Looking for a quick getaway or maybe just some inspiration on your trip to San Diego? Here are just a couple of things to do and see but there is plenty more to do. This was a relaxing afternoon spent in San Diego. I live near Los Angeles, Ca, so San Diego is only about 2 hours away with no traffic. My boyfriend, Zack, and I decided to drive the night before so we didn’t have to stress about getting up too early. We spent the night at a Holiday Inn Express for a decent price and in close distance to Old Town San Diego. We wanted to have a pretty relaxing day so we weren’t in any rush to get up and get going. We were up and out the door around 10 am. Our first destination was Old Town San Diego.
ITINERARY
Old Town San Diego (Historic Sites)
Breakfast in Old Town at Old Town Mexican Cafe
Suspension Bridge
La Jolla Coves and Beach
Stairs to the Cove
Dinner at Sammy’s
The main street in Old Town leads all the way down to this historic site with different things. Zack told me he had been there so many times as a child he really did not walk through the site. At the same time, my dad (a very history-loving man) told me it was worth going to check it out. So just test the group you're going with and maybe they will want to check it out. It doesn’t take very long to walk through and is totally free!
Here is just another side of the street. There are mostly restaurants and knickknack shops for souvenirs. Zack said Fred’s is good but we figured we would try something different. We had also been to Cafe Coyote before, which was pretty good and very busy when we had been. We decided on the place right in front of us, Old Town Mexican Cafe.
We sat towards the back of the restaurant, it wasn’t very busy.
It wasn’t peak season yet for tourists but this woman was taking photos of guests. She asked to take photos of Zack and me. We took them and she really didn’t tell us what they were for. She came back at the end of our meal and asked if we wanted to buy them (there were a few options). We opted not to but she gave us this flyer-type of photo card with a picture of us and the advertisement of the restaurant.
I ordered chicken enchiladas and they were decent. I wouldn’t say I would have to go back for them. The prices were not terrible and I would say you could stop in here. Most restaurants are Mexican style so it can be hard to choose. I would totally recommend Fred’s.
Up next we headed to the suspension bridge. I was expecting it to be closer to the ocean but it is really just the middle of a neighborhood. Here is what the entrance I entered through looks like. I found it just by searching Suspension Bridge and it came up right away.
Here is what the street looked like with my back to the entrance. If you’re in a place that looks exactly like this, you made it!
The bridge itself reminds me of those playground bridges but for adults! It moves when you move, not like crazy wobbling just tiny shifts with each step.
This is the view below the bridge. It is pretty tropical and jungle-looking, even though it’s in the middle of a neighborhood.
Next, we decided to head down to La Jolla. We found a pretty beach to look down at. Parking was hard, we drove around 2 or 3 times to get a spot, it can be cutthroat if you want to be somewhat close.
I was seriously impressed with the lifeguard stand, it was so modern. The back side had information on waves and weather, which I thought was cool. The lifeguards definitely had a lot on their hands. People were swimming WAY too close to the cliffs and they would be taken far out very quickly.
Down on the beach under this lifeguard stand, there were these little “coves”.
A lot of people were climbing through this one in particular. It connected two beaches together. The side we were on was particularly small.
The cliffs had seals lying on the cliffs and it was incredible. You could actually walk down to the seals, which I wouldn’t really recommend considering it’s their space and they can get feisty.
We continued walking up this hill and after the seals, there were gorgeous flowers on the ocean side.
We started walking up to this store that would be an entrance to this exact cove.
This little store has a big sign saying something along the lines of cove entrance here! It is $5 per person and you just pay a cashier in front of it. This is what it looks like at the very top.
The ceilings are very low and the floor is pretty slippery.
This was a couple of flights down looking back up at the entrance. It really doesn’t take that long to get down, probably less than five minutes. It isn’t a place with room for lots of people to stand so you sort of wait your turn.
This is the best picture of the view I could get. It is just a cool experience to say you have climbed down a little tunnel and been inside a cove.
Right outside the little shop, this is the view. We mostly wanted to just take a rest but it of course turned into a photo shoot.
We were super hungry after all the walking uphill and those stairs in the sun, so we decided to find somewhere to eat. We really just searched what was in the area and wanted something different from home. We had never heard of Sammy’s, so we drove over to this place. By now it was around 4 or 5 and we had to get going home soon. It wasn’t that busy, we must have missed the rush. The waiter was kind and we sat outside in the hot sun!! He tried moving the umbrella and bringing lots of water, it was our choice to sit in the sun anyhow. They brought out bread as a starter and we were either really hungry or it was really good.
I got the sliders and Zack got the individual pepperoni pizza.
If you guys have any more ideas of places to go and things to see please leave them in the comments below! Thank you guys so much and subscribe via email to never miss a post!