The Best Places In San Diego!

One of the benefits of living in San Diego is we get to enjoy ice cream season year-round.  The cool treat was especially enjoyable over the past couple weeks as the temps rose to record levels in San Diego, while we got to watch the news show snow falling in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

Although it’s finally cooling down, the election day weather forecast shows San Diego and much of the south will still have decent ice cream eating weather. That means we can take advantage of Ben & Jerry’s Free Ice Cream offer on election day!

Just show up with your ‘I Voted’ sticker from the polling booth and get a free scoop of your favorite ice cream. Better yet, head to the Seaport Village locations and take a picture of yourself strolling along the San Diego Bay with your scoop of ice cream and send it to your friends living in colder climates.  You will find a shop on the east end near the outdoor Gazebo and on the west end near the historic merry-go-round.  Two more great picture taking spots to send to your friends. Both of those shops will be serving free scoops from 5PM - 9PM.

You will also find Ben & Jerry’s locations at Horton Plaza and the UTC Mall but I believe both of those locations stop serving free scoops at 8PM.

Be sure to vote on Tuesday, get a free scoop of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, and enjoy San Diego’s wonderful weather.

For the next couple months, we will see one of the fastest sailboats in the world navigating San Diego Bay.  The BMW Oracle Racing Team is in town with their brand new trimaran boat. The 100 foot sail boat with 148 foot mast is docked behind the San Diego Convention Center.

The America’s Cup competitors from BMW Oracle will be working to acclimate themselves to the new boat as they prepare for the next racing season.  You can read more about the planned stay in San Diego from the Valencia Sailing blog and view pictures of recent practices held in San Diego Bay on the BMW Oracle Racing Team web site.

I know who I’ll be cheering for - BMW Oracle.  Hopefully, you’ll cheer for the ‘home team’ as well!

The Project for Public Places is a New York based non-profit that works with communities around the world to develop quality parks and public squares.  Since their beginning in 1975, they have worked with over 2,000 communities in 26 countries.

With that said, it is quite impressive they ranked our own Balboa Park, the 13th Best Park in the World and 4th Best Park in the United States.  If you haven’t been to Balboa Park lately, it’s time to learn more about the park in your backyard that is the envy of communities around the globe.

Take advantage of this unique gem.  And, if you hear someone complaining San Diego doesn’t have the amenities of a world-class city, send them this link and tell them stop looking in someone else’s backyard and to appreciate that we are living in a special place.

The Project for Public Spaces put together lists in 2004 of both the Best Parks and the Worst Parks in the World. These parks are used as examples on what should and should not be done to create a wonderful park to be enjoyed by local residents. Although there is always room for improvement (like making Balboa Park #1), we do have something to hang our hat on.

Go where Hollywood goes to get their fill for farming life.  Every year, the Antique Gas and Steam Engine Museum hosts a Harvest Fair the last couple weekends in October. It’s the same museum Hollywood turns to for farm equipment they use in movies such as L.A. Confidential, Mulholland Falls, and Pearl Harbor.

Spread over 50 acres in Vista, you will get to enjoy live entertainment, wagon rides, tractor games, demonstrations of antique farming equipment, watch a blacksmith, and of course, eat food from the farm.

This is a working farm manned by 1,100 volunteers. You’ll get to see them harvest the crops and bring them to the kitchen to make delicious food. Teach your kids the farming way of life or explore it for yourself.  The Harvest Fair runs the next two weekends from 10AM - 4PM.  Here are the directions to the Vista Gas & Steam Engine Museum from Google Maps. Have fun.

Hello San Diego city-dwellers. Have you visited our beautiful Cleveland National Forest lately? If not, make plans next weekend for a scenic one hour drive from the San Diego Coast up to Laguna Mountain.

The Laguna Mountain Volunteers Association will be hosting their annual ‘Living History’ event on September 20th and 21st. Volunteers will be dressing up in turn-of-the-century apparel and take visitors on a voyage back to life as it was in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They will provide re-enactments showing the life of Native Americans, mountain men, cowboys, farmers, forest rangers, and gold miners who lived in the San Diego Mountains during that period.

Tours will start every 20 to 30 minutes at the Red-Tailed Roost Volunteer Center beginning at 9AM. The Red-Tailed Roost is at the 22.5 mile marker on the Sunrise Highway. Here are the Directions to Laguna Mountain from Google Maps. The Google Map takes you about a 1/2 mile past the Red-Tailed Roost. If you miss it, you’ll come across the Laguna Mountain Visitors Center a mile later and they can redirect you to the correct location.

After your visit to the Living History event, you might as well drive on a little further to the Desert View Picnic Area (just beyond the 23.5 mile marker) and Kwaamii Point (just beyond the 29.5 mile marker) to enjoy great views overlooking the San Diego Desert.

Of course, what trip to the San Diego Mountains would be complete without taking a stroll in Historic Julian and enjoying their famous pies. It’s just another 13 miles past the Kwaamii Point.

So, make plans to get away for a change of pace, relive a little history, enjoy some spectacular views, and then finish it all off with some warm apple pie. Enjoy!

The Ninth Annual YachtFest is taking place this weekend at Shelter Island. There will be over $60 million worth of boats and luxury yachts on display making it one of the premier yacht shows in the world.

If you have any interest in yachts or just want to dream that someday you will be in a position to enjoy the life of luxury, this is THE EVENT to attend. The show has few rivals. You would have to go to Fort Lauderdale or Monaco to see this caliber of Yachts.

Ticket Prices start at $34 and can be purchased online. The show runs from 11AM - 6PM through the weekend. Shelter Island is in Point Loma, just west of the San Diego Airport. Here are the directions from Google Maps to 2051 Shelter Island Drive.

If $34 is too much for you, then check out the new Mega Yacht docking location near the San Diego Maritime Museum.

Mega Yacht "ICE"

Just last weekend, I took this picture of the 295 foot ICE, owned by a Russian billionaire and politician Suleyman Kerimov. It is one of the largest yachts in the world. The San Diego Mooring Company is now capable of hosting Mega Yachts in San Diego. It is one of the few locations in the world that can host yachts up to 400 feet long. Here are the directions from Google Maps to 1820 North Harbor Drive 92101. You won’t be able to climb onboard like you can at YachFest but you’ll be able to feast your eyes on something very few will every see.

If you are getting warmed up by all this talk of luxury yachts in San Diego, you may also want to check out Point Loma Outfitting. It is a new retail store on Shelter Island full of yachting gear and apparel.

Are you amazed when you see little dogs zipping around a park with boundless energy?  Their little legs move so fast that it is hard to fathom how they can muster so much energy and speed.  You might even wonder if any human can beat them in the 100 yard dash.

When they finally stop, you smile with a little chuckle as they prance around like they are on top of the world.

Well, be sure to head over to Petco Park on Sunday.  You’ll get to see the 15 fastest Chihuahuas in the country compete in the Chihuahua National Finals.  Over 2,900 Chihuahuas competed to represent their respective regions of the country.

Puka, a Chihuahua from La Mesa, will be representing San Diego. You can see the full list of finalists at the Petco web site.

The races will take place between innings during the Padres game against the Colorado Rockies.  Tickets are available for the game, which starts at 1:05PM.    If you want cheap seats, be sure to read my blog post from this past Sunday.

Have fun at the Chihuahua races!

This week, USA Today announced selections 6 - 10 in their list of the Top 10 Seats in All of Baseball.  (The top 5 will be announced each day in the upcoming week.)

Petco Park’s beach, just beyond the outfield fence made the list at #10.  It was noted as a great family attraction with very cheap tickets, a sand box to keep the kids occupied, and nearby grill to keep you happy while you enjoy a game. Read the USA Today article for all of the details.

Listen to the roar of powerful engines and admire the sharp lines of Italian built Ferrari’s as they whiz around San Diego County in October.

The San Diego Automotive Museum is celebrating its 20th Anniversary with a Ferrari Rally and Exhibition.

If you own a Ferrari, take it out of the garage on October 10th for a scenic back roads drive from the Orange County Coast to beautiful downtown San Diego. Enjoy an evening of camaraderie with fellow Ferrari owners at the hip W Hotel in San Diego before heading out the next morning to hit the hills and curves of San Diego County. You will work your way through the mountains, out to the desert and back before settling in for the 20th Anniversary Gala at the Automotive Museum in Balboa Park.

The 20th Anniversary Gala will feature ‘Ferrari - Cavallino Rampante’, a one-of-a-kind exhibition celebrating the history of Ferrari.

For Ferrari enthusiasts, you will want to make two visits to the Automotive Museum. From October 1st to November 15th, the exhibition will feature fifteen Ferrari racing cars along with an accompaniment of memorabilia celebrating the most admired car brand in the world. When you return from November 16th to December 31st, you will be treated to fifteen Ferrari touring cars.

For all of the details on the Ferrari Rally and Exhibition, view the Automotive Museum invitation for Ferrari Lovers.

To brush up on your knowledge of Ferraris and show off to your friends, visit Wikipedia and be sure to select the various models to learn even more.

Are you someone who has never made it over to the Del Mar racetrack?  Do you think horse racing is for old guys who have nothing more to do other than gamble? If so, you have an exciting new adventure ahead.

Before I moved to San Diego ten years ago, horse racing was barely on my radar.  The only people I ever heard who went to the horse races were high rollers and old guys who had nothing else to do.  And frankly, I think for most of the country, that’s correct.

Chances are, if you haven’t been to the horse races yet, you probably didn’t grow up in Southern California.  You may have paid attention to the Kentucky Derby and whether or not its winner went on to win the Triple Crown.  Otherwise, horse racing was not on your radar either.

Well, it’s time you take a moment to see horse racing for what it is in Southern California.  More specifically, horse racing at the Del Mar Racetrack is nothing like you would expect. It is hip, it’s cool, and it’s cheap.

Did you ever notice bumper stickers around town that say: Del Mar - Where the Turf Meets the Surf?  You probably thought, sure, the town of Del Mar must be located on the beach because it is where their turf meets the ocean.

Even though Del Mar is nestled against the Pacific Ocean, you are missing the point.  Where the Turf Meets the Surf is the title of a jingle coined by Bing Crosby, which he created for his Del Mar Racetrack.

Bing Crosby, along with actors Pat O’Brien, Jimmy Durante, and businessman Charles Howard, opened the Del Mar Racetrack in 1937.  Their racetrack became the place for Hollywood Stars to come see and be seen. Just a year after opening, the racetrack held the famous Seabiscuit vs. Ligaroti race, which was broadcast nationwide.

Today, the Del Mar Racetrack is still the place to see and be seen.  On any given day, you have the opportunity to see a famous face.  On Opening Day in mid-July, you have the opportunity to see the most beautiful people in the country descend on the racetrack as the women show off their fanciest hats.

Oh yes, there is horse racing too.  The racetrack offers one of the highest average payouts in the country for winning horses. This brings in the top horses from around the world.  (I have to admit I was unpatriotic on my last bet at a recent meet when I picked horses from England to finish #1 and #2.  I lost.)

It is only $6 to get in (+ $8 bucks for parking unless you take transit). Once you are in, you can take a close look at the horses in the paddock when they prepare for their race and then spend as little as $2 on a bet for your favorite horse. If you don’t know what to do once you are at the races, the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club has put together a beginner’s guide for you.

So, if I’ve piqued your interest, don’t wait. Go! If you like listening to live bands, go this Friday.  Every Friday, there is a free post-race concert.  You can check out the concert line-up and listen to samples online.

If you are excited about seeing world class horse racing, go this Sunday for the Pacific Classic.  This is the biggest race of the season with a million dollar purse.  The winner of the Pacific Classic gets an automatic entry in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.  The Breeders’ Cup Classic is the end of season championship for thoroughbred horse racing! You can call your friends back home when they are watching the Breeders’ Cup and say, ‘hey, I saw that horse in Del Mar!’

Try something new and have fun!!!