Family two day trip to San Diego - Activities and Costs
After recuperating from our long haul flight in Palm Springs for 2 nights, we headed south to San Diego. Instead of taking the interstate we took the scenic route and drove through the Santa Rosa and Santa Jacinto mountains. We are so glad we did! The views were stunning and the road was nice and quiet. We stopped in a little town called Julian for a drink. The teenagers were introduced to the fountain machine and came out with a huge Coca Cola each for US$1.99.
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| Coronado Bridge from the deck of the USS Midway Museum |
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| North Harbour Drive San Diego Waterfront |
USS Midway Museum
We chose to look at the USS Midway Museum for one of our activities. The scale of these aircraft carrier ships is insane. They are unbelievably huge! Years ago I visited the USS Lexington in Corpus Christi and was amazed. I wanted my teens to have a similar experience. For all four of us to visit cost NZ$233.04 (US$135.16 / €125.84) and parking just the road for NZ$12.85 (US$7.45 / €6.94).
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| View of the USS Midway Museum from the wharf |
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| Awesome Christmas Decorations all over the ship |
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| Flight Deck USS Midway |
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| The exit to show the scale a little better! |
This was very worth while! They even have virtual reality rides the teens could go on inside (extra fee $US10 each) but they had a blast. You are given a scanner/speaker that will narrate the points of interest along the tour. You just scan what you would like to learn about.
Maritime Museum
Unfortunately we ran out of time to go into this museum as well but you can see a fair bit from the waters edge. And getting some stunning views of the ships especially at sunset!
This one would definitely have been on the list had we had more time and an endless budget. Although the thought of going into a submarine is enough to have me running in the other direction! But I think even I could handle one that is docked at a pier...well maybe just!
La Jolla Shores Beach
We were recommended by one of the staff on the USS Midway to check out La Jolla Shores Beach. The next day we went for a short drive to take a look.
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| La Jolla Shores Beach |
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| La Jolla Shores Beach - Pier in Background |
It was a little overcast and foggy but it was the day of a bush fire near Fresno, which might have caused some of it. We didn’t get to stay too long, as it was also the day of the earthquake a way north from here. We weren’t sure about any effects it would have here but we sure weren’t going to go swimming to find the currents! Living in coastal New Zealand, earthquakes are common here too and we are taught to stay away from the water. Even going to the beach is a bit of no-no, but it was a once in a lifetime kind of opportunity so we had to at least go and have a look!
We did find a shopping mall nearby with a Tesla showroom so got to see the Cyber Truck in person and sit in it. Not going to be replacing the New Zealand ute anytime soon but it was cool to see. We followed that with our first of many Costco stops for supplies and a cheap and delicious lunch. This is where we learned they sell soft serve ice cream sundaes that are huge! Is every car park at every Costco packed? It sure seems that way!
Food
We do not have Raising Cane’s in New Zealand and the teenagers had seen the videos on social media and had been begging to try it since we landed two days ago. We ordered three meals to share that came with chicken fingers, fries, drink, sauce and Texas toast for NZ$47.90 (US). It was delicious and service was so good. The New Zealand accent is difficult for some to understand but they were so kind. I had to learn the average temperatures in Fahrenheit as everyone wanted to know about the weather at home, and no one knew Celsius. Definitely one of the best fast food experiences we had.
For dinner we chose a restaurant near where we parked for the USS Midway that the other half had seen and wanted to try. It was the Claim Jumper Steakhouse & Bar a family friendly, rustic looking kind of place. In the USA an entree is your main meal, in NZ the entree is an appetizer. That took me a minute of flipping through the menu to work out. The total cost for four, including drinks and tip was NZ$255.60 (US). Not terrible but my budget conscious self would rather spend more on activities and experiences than eating out too often. I have a post about saving money on food during our road trip.
Accommodation
We stayed at the SureStay Hotel by Best Western San Diego Pacific Beach. The location was good and convenient as a base for exploring the city. The motel kindly stored our luggage in the office when we arrived earlier in the day, and provided a free basic breakfast. I really like a motel breakfast and not having to rush out to find a breakfast spot. Our room however was not great. It looks pretty much identical to the image above with the green wall. The entrance was tucked in a dingy little corridor behind the stairwell. You heard people coming and going, and had no view and couldn’t open the curtain without losing all privacy. I’m sure the rooms on the higher floors or away from the stairs would’ve been much better! The price was good for a city at NZ$364 (US) for two nights, including breakfast. If I was going again I would stay somewhere else, mostly because I like checking out different locations. If I did stay here again I would request a room on a high floor and not behind the stairs.
Total Cost of 2 nights in San Diego for a family
If you would like any further information or have any questions feel free to contact me!