6.6.-10.6.2024
Out of all of the hotels we had booked, Lamplighter Inn was almost the only one where breakfast was included. We had read good reviews of the breakfast on Booking.com, so expectations were high. The breakfast was a slight disappointment. There were boiled eggs, porridge, yoghurt, sugar coated cereals, bagels, croissants and some other buns, and of course juice, coffee and tea. You could also bake waffles from the ready-made dough if you wanted to. All the plates, cups etc. were disposable, and apart from apples and oranges, there was nothing fresh for breakfast. You could spread only butter, cream cheese or jam on your bagel. No ham, cucumber or salad at all. Fortunately, we had gone to the store the previous night, so the next morning we’ll head to breakfast with our own sandwich toppings.
Right after breakfast we decided to go to the famous San Diego Zoo. We figured it would be a little less crowded on Friday than on weekend days. The weather was also perfect for a visit to the zoo, as it was cloudy and the temperature was around +20C. The car ride to the zoo took only twenty minutes. When we arrived at the parking lot, we realised that we wouldn’t be all alone at the zoo. The huge car park was not full, but the daily average of 12,000 visitors would surely be reached today as well. Fortunately, the zoo is huge, so even with large numbers of people it doesn’t feel crowded.
A day ticket to the zoo was quite expensive, $74 for ages 12 and up, and Risto’s ticket cost $64. The ticket included a half an hour guided bus ride and use of the cable car through the park, but visiting the park can get quite expensive, especially for families with many children.
We spent six hours in the park and saw almost every animal at the zoo (except, of course, for the animals in the reptile house where the sign said there should have been a small snake, lizard or a critter, but those guys were hidden somewhere under rocks or leaves. Or maybe they had run away, like the Pedro boa at the Korkeasaari Zoo.)
Out of all the animals we saw, Risto’s favourites were the leopards, Ronja liked the reptile house and the koalas. Koalas were also Jaana’s favourites. It was also interesting to see how smoothly the hippos moved in the water. (Hippos can’t swim because they are too heavy to do so. Instead, they move along the bottom like ballerinas on their toes.) Marko liked the gorillas and of course the pigs.
We hadn’t planned anything for Saturday, so first we did our laundry and after that we drove to downtown San Diego. We had spotted a company called Old Town Trolley Tours, so we decided to buy tickets for the trolley. It was an easy way to see the majority of San Diego’s main attractions.
First, though, we stopped at the Children’s Park near the harbour area. The area, where the playground was located, had undergone a major renovation about a year ago that cost 9 million dollars. In addition to the playground, the area also included a dog park and an outdoor exercise area. The place was very clean and well kept. In general there is less litter on the roads here than in Los Angeles. Homeless people, on the other hand, are everywhere, just like in Los Angeles too.
From the playground we walked to the Seaport Village area, where we hopped on the Hop on Hop off trolley. To our surprise, the route was quite long (2h non-stop), but on the other hand, it did cover the city centre and surrounding areas really well.
First we drove through the Gaslamp Quarter (one of the city’s districts with lots of restaurants and bars) and after that we ended up in Coronado. To our surprise Coronado wasn’t a suburb of San Diego. It is actually a separate city. If San Diego is expensive, Coronado is even more so. We were told the average price for a home there (when you include the condos) was about $4 million. If you’re only talking about single-family homes, the average price is between six and eight million dollars. However, if anyone is interested in moving to Coronado (it is super pretty), there is currently a $40 million mansion for sale near the beach.
As Coronado is its own city, they also have their own laws. One of them states that no big chain stores are allowed in the area, in order to maintain a small-town feel. Only if a store is essential to the area (Starbucks apparently was) is it allowed to set up a branch there. This is why you won’t find McDonald’s, Walmart or Target in Coronado, for example.
From Coronado we continued to Balboa Park, where we had already visited the zoo the day before. The park area is very large, with many museums and large green areas in addition to the zoo.
From there, we drove through Little Italy to Old Town San Diego, and finally back to the waterfront. There we hopped off and walked back to Little Italy to explore its restaurant scene. We ended up eating at the oldest pizzeria in San Diego, Filippis Pizza Grotto, which was established there back in 1915. The food was good, and the pizzas in particular were huge. If Marko (who was really hungry) managed to eat only a bit over a third of his pizza, that’s tells you, the pizza was massive! Luckily, we got the rest of the pizza to go, so we now have the whole family’s lunch for tomorrow ready and waiting in the fridge.
On Sunday we went to La Jolla, which is part of the city of San Diego, even though it has a population of about 32 000. La Jolla is famous for its beaches, and especially for the sea lions and seals that live there. These animals were the reason why we wanted to go there. We didn’t go swimming with them, though, as the sea water is so cold that you would need a wetsuit to snorkel there.
We weren’t the only ones, who had decided to go on a Sunday drive to La Jolla. Finding a free parking space on the street proved to be a challenge, so we ended up taking our car to a paid parking garage, where you could keep your car all day for $15. However, when we drove out, the bar opened without us having to pay, so we were able to park our car for free in the end.
In La Jolla, we walked along a coastal footpath. In places the smell was quite strong, as the cliffs were populated not only by seals and sea lions, but also pelicans and cormorants. The cormorants and their droppings in particular smelled really bad!
Fortunately, there were also areas on the cliffs with picnic tables far enough away from the smelly birds. We stopped at one of them to have some lunch. There was some action during our picnic too, because an elderly lady fell on the footpath and apparently twisted her ankle badly. It was just like in the movies – first people shouted “Someone call 911!” and then a moment later an ambulance arrived and the medics took the lady to a hospital.
After the lunch break, we continued along the footpath for a bit longer, but as the scenery didn’t change much, we decided to turn back when we reached the limestone hills that remotely reminded us of the Chocolate Hills of Bohol Island.
At the hotel, the children and Marko went swimming, while Jaana decided to go to the massage parlour next door. The woman at the massage parlour asked Jaana if she wanted a medium or hard massage. Jaana decided to play it safe and went for the “medium”. That was a smart move, because by the time this little Chinese lady climbed on Jaana’s back and started massaging her using knees, the massage was very far from medium.
This was our last full day in San Diego. Next, we’re off to Tijuana, Mexico for a few days. San Diego has been a nice place to stay for a while. The temperatures here have been very pleasant by Finnish standards, just over +20C. Surprisingly, the hottest months here are in October and November. At that time it’s not so cloudy like it is now.