Quick...week in San Diego......Balboa Park area?? Other things to do M-F while DH in meetings??

[Um_2_4]

So Dh came home last night and he has a conference next week in San Diego and we can accompany. YAY! So now to plan...I think we will be going the weekend before so we all can go to the Zoo and then I will be on my own with the kiddos during the day. This afternoon I'll find out what hotel we are at.

 

So I was thinking of getting the Balboa Park pass that is good for 7 days. We could hit all the museums there. Are there good picnic spots? Is it safe on my own with the kids?

I also want to do the Birch aquarium probably.

 

Anyone in the area know of things to do during the weekdays? Maybe free/cheap?Really cool library?

DH will be done around 4pm for us to go out eat, etc. We wake early, so I'm thinking we will read, do some math, eat breakfast in the room, leave around 9 to go do something, be back around 3-4.

Another thought was maybe mini golf?

Any other ideas??

[Guest]

Honestly a week and a park pass would be enough time to thoroughly explore balboa and that's what I'd recommend. No need to go too far afield when there is so much right there :)

 

Lots of great picnic spots and perfectly safe alone with the kids. In the mornings there are more than a few mommy joggers and their strollers.

Edited March 8, 2016 by Arctic Mama

[QueenCat]

Take the ferry to Coronado and then walk across to the Pacific. It's a flat, easy walk, for kids.

[J-rap]

We are there now!  Staying a block away.  We walk to the park every day, and it's beautiful!  There is so much to do at the park.  The museums can be pricy on their own, but if you get the pass, then you can probably take in a lot.  We picnic there frequently.  There are always people all over and it feels perfectly safe.  (We're only there in the daytime.)  We bring a big blanket and sandwiches and just hang out there.  There's an iMax theater in the park too (went there yesterday), with a great science center (mostly hands-on stuff for kids).  The museum area really is beautiful.  That's more in the southern end of the park.  We haven't been to the zoo end yet.  The museum end has lots of free gardens you can walk through.  I think even young kids would enjoy the little paths in the Japanese garden, for example.  There is a free train within the park that takes you from one end to the other, I believe.

 

You can take a train for a few dollars from downtown to Old Town San Diego.  We're going to do that today, actually!  Everyone also seems to recommend that you take the ferry to Coronado for an afternoon, so we'll do that at some point.

 

The weather hasn't been hot, so bring a sweater and light jacket!  Still beautiful though.

 

Have fun!  

 

 

[Um_2_4]

Thanks so much! How funny you are there now J-rap!

I'm off to catch up on laundry and DD just informed me her tennis shoes are too tight  :glare: !

 

[J-rap]

Just a head's up....  Sadly, there seem to be a lot of homeless people in San Diego.  You will run into them in Balboa Park, and everywhere you go.  We have not had any problems and do not feel at all unsafe, but have had a few interesting experiences.

[J-rap]

Thanks so much! How funny you are there now J-rap!

 

 

 

It is funny!  And right after our exchange about fava beans!  :)

[LibraryLover]

Pacific Beach Boardwalk is fun. Grab a bite to eat, people watch, play in the sand. If you go to Ocean Beach, walk the pier then have lunch at Margarita's on Newport Ave. Very nice & friendly. Not $. I love the Cove in La Jolla.  Nice for kids.  For a little romance and a piano bar, have a drink or a seltzer at La Valenica Hotel, also in La Jolla.  It's really old world and beautiful, and on the beach. For vegan & vegetarian food, I highly recommend the deli & bakery at Ocean Beach People's Food Store.  (I wouldn't say OB is a must see, but it's a cute beach community, and walkable.) In what part of SD are you staying? I recommend La Jolla every single time. :)  (Conventions are mostly in Hotel Circle in Mission Valley. But pools for the kids! Cant go wrong there. lol )

 

www.lajollabythesea.com/la-jolla-cove

 

www.lavalencia.com/

Edited March 8, 2016 by LibraryLover

[mommymonster]

I'll throw in the Maritime Museum of San Diego (http://sdmaritime.org/). We went on a Tuesday(?) and got in for half price. I'd call to check. They used to have boat tours of the bay for $5 per person. Also, my kids are huge fans of the USS Midway Museum, which is within walking distance of the Maritime Museum. 

 

We are members of our local science museum, an ASTC organization. When we visited San Diego, we used our membership to get into the following museums for free: 

• Birch Aquarium in La Jolla
• Ruben Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park
• San Diego Natural History Museum in Balboa Park

 

Have an amazing time!

 

Edited for repetition... 

Edited March 8, 2016 by mommymonster

[JFSinIL]

http://www.midway.org/

[La Condessa]

Balboa Park

Seaport Village

Zoo/Wild Animal Park

Beaches--La Jolla and Torry Pines are especially nice, but Carlsbad, Oceanside, Cardiff are all great

The bay

Old town--and the Mormon Battalion Visitor's Center near there has a neat,kid-friendly historical exhibit that is free

See the sea lions down at the Children's Pool (children can't actually swim there; it was built for that, but the sea lions immediately took it over for themselves)

Mission San Luis Rey

The Escondido Children's Museum is really neat

 

If you want to go farther afield one day, the Getty Villa and Getty Museum are free up in L.A. (Next time we make the trip, we are spending a day at the Getty Villa because we've been studying ancient history--a full roman Villa based on plans from a Pompeii ruin, with the antiquities art collection housed inside)

 

Really, what can't you do?

Man, I'm homesick.

[mamiof5]

Happy for you! I miss our SD trips. My only advice? Don't over schedule. Some of my kids' best memories are the days when we went to the beach all morning, had a picnic lunch, and tackled the afternoon by staying at the hotel just swimming. They enjoyed Sea World very much, but also loved the "nothing scheduled " days. Have fun!!!! :)