San Diego is a place that has always been special to me because my parents had a vacation home in Imperial Beach for most of my childhood. It is such a beautiful city with so much to offer individuals, couples, and families alike. There are several areas of San Diego that would be great to stay but for this trip, we decided to stay right on the Bay at the Marriott Marquis San Deigo Marina. The location was perfect.
We were able to walk to Seaport Village where we had most of our meals. There are several walk up and sit down restaurants to choose from and lots of shops to explore. Walking along the Marina was always beautiful and kept the kids interested enough to want to keep exploring.
The street performers along the Marina were also fun entertainment for the kids to break up our sightseeing plans. We stopped for quite a while so the kids could chase giant bubbles that a man was blowing next to the water. We didn’t mind sitting in that beautiful setting, watching the kids have a ball.
One of the biggest surprises on this trip was our tour of the USS Midway. Going into it we assumed this would be one of those things that we did to expose them to history but wouldn’t last long. Our plan is usually to go through museums or historical sites at a good pace to keep them from getting bored. The USS Midway did not end up this way. We spent hours touring the ship and the kids loved it. The audio tour had a kid version that was perfect for keeping them interested. You can tour practically the whole ship and even climb into the aircraft on board. And if you have the stomach for it, they have fighter jet simulators for an additional charge.
I should probably mention the original reason we planned to go to San Diego was for me to surprise Michael with a Dodger game at Petco Park. If you are a baseball fan at all and haven’t been to Petco Park, go! We were able to walk there from the hotel, it’s so accessible from the street, and it’s a lovely smaller park with no bad views. We bought tickets at the window for cheaper than what I found online and it came with hot dogs and drinks for everyone. It was even Christmas in July Night so the kids had a ball hearing Christmas music and seeing holiday decor in the middle of summer. Our seats were all the way at the top and yet we still felt we had a great view.
Something we didn’t expect to do when we were in San Diego was to go down to Imperial Beach.
As I said at the beginning of this, I have a fondness for San Diego because of all my years spent at my parents’ condo in Imperial Beach. Fun fact, Imperial Beach is the southern most beach in California and border Tijuana, Mexico. It turned out the weekend we were there was Sandcastle weekend. This was an event I remember well from childhood so we decided we had to go down. Professional sandcastle builders participate in this annual competition and it was a treat to see their amazing talents. I was even able to show the kids our condo which they had seen many times in home movies. It brought back so many memories and I was thrilled to share it with them.
Let me tell you a little about the hotel. We booked a suite that had one single bedroom and a living room area which is what we try to do at hotels now. The room we got was an end room with spectacular views of the Bay and the City but was pretty small. It worked out fine but I would probably look for a different layout next time we stay there. I would find it hard to believe there is a room in the hotel without a great view, whether it’s city or bay. The pool area is nice but on a busy summer weekend, felt really cramped and crowded. The food and beverage service was on top of it though and a good glass (well, plastic cup) of something always makes it more enjoyable. We enjoyed the pool but it certainly wouldn’t be the main reason we stay there.
We had a lot of fun around the hotel with renting Lime and Bird scooters and driving around on a rickshaw. There are so many awesome activities to do in San Diego that even though this was a lovely sample, we know we have many trips in our future to hit other highlights such as San Diego Wild Animal Park, Balboa Park, boat rentals, Seaworld, Old Town Trolley, and maybe even whale watching if they can load me with Dramamine and convince me to get on a boat.
