi from HI) is a great "outdoor" mall, you shouldn't get too wet there with their covered walkways and awnings.

[Suite 16]

A terrific restaurant, Prada, is located in the Visitors Center in Balboa Park. You can eat outside if it's nice, or indoors if it rains. We had lunch there - best meal we had in San Diego, a city with lots of great restaurants. It was close to the different museums which we toured before and after taking a break there.

A harbor cruise, which I think leaves from right next to the cruise ship pier, will give you an up-close and personal look at the Navy ships, and you can be inside if it rains.

The last time we took the trolley, we got off at the Del Coronado for lunch - another spot where you can be outside if nice, or indoors if rainy. It's just fun to look at that great hotel.

Hope you luck out with the weather - San Diego is such a great place to visit.

[CathieM88]

The Prado in Balboa Park is a fantastic restaurant! My DH and I go there for special events and then walk around Balboa Park, we never get tired of doing that. In fact that is the plan this month for our anniversary.

I worked in admissions at the zoo for a season and was surprised at the amount of people who still go when it rains. I've personally never gone, but depending on if it's really raining or just off and on raining, that might be fun!

Another outside venture which is within walking of where you are staying is our Little Italy section. That is another place we love to go. We eat at The Waterfront (oldest bar in San Diego and serves good food) and then walk around Little Italy. I know they say rain, and while we have been getting it, we generally around here just have a wait and see attitude when they predict it.

[ore-ee-gun]

Living in the Northwest, we can't afford to let the rain stop us from going outside. Otherwise, we'd spend 8 months of the year indoors!

If you don't want to pack raingear, you can buy an emergency poncho for about a dollar at Walmart. Not much of a fashion statement, but it will keep your hair dry. :p

[Lucyt1207]

Thank you all for the great information. We are not worried about getting our hair wet, but some activities are better done when it is not raining. We will keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best...even in the rain, it will be a great vacation for us all.

[Sundiego]

Lucy, your husband might have an interest in touring the retired aircraft carrier, Midway. We thought it was really interesting. Unfortunately, we parked in a 2-hour metered spot, and could've used 3 hours to take our time during the self-guided tour. For more info, go to www.midway.org. The Midway is docked at Navy Pier, right next to the cruise ship terminal.

[RevNeal]

There's old town for shopping ... and much of that is "under cover," though going from one shop center to the next will probably get you wet. There are some GREAT mexican food places to eat around there. There's also seaside village, which has lots of touristy things to buy. Then, there's La Jolla if you're into ritzy shopping. As already mentioned, there's the USS Midway ... which is really a wonderful ship to tour and much of it would be indoors, though you can't miss the flight deck and the jets and helicopters parked there. The Zoo is my favorite place, and while you'll get wet if it's raining, there are places to hide out from the rain if it is scattered and not heavy. If you go to the zoo, make sure you take lunch at the restaurant in the tree house in the middle of the zoo. Quite nice. I had the chicken pizza ... out of this world. I could go back to the zoo on every visit to San Diego, if my traveling companion would let me. :)

[arabrab]

The Zoo has a bus tour that would keep you dry and gives a nice view of the park, which is much larger than most first-time visitors expect. It also has lots of hills.

What might be fun might depend on the kind of rain -- misty or light rain shouldn't keep you from enjoying a lot of the attractions in Balboa Park, whereas heavy downpours could make that fairly miserable.

A drive up the coast to La Jolla, Del Mar, Cardiff and Leucadia could be nice even if there is a bit of rain.

If it is heavy rain, you might want to inquire about the rain situation up at the S.D. Zoo's Wild Animal Park, which is in Escondido (about 50 minutes from where you're staying) -- the weather inland is often different than at the coast. There is major highway construction on the freeway up to Escondido, so you definitely don't want to be on it between 7 and 9:30 in the morning or 3-7 in the afternoon.

Other options: If you get a rental car, a drive up to the mountain towns of Julian (an old goldminining town with a cute downtown, lots of apple, pear and grape orchards), or Palomar (with a cool observatory to tour) are all reasonable drives. You could make either of these a circle drive, so you come back on a different route than you got there.

The Anza-Borrega dessert is beautiful at this time of year, and also very doable with a rental car. If there has been rain lately the flowers should be in very nice bloom.

My family owned an apple & pear orchard in Julian back in the 70's and 80's, and I have many fond memories of tooling around those areas.

Barb

[Jules1]

We did the zoo once in torrential rain - wore our ponchos. I'm not saying I would recommend it, but we did it and saw plenty.

[Thunderbolt]

Thanks to all for the great advice. The rain in California is starting to get very old and getting on that ship that will bring us to the dry and warmth of Mexico is going to be pure bliss.

[ebk2795]

Lucy, I know this is too late for you, but I wanted to put my 2 cents in about a good place to eat.
My sister and I were on the 04/07 Mercury cruise to the Mexican Riviera. We flew in two days early so we could have a full day at the zoo.
For dinner after the zoo we ate at Hash House a Go Go. It was fantastic. It's not too far from the zoo and it seems to be off the beaten path. Prices were higher than moderate but well worth it. I would recommend it to anyone.
Eileen

[CathieM88]

LOL! We call the food at Hash House a Go Go the food from land of the giants! It is awesome and huge! If you go make sure you have a good appetite!