Your Guide to San Diego
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| Author | Court Jones |
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| Genre | |
| Published | EF Issue 2018.4 |
Publication date | Fall 2018.4 |
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| Pages | 17-19 |
| Website |
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Article Description. Should include author, brief description, issue number and page number(s).
Article Transcript
Here is your essential guide to San Diego. If you want to know where to get some nearby food or necessities during the convention, you can find that here. Or If you just want to know about the best eateries and sightseeing locations, I’ve compiled my list of personal favorite spots.
Resources Near the Town and Country Resort
The 27th annual ISCA Convention will be held at the Town and Country San Diego. It’s centrally located in an area called Mission Valley. And the property conveniently sits right next to a stop on the San Diego Trolley line and a large mall called Fashion Valley.
The Terrace Cafe at the hotel serves pastries and coffee in the morning, but they do not serve full hot breakfasts. If you would like more choices, here is a short list of some restaurants and stores within reasonable walking distance to the hotel. I’ve indicated when something’s near a Trolley stop with a red dot (WIKI NOTE: it will be a black dot here).
Fashion Valley Mall
Departments Stores, Restaurants and a Food Court
- Distance: Next to the Hotel
- Hours: 10:00 am to 9:00 pm
True Food Kitchen
Restaurant in Fashion Valley Mall
Healthy and Vegetarian Fare
- Distance: Next to the Hotel
- Hours: 11:00 am to 9:00 pm
Bunz (in the Days Inn Hotel)
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
- Distance: 0.5 mile walk
- Hours: 6:30 am to 9:00 pm
Shake Shack
Gourmet Burgers, Hot Dogs
and Frozen Custard
- Distance: 0.7 mile walk
- Hours: 11:00 am to 11:00 pm
FedEx Office/Print & Ship •
Get prints of any size and ship
(one Trolley stop away)
- Distance: 1 mile walk
- Hours: open 24 hours
The Hazard Center •
Shopping Center with several food
choices (one Trolley stop away)
- Distance 1 mile walk
- Hours: Shops close at various times
The Coffee Bean
Coffee, Tea and Pastries
- Distance: 1 mile walk
- Hours: 5:00am to 10:00pm
Trader Joe’s
Groceries, Frozen Meals, Wraps
- Distance: 1 mile walk
- Hours: 8:00am to 10:00pm
BevMo!
Liquor, Wine, Beer and Sodas
- Distance: 1 mile walk
- Hours: 10:00am to 9:00pm
Best Buy •
Large Electronics Store
(two Trolley stops away)
- Distance: 1.2 miles
- Hours: 10:00 am to 9:00 pm
Target •
Large Home Store
(two Trolley stops away)
- Distance: 1.3 miles
- Hours: 8:00 am to 12:00 am
Restaurants and Attractions Around San Diego
If you have access to a car while you’re here or an app like Uber or Lyft, here are some other places around town you should visit.
On a culinary note, because of our proximity to the border, San Diego is home to probably the best Mexican food in the United States. We are addicted to it here. Fish tacos and carne asada burritos are staple San Diego foods. Be sure to check out the Mexican restaurants in the list below.
Art Stores
Artist & Craftsman Supply
3804 Fourth Ave., San Diego
(They are a sponsor and will also have a small store at our convention.)
Blick Art Materials •
1844 India St., San Diego
(Trolley stop at Little Italy)
Restaurants
El Zarape (Mexican)
4642 Park Blvd., San Diego
Las Cuatro Milpas (Mexican)
1857 Logan Ave., San Diego
Lolita’s (Mexican) •
202 Park Blvd., San Diego
(Trolley stop at 12th & Imperial)
In-N-Out Burger
2005 Camino Del Este, San Diego
(Best fast food burger!)
Hash House A Go-Go
3628 Fifth Ave., San Diego
(American Comfort Foods)
Island Prime/C-Level
880 Harbor Island, Dr. San Diego
(High-end dining with spectacular view)
Worthwhile Destinations
Old Town San Diego •
The first Spanish settlement in the U.S. Preserved homes, shopping and dining.
Hotel Del Coronado
“The Del” - San Diego’s most famous landmark. Historic hotel on the beach on Coronado Island.
Coronado Ferry Landing
The bay side of Coronado Island. Nice restaurants and great views of the bay and city.
Seaport Village •
Popular tourist area on the bay with shops and restaurants.
Little Italy •
Cute neighborhood with several top notch restaurants.
Balboa Park
The center of culture and art in San Diego. Museums, theaters & gardens. You could spend all day here.
San Diego Maritime Museum •
Historic tall ships and other boats you can explore.
San Diego Zoo
Animals within natural enclosures and beautiful landscaping.
San Diego Zoo Safari Park
Much larger than the zoo with wide open spaces for the animals to roam and mingle.
Sea World
Amusement park with aquariums, shows and rides.
The Coast and Beaches
La Jolla Cove/La Jolla Village
Upscale Shops and dining overlooking the ocean. Best place to watch a San Diego sunset.
Torrey Pines State Reserve
Nature trails on a mesa overlooking the Pacific Ocean
Belmont Park
Small public amusement park in the Mission Beach community with a historic wooden roller coaster.
Windansea Beach
Natural Rock formations form a
dramatic scene on this small, less-visited beach.
Cabrillo National Monument
An old lighthouse that sits high on the tip of Point Loma. Panoramic views of the city and the sea.
Getting Around
From the airport, there are a variety of commercial shuttles. The lowest-cost one is Super Shuttle at $12 per person. Yellow Taxi does a flat rate of $22 to the Town and Country, no matter how many people ride together.
Town and Country Free Shuttle: Guests of the hotel can arrange a free shuttle to any nearby location. You must inquire through the hotel bellman desk. It operates between the hours of 10am to 7pm. Subject to availability.
Rental Car: You can rent a car at the airport. But there is also a car rental office at the Town and Country lobby and the neighboring Handlery Hotel. They have cheaper rates than if you pick up from the airport location.
The Trolley: The MTS San Diego Trolley stops right by the hotel and goes through Old Town, Little Italy, Downtown and even to the Mexico border. It’s $2.50 for a one way ticket and $5.00 for a one-day pass. Multi-day passes available.
Uber and Lyft are definitely an option.
Dockless Pay-As-You-Go Bikes & Scooters are found all over San Diego. Using an app, you can pick up and ride any bike or electric scooter you find on the street. Popular brands here are Limebike, Bird, Mobike, Spin and Ofo.
The Climate
People like to joke that being a weatherman in San Diego is the most boring job in the world. While there is a lot of consistency and mild temperatures year round, there are also many peculiarities about San Diego and its climate. This will help you plan your trip.
San Diego has a dry Mediterranean climate. The days are warm and the nights are cold. Especially during November. Bring a jacket. Daytime temps should average 70°F (21 °C) while the nighttime may get as low as 55 °F (12 °C).
It generally only rains here December through March.However, the National Weather Service is predicting a 60-70% chance that the 2018 El Nino conditions in the Pacific will bring higher levels of rain in Southern California this November, which is a change from our normal dry weather patterns. But, it’s just a forecast. That may not happen.
“Santa Anas” — The Santa Ana winds (or just “Santa Anas”) are hot, dry winds that come in from the desert at various times of the year and make San Diego even warmer and drier than normal, even at night. It increases the wildfire risk. We may get some during the convention.
“The Marine Layer” - Often, moist air, clouds and fog move in from the ocean overnight, resulting in cloudy morning skies that burn off and we get clear skies by midday. But the marine layer doesn’t come ashore during the Santa Ana wind conditions.
Our beaches are beautiful and the surfing is good. But the sea water is very cold here, compared with the East Coast of the U.S.
How to Speak San Diegan
If you don’t want to stand out as an obvious tourist, it’s good to know how we pronounce places and things here in San Diego.
Because of our proximity to the border, we generally use the Spanish pronunciation of the ubiquitous Spanish words and place names (Softened by an Anglicized accent of course). For example, tortilla is “tor-TEE-yuh.” La Jolla is “Lah-HOY-yuh.”
Always say “the” in front of the freeway number (the 5, the 8, the 805). That’s actually true for all of SoCal.
Our downtown nightlife hub is “The Gaslamp Quarter,” or simply “The Gaslamp”. Not “The Gaslamp District.”
Many beach communities in the central and southern part of the county are referred to by their abbreviations. We’re kind of lazy that way. “Imperial Beach is “IB.” Ocean Beach is “OB.” and Pacific Beach is “PB.” However Mission Beach is still Mission Beach. Nobody says “MB.” The beach communities of La Jolla and everything north of that do not get abbreviated.
San Diego is only ever called “San Diego.” No variation on that name is ever uttered here.
We all love the movie Anchorman in San Diego. But quoting lines from it got old a long time ago. Just a warning.
Custom Google Map for ISCAcon27
I put together a custom Google Map specifically for ISCA members attending the convention. The map marks helpful locations for shopping, eating and must-see attractions. It includes most of the locations listed in this article plus many more. We will post the link to the map in the ISCA Members group on Facebook. Or you can scan this QR code on your phone.
You will need to have Google Maps or the Google Chrome browser installed on your device. Once you do, you can use my custom map to easily program navigation on your phone for driving, walking or mass transit.
See Also
External Links
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