Going to San Diego

[TheStranger]

^ Heh...I wondered how an airport of that magnitude in a city as big as San Diego could have so many (well, nit that many) traffic lights before you get to a freeway.

For the longest time, Lindbergh Field was considered rather temporary, with ambitions to move it to a more spacious location (like Miramar air base, or Brown Field near the Mexican border).  That probably discouraged major improvements to make Lindbergh more accessible.

I've always been under the impression Lindbergh was considered permanent for its first few decades, and that the idea of moving out to Miramar or Brown only came about in the 1980s, after the 1960s/1970s terminal relocation from Pacific Highway to Harbor Drive.

The Miramar proposal came up again a few years ago and was voted down by San Diego residents.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindbergh_Field#Relocation_proposals

[OCGuy81]

It have a good mexican resturant at Old Town area. I not remember the name of mexican resturant at there.

Agreed!  There is a place there called Viva el Cafe, IIRC.  Handmade tortillas that are incredible!

I'd also say it's a really cool drive on CA-163 through Balboa Park (which is worth a stop, for sure)

For a great burger, check out a place called Hodad's! 5010 Newport Avenue, San Diego, CA.  So good! My wife and I always hit it up when we're down there.

Have fun!

[Biff858]

It have a good mexican resturant at Old Town area. I not remember the name of mexican resturant at there.

Agreed!  There is a place there called Viva el Cafe, IIRC.  Handmade tortillas that are incredible!

I'd also say it's a really cool drive on CA-163 through Balboa Park (which is worth a stop, for sure)

For a great burger, check out a place called Hodad's! 5010 Newport Avenue, San Diego, CA.  So good! My wife and I always hit it up when we're down there.

Have fun!

Casa Guadalajara in Old Town serves excellent Mexican food at reasonable prices.  Great margaritas too. 

Another travel tip:  never buy gas near Lindbergh Field or anywhere on Pacific Highway or in the hotel circle area in Mission Valley- it's usually .20/gal higher than in other parts of town.  Most expensive gas:  Chevron & Shell.  Cheapest:  Arco & Thrifty.

[hm insulators]

Another vote for the San Diego Zoo (if you like things that fly), nearby is the San Diego Aerospace Museum (I think that's what it's called; been years since I've been there). Also, Cabrillo National Monument out on Point Loma; that's my favorite part of San Diego.

[rschen7754]

It have a good mexican resturant at Old Town area. I not remember the name of mexican resturant at there.

Agreed!  There is a place there called Viva el Cafe, IIRC.  Handmade tortillas that are incredible!

I'd also say it's a really cool drive on CA-163 through Balboa Park (which is worth a stop, for sure)

For a great burger, check out a place called Hodad's! 5010 Newport Avenue, San Diego, CA.  So good! My wife and I always hit it up when we're down there.

Have fun!

Casa Guadalajara in Old Town serves excellent Mexican food at reasonable prices.  Great margaritas too. 

Another travel tip:  never buy gas near Lindbergh Field or anywhere on Pacific Highway or in the hotel circle area in Mission Valley- it's usually .20/gal higher than in other parts of town.  Most expensive gas:  Chevron & Shell.  Cheapest:  Arco & Thrifty.

La Jolla's fairly bad too.

[formulanone]

Thanks for the gas-buying tips, but I typically make the company pay for it. In fact, more than half the time, I have to get gas right by an airport, which is never a bargain.

[realjd]

Thanks for the gas-buying tips, but I typically make the company pay for it. In fact, more than half the time, I have to get gas right by an airport, which is never a bargain.

Are you still there? Do you like craft beer? I spend a lot of time in Carlsbad for work and San Diego has some of the best breweries in the world IMO. Some must-see:

Stone Brewery, in Escondito (near where the 78 and the 15 meet)
Pizza Port, on Carlsbad Village Drive in Carlsbad
Lost Abby/Port Brewing, just off the 78 in Vista (not too far from Stone)
Karl Strauss on Palomar Airport Road in Carlsbad (great food)

If you don't mind driving down a few miles to the Mira Mesa area, Green Flash and Alesmith are both down there. Green Flash in particular is one of my favorite breweries ever.

As for food in the Carlsbad area:
Karl Strauss, as mentioned above
Casa de Bandini has the best Mexican in the area according to my coworkers out there
O'Sullivans Irish pub in Carlsbad Village is good
Teri Cafe in Oceanside (two locations) has great teriyaki and noodle bowls if you're looking for something more informal
Coyote's in Carlsbad Village - I want to hate this place so much, but I always have a good meal here

[TheStranger]

I actually passed through suburban San Diego recently and something to check out that's brand new is the 52/67 interchange north of El Cajon - don't think that was there last year or the year before!  It had been planned for decades before finally getting built.

[agentsteel53]

I actually passed through suburban San Diego recently and something to check out that's brand new is the 52/67 interchange north of El Cajon - don't think that was there last year or the year before!  It had been planned for decades before finally getting built.

it's a very good high-speed interchange.  I take that as part of my commute every day, and I can do the 52eb to 67nb ramp at 78mph in a Taurus.

[TheStranger]

I actually passed through suburban San Diego recently and something to check out that's brand new is the 52/67 interchange north of El Cajon - don't think that was there last year or the year before!  It had been planned for decades before finally getting built.

it's a very good high-speed interchange.  I take that as part of my commute every day, and I can do the 52eb to 67nb ramp at 78mph in a Taurus.

It really helps with bypassing the heart of both the tourist areas and downtown, that's for sure.  Was the right-of-way cleared for years, or was it in limbo the way the Route 15 corridor had been prior to that being finished?

[formulanone]

Met up at Pizza Port in Carlsbad, tried some of the more unusual microbrews. Still in town for two more days.

Drove on CA 78 and 79, and Sunrise Highway, because there's no mountain roads in Florida. Took some shots of button copy along I-5 and 15. Walked along an abandoned alignment of former US 80.

Wished I had more time...work project was a bit of a grind, both short-handed and long hours.

[realjd]

Met up at Pizza Port in Carlsbad, tried some of the more unusual microbrews. Still in town for two more days.

Drove on CA 78 and 79, and Sunrise Highway, because there's no mountain roads in Florida. Took some shots of button copy along I-5 and 15. Walked along an abandoned alignment of former US 80.

Wished I had more time...work project was a bit of a grind, both short-handed and long hours.

Another cool drive is this one down Elfin Forest Road and Del Dios Highway:
http://g.co/maps/79e75

There's nothing particularly road geeky about it (other than having some of the only true mile markers in California), but it's still scenic.

With the time-zone change flying out there, I'm usually up really early my first morning or two there and like to drive around and explore before work.

Another favorite is the drive up to the Palomar Observatory. It's not too and you go from essentially sea level in Carlsbad to almost 6,000 feet at the entrance to the observatory, much of it with switchbacks. It's especially fun if you have a nimble rental car with a manumatic mode on the transmission.

[agentsteel53]

Met up at Pizza Port in Carlsbad, tried some of the more unusual microbrews. Still in town for two more days.

Drove on CA 78 and 79, and Sunrise Highway, because there's no mountain roads in Florida. Took some shots of button copy along I-5 and 15. Walked along an abandoned alignment of former US 80.

Wished I had more time...work project was a bit of a grind, both short-handed and long hours.

which 80 alignment? 

I need to go to Pizza Port; it's right down from where my girlfriend works and she keeps speaking of it favorably!

[realjd]

Oh, I forgot to mention that Wednesday evenings, a bunch of high-end food trucks all park at the Lost Abby brewery in Vista. You can't go wrong with good beer and good, inexpensive food.

[formulanone]

which 80 alignment? 

I need to go to Pizza Port; it's right down from where my girlfriend works and she keeps speaking of it favorably!

Just about a mile north of I-8, at CA 79...at least, Google calls it "Old Hwy 80".

I had a Pizza Solana at Pizza Port, which is the first time I think I've ever had seafood as a pizza topping. If you're into microbrews, they're apparently medal winners time and time again.

Another favorite is the drive up to the Palomar Observatory. It's not too and you go from essentially sea level in Carlsbad to almost 6,000 feet at the entrance to the observatory, much of it with switchbacks. It's especially fun if you have a nimble rental car with a manumatic mode on the transmission.

Yeah, as a bit of a stargeek, I was thinking about that one. Can you use the telescope on a pay-per-view basis? Or do you just bum rush the scientist who's hard at work discovering things that would blow our minds?

While 300 horsepower certainly helps going up the mountain, the bouncy-jouncy suspension and squishy T-rated, 65-series tires of the V6 Mustang kind of forces me to drive at "three-tenths" around places with minimal run-off. It's no Boss 302, although a bare-bones version of the Boss with a V6 model at roughly 2800-3000 pounds and some decent shoes would tick off the moar-V8! purists (although that was originally what a pony car was all about, before they attempted to rise up as one and try to slay the Corvette). [/sorry, OT]

[agentsteel53]

Just about a mile north of I-8, at CA 79...at least, Google calls it "Old Hwy 80".

very cool.  there are a lot of 80 segments out there.  to me the best ones are cut off by I-8 through the Devil's Gate pass area between San Diego and Imperial counties.  they are very tough to access, though, unless you want to park beside a freeway with traffic coming down the hill at 80mph.

[realjd]

Another favorite is the drive up to the Palomar Observatory. It's not too and you go from essentially sea level in Carlsbad to almost 6,000 feet at the entrance to the observatory, much of it with switchbacks. It's especially fun if you have a nimble rental car with a manumatic mode on the transmission.

Yeah, as a bit of a stargeek, I was thinking about that one. Can you use the telescope on a pay-per-view basis? Or do you just bum rush the scientist who's hard at work discovering things that would blow our minds?

While 300 horsepower certainly helps going up the mountain, the bouncy-jouncy suspension and squishy T-rated, 65-series tires of the V6 Mustang kind of forces me to drive at "three-tenths" around places with minimal run-off. It's no Boss 302, although a bare-bones version of the Boss with a V6 model at roughly 2800-3000 pounds and some decent shoes would tick off the moar-V8! purists (although that was originally what a pony car was all about, before they attempted to rise up as one and try to slay the Corvette). [/sorry, OT]

Nope, sorry. It's only open outside of stargazing hours, so it usually closes fairly early at like 4PM or something. It is a VERY impressive telescope though! I tried to get some pictures but it's extremely dark in there and I didn't have a tripod with me.

If you're into historical stuff, the mission at San Juan Capistrano is also pretty cool and is only a half our north in Orange County. I don't remember if they're open in the evening or not.

[CenVlyDave]

I definetley agree on going thru the I-8/I-805 interchange.  I would go thru it on I-805 first, then go back thru it on I-8, so you can look at what you just went over.  Also, Pacific Highway is a must drive!  Not only does it pass San Diego Airport, but it also passes MCRD (Marine Corps Recruit Depot) San Diego.  If you are a military buff, there is a Meuseum on the base, and the base itself is a historical monument, I should know, I was there, and not as a tourist!

[formulanone]

I'll have pics up soon, although I took some of the mountain routes.

[realjd]

I definetley agree on going thru the I-8/I-805 interchange.  I would go thru it on I-805 first, then go back thru it on I-8, so you can look at what you just went over.  Also, Pacific Highway is a must drive!  Not only does it pass San Diego Airport, but it also passes MCRD (Marine Corps Recruit Depot) San Diego.  If you are a military buff, there is a Meuseum on the base, and the base itself is a historical monument, I should know, I was there, and not as a tourist!

Speaking of cool military stuff, the views from the military cemetery at Point Loma are absolutely amazing on a clear day.