Since she's currently doing a one year post-doc, Elizabeth is on the job market this year and will be attending the conference. We were thinking that we could extend the conference weekend to a full week vacation. Given that our vacation budget has been almost entirely eaten up by our TTC spending, this could be our only vacation of the year. The only problem is, I'm not incredibly enthusiastic about San Diego. I've got nothing against the city, it's just that it's not a place I've ever had a burning desire to visit. This is where I need your help, dear reader. Is there anyone out there from San Diego who can make a pitch for their hometown? Maybe some of you have visited San Diego, and can tell me why it's a great vacation spot. Or perhaps it's a place you found disappointing. Besides the zoo, is there anything that makes it a great destination?
The alternative to both of us going to San Diego is that Elizabeth will go just for the days that she has interviews (fingers crossed that she has some!) and will share a hotel room with another nerd. I'd stay home and chill with the pooch. We'd then try to dig up the money to do a small-ish vacation to someplace we're both interested in visiting.
So...what can you tell me about San Diego?
ETA... the conference in in early January. We were also wondering if anyone knows what the public transportation is like there, as we were hoping to only rent a car for any side trips we might take.
10 comments:
I have no clue about San Diego but I say go anyway. It will be nice to get away both physically and mentally for a bit.
i SAY, ONCE THE CONFERENCE IS OVER GO AN HOUR OR 2 SOUTH TO lA jOLLA. (oops, sorry for the caps). La Jolla was so incredibly beautiful when I was there... (note, I am from canada, not CA, but have been lots)
Totally take the break though... It certainly won't hurt...
V and I went to SD several years ago (she had a conference, too). We had fun. The gaslamp district is nice, the zoo was great, and I went snorkeling in La Jolla while V was doing something during the day (it was in November, but it wasn't too cold to snorkel). We also went down to Mexico, just over the border, just to check out Tijuana. I have a funny story about the morons at the border crossing who thought V was hispanic and treated her like a moron who couldn't possibly understand English, but I'll save it (I know it doesn't sound funny, but eventually it was).
I can't say that I have a burning desire to return, but it was nice to visit. Are there other things within driving distance that you want to see? I'm a big fan of renting a car and seeing lots of stuff. Or how about Tahoe, or Vegas, or LA? Once you're on the west coast, flights on Southwest to nearby cities are usually really cheap (they were just having a sale for $25 each way).
We went for a long weekend when we were visiting LA a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The beaches are nice and the sun is almost always shining. If you enjoy watching surfers, riding bikes and eating fish tacos and/or Mexican food, it's the place to be.
You could also rent a car and hit Palm Springs or Joshua Tree National Park. That would be my best bet.
The zoo--of course!
And the drive up the coast to La Jolla--very nice!
I would go!
I had to go for about a month one summer for research. San Diego is beautiful and there is LOTS to do. Not just the zoo but other parks and museums. La Jolla is beautiful. The beaches are great. I say go for it.
I went for one of The Other's conferences last year (April, I think) and we had a BLAST. The food is really really good in SD. We had some amazing sushi, tapas, and of course fish tacos. Even the kind of touristy area (gaslamp district) has some awesome food. We had no problem negotiating the city bus system. The beaches are gorgeous and balboa park is unbelievably beautiful--all these incredible species of flora live in different gardens in the park. Plus there are a ton of museums in it--everything from photography to American art to modern/contemporary, and there is a beautiful sculpture garden. I didn't even GO to the zoo--wicked expensive, and so many other interesting and fun things to do. The gayborhood is cute too--lots of adorable little stores and bars and restaurants.
The Other's MVP from our wedding just moved to SD, so let me know if you want specific suggestions for where to go/eat.
I've never been to California but if you're North East and it's January, I'd say GO!! (;
The PP have made La Jolla sound pretty amazing!! Now I want to check it out!
I haven't been there since I was a preteen but I remember enjoying it. I cried my eyes out after my trip to the zoo though because at that time there were still a lot of small cages with bars housing large animals that seemed very unhappy. Things have probably changed since the though. The weather is always great there and the close proximity to Mexico makes for a fun flair and some kick ass food. Go! It's way better than spending that time at home in the cold.
I can tell you nothing except that my great-uncle used to live there so my Dad visited a lot whenever he went overseas. Not that that helps you but I also wanted to say hi lol
Hey thanks for posting that question. I didn't even think about that and it's a really important one.
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