National Deep Dish Pizza Day 2024 is on Friday, April 5, 2024: San Diego for a few days, what are some must see's?

Friday, April 5, 2024 is National Deep Dish Pizza Day 2024.

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San Diego is one of the nicest cities in the country. It's a major tourist destination and there are tons of things to do. With 70 miles of beautiful beaches, countless parks and gardens, major league sports, dozens of golf courses, world class museums, Tony Award winning theater, great cuisine, best weather in the country, high tech industry, major universities, and the best zoo in the world, it's my choice as THE place to live and play in the USA.

Mission and Pacific Beach are your best bet for fun in the sun. Belmont Park has a vintage wooden roller coaster (one of two remaining seaside coasters on the west coast) as well as other rides. There is a strand (boardwalk) that runs the entire 3 mile length of both beaches. It's a great place to walk, run, sun, rent a bike or skates.

Some must see attractions are the world famous Zoo, Sea World, and Balboa Park. Known as the "Smithsonian of the West" Balboa Park is the largest urban cultural park in the country. You can get a park passport which allows you entry to a dozen museums as well as the zoo.

My favorite museum in the park is the San Diego Model Railroad Museum. It has some of the largest model layouts in the world. It is really awesome and a real hidden gem. Kids get in free.

Other attractions in the park are the Air and Space Museum, Ruben H. Fleet Science Center and IMAX theater, the Natural History Museum, the Museum of Man, the Automotive Museum, the Old Globe Theatre, the Hall of Champions, the Botanical Gardens, and the largest outdoor pipe organ in the world (free concerts on Sunday).

North County San Diego is home to the Zoo's Safari Park. There are multi acre enclosures where herds of wild animals roam plus lots of hiking trails. It's worth the visit and is a different experience from the zoo. You can ride a zip line, tour the park on a Segway, or take a photo caravan into the enclosures and feed the giraffes.

La Jolla offers great views, great surfing, great food, great theater, and great shopping.

Check out the surfers at historic Windansea Beach. At low tide you can walk out onto the tide pools. Walk along the Cove and check out the caves. Visit the Museum of Contemporary Art. Take a stroll on Prospect St and check out the shops, galleries, and have some authentic Mexican food at Alfonso's. Jose's Courtroom is where the locals hang out to drink and eat. The Spot offers Chicago style food with both deep dish and thin crust pizza. Then head to the Birch Aquarium at The Scripps Institution of Oceanography. It has a spectacular view of the bluffs over the Pacific Ocean. The Tony award winning La Jolla Playhouse is located nearby on the campus of UCSD. For a few laughs at night, The Comedy Store is on Pearl St.

Take the trolley from Downtown to Old Town. There is a state park there that recreates life in the Mexican and early American periods of 1821 to 1872.

The Old Point Loma Lighthouse at the Cabrillo National Monument offers great views of the downtown skyline, San Diego Harbor and the Pacific Ocean. On a clear day you can see all the way to Mexico. It's a great place to go whale watching as they migrate along the coast.

The USS Midway is an aircraft carrier turned into a museum

The Maritime Museum offers a hands-on look at San Diego's days as a bustling seaport. You can tour the Star of India, the world's oldest active merchant sailing ship.

For nightlife, the Gaslamp Quarter offers dining, drinking and dancing. It's also the home of Petco Park and the San Diego Padres major league baseball team.

Kansas City Barbeque is located at the Seaport Village trolley stop. Best BBQ in town, inexpensive, and it's where they filmed the bar scene in Top Gun. Plenty of interesting memorabilia on the walls and it also has outside dining.

Check out these sites for discount coupons and other info

BTW Saying Cali is like tattooing the word "Tourist" on your forehead. If you are going to Southern California call it So Cal.

Going on a 5 day vacation in San Diego!?

San Diego is one of the nicest cities in the country. It's a major tourist destination and there are tons of things to do. With 70 miles of beautiful beaches, countless parks and gardens, major league sports, dozens of golf courses, world class museums, Tony Award winning theater, great cuisine, best weather in the country, high tech industry, major universities, and the best zoo in the world, it's my choice as THE place to live and play in the USA.

Mission and Pacific Beach are your best bet for fun in the sun. Belmont Park has a vintage wooden roller coaster (one of two remaining seaside coasters on the west coast) as well as other rides. There is a strand (boardwalk) that runs the entire 3 mile length of both beaches. It's a great place to walk, run, sun, rent a bike or skates.

Some must see attractions are the world famous Zoo, Sea World, and Balboa Park. Known as the "Smithsonian of the West" Balboa Park is the largest urban cultural park in the country. You can get a park passport which allows you entry to a dozen museums as well as the zoo.

Other attractions in the park are the Air and Space Museum, Ruben H. Fleet Science Center, the Natural History Museum, the Museum of Man, the Model ralroad Museum, the Automotive Museum, the Old Globe Theatre, the Hall of Champions, the Botanical Gardens, and the largest outdoor pipe organ in the world (free concerts on Sunday).

North County San Diego is home to the Zoo's Safari Park. There are multi acre enclosures where herds of wild animals roam plus lots of hiking trails. It's worth the visit and is a different experience from the zoo. You can ride a zip line, tour the park on a Segway, or take a photo caravan into the enclosures and feed the giraffes.

La Jolla offers great views, great surfing, great food, great theater, and great shopping.

Check out the surfers at historic Windansea Beach. At low tide you can walk out onto the tide pools. Walk along the Cove and check out the caves. Visit the Museum of Contemporary Art. Take a stroll on Prospect St and check out the shops, galleries, and have some authentic Mexican food at Alfonso's or try Jose's Courtroom where the locals hang out to drink and eat. The Spot offers Chicago style food with both deep dish and thin crust pizza. After lunch head to the Birch Aquarium at The Scripps Institution of Oceanography. It has a spectacular view of the bluffs over the Pacific Ocean. The Tony award winning La Jolla Playhouse is located nearby on the campus of UCSD. For a few laughs at night, The Comedy Store is on Pearl St.

Take the trolley from Downtown to Old Town. There is a state park there that recreates life in the Mexican and early American periods of 1821 to 1872.

The Old Point Loma Lighthouse at the Cabrillo National Monument offers great views of the downtown skyline, San Diego Harbor and the Pacific Ocean. On a clear day you can see all the way to Mexico. It's a great place to go whale watching as they migrate along the coast.

The USS Midway is an aircraft carrier turned into a museum

For a great dinner with the best view of the downtown skyline, go to Pehoe's in Coronado. You can take the water taxi across the harbor.

Kansas City Barbeque is located at the Seaport Village trolley stop. Best BBQ in town, inexpensive, and it's where they filmed the bar scene in Top Gun. Plenty of interesting memorabilia on the walls and it also has outside dining.

Check out these sites for discount coupons and other info

I’m taking a trip to Chicago?

In addition to those mentioned above:

Chicago is known for it's rich architectural history. Many people enjoy taking an architectural tour by bus, boat, foot or even those cool Pedway vehicles. The Chicago Architecture Foundation can provide details

One of my favorite buildings in the city is the Chicago Cultural Center (), a national landmark building in the Loop where the Mayor "has welcomed Presidents and royalty..." It has a fascinating interior topped by two glass domes, one reported to be the largest made by Tiffany in the world. There is a cafe in the lobby, a lot of seating to rest your sightseeing-weary legs, and often has free musical performances at lunchtime. Since it houses one of the Chicago Office of Tourism visitor information centers, it's a great place to start your Chicago experience.

Across the street from the Cultural Center is Millennium Park (), location of the interactive Crown Fountain, a free ice skating rink, and the fascinatingly reflective Cloud Gate sculpture which locals call "the bean". On Friday evenings in December from 6-7 pm people can join in singing Christmas carols with various choral groups. There is also an amazing outdoor concert pavilon made of billowing stainless steel ribbons on the grounds.

Chicago's official Christmas tree can be found on the Daley Center Plaza in the loop, just a few blocks from the Cultural Center. () Unfortunately you'll miss the tree lighting ceremony this Friday, but Santa will be there every day, and you can stop by the old-timey Christkindlmarket for German food (brats, goulash, potato pancakes, cookies and Gluhwein, a warm spiced wine) or handmade gifts.

There are two excellent zoos in town, one in the city proper and another in the western suburbs.

Lincoln Park Zoo, just north of the downtown neighborhood, is free all year round (). You can get there by bus or pay for parking.

Brookfield Zoo ) you'd have to drive to. Admission is free on Tuesdays and Thursdays in December, but you will have to pay for parking. Both are decorated with lights at Christmas time so seeing them in the evenings is a treat. Brookfield has other free and pay programs including 'Breakfast with Santa'.

You can't visit this city without trying real Chicago deep dish pizza. () You may have tried Uno's pizza before at a mall or airport, but eating at the restaurant where deep dish was born is another experience all together. The two traditional venues for this hearty meal are the orginal Pizzeria Uno, and its sister store Pizzeria Due just down the street. Two long-time competitors who make equally delicious Chicago style pizza are Gino's East and Lou Malnotti's.

Another thing Chicago is known for is its blues clubs. There are several not far from downtown where today's followers of legendary bluesmen Muddy Waters perfect their craft in front of small audiences. These shows are loud and can go late into the night, but if you want to feel the heartbeat of the city, there's no better place. The Chicago Reader () provides information on new and upcoming events of all kinds.

Sorry, but hotels are hard for us to know about because we already live here. Your best bet for finding those would probably be the expedia and travelocity type websites.

I hope you two enjoy your time here. Email me if you have any specific questions.