Dan, Let me add a few more places. Close to San Diego downtown: Seaport Village. Coronado Bridge. Coronado Island - an area facing downtown.
I second - Shelter Island is great. I like La Jolla cove - as you can take pictures of sea birds (seagulls, sometimes pelicans) and seals (or sea lions? I always mix those). If it is not cloudy, I recommend going towards La Jolla - Taking either Torrey Pines Rd. South or La JOlla Pkwy -> Ardath Rd and then taking Hidden Valley Rd. to Via Capri (La Jolla Scenic Dr. SOUTH) (it is not connected to L.J.S.V. North!) - and getting to the Mount Solidad (Natural Park). The view is great! For the exact path - check maps.google.com: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=La+Jolla+Scenic+Dr+South,+San+Diego&t=h&ll=32.843611,-117.247896&spn=0.013953,0.042572 http://tinyurl.com/nv57z La Jolla has nice restaurants, but they are rather expensive, and many (if not most) of them aren't really worth it. Instead, I would suggest "The Beach House" in Cardiff by the Sea, for Sunday brunch: http://www.thebeachhouse.com/cardiff_by_the_sea.htm It has great ocean view from the patio if the whether is good. Pizza Port in Solana Beach has great pizza and bear but can be crouded on the weekends: http://www.pizzaport.com/history.html I went only to the location in Solana Beach. For great desserts and teas (especially in the evening): http://www.extraordinarydesserts.com/extraordinarydesserts/ We go to their main old location 2929 Fifth Ave. It is close to downtown. I recommend stopping at this strawberry farm. It's great, and is right of I-5 in Carlsbad (Cannon Rd. exit). You can buy best in California fresh strawberries (assuming that there will be 2-3 sunny days just before) right in the middle of this image: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Carlsbad,+California&ll=33.135799,-117.326871&spn=0.003477,0.010643&t=h http://tinyurl.com/pvy7k In order to get there you'd need to take Cannon Rd. Exit East, go past the traffic light at the intersection with Paseo Del Norte, Make a U-turn at the intersection with Car County Dr., and then first turn to the right (just before the traffic light) - will be the entrance to the strawberry farm. Here is an example: http://www.komkon.org/~igor/PHOTOS/strawb-IMG_0545sm.jpg I hope this helps. Igor Tue, 28 Mar 2006 11:30:00 -0800 Bob Sullivan wrote: Dan, At the Wild Animal Park, we rode on a 'Photo Safari', a 5 ton truck thru the animal enclosures. It has turned into a 'feed the giraffes and hippos' outing, but is still interesting to see even the 3rd time around. Shelter Island has some good views of the downtown across the harbor and part of Coronado Island. Lots of boats too! The cruise ships negotiate the channel in the early AM and PM, sometimes carriers too. Humphry's has a Jazz Brunch on Sundays. LaJolla cove with bird rock is photogenic, but better for your wife's shopping. South of there, Pacific Beach is interesting and Torre Pines State Park north of LaJolla is better yet for photographic opportunities. We enjoyed touring the aircraft carrier Midway, now a Museum in downtown San Diego. May bring back some old memories for you. We like the Fish Market restaurant a few doors south of there. We also ate in Seaport Village. Both areas offer an overlook of the harbor and carriers. We also ate at Dakotas on the north end of the Gaslight district. I love the lighthouse and view from the end of Point Loma. That is my favorite spot. Regards, Bob S.
