San Diego Sunshine

We're back from our brief Spring Break jaunt to lovely San Diego. After several days of nonstop stimulation, the kids are now bored and the weather stinks--more like early March than early April.

San Diego was great--it's nice not to have to worry about whether it will rain. It's still a bit chilly this time of year--that "in-between" temperature of 60-65 degrees that with a breeze is a bit too cool for a short sleeve shirt, but a bit hot in the sun with a sweatshirt on. (We quickly learned that every morning near the beach starts out grey, but soon turns sunny.)

Of course we went to the Zoo and Sea World--what a great place to see animals! (Go to the Zoo first--it's hard to compete with the lively shows at Sea World.) Even our hotel had a wide assortment of waterfowl and exotic birds living on the grounds. We also enjoyed the variety of outdoor activities available, although we barely had time to sample many of them.

We also spent a morning down at Coronado, where the Curmudgeon's brother was born in 1959 when we lived there for a year or so while dad finished out his Navy service. The Curmudgeon had his first "brush with fame" there, at the ripe old age of 1, hanging out on the beach while Marilyn Monroe and Tony Curtis filmed Some Like It Hot at the Hotel Del Coronado. The kids tolerated our trip down memory lane at Coronado, but something tells us they would've rebelled had we stayed into the afternoon.

While we have no basis for comparison with other San Diego hotels and resorts, we'd certainly recommend our hotel--the Catamaran Resort & Spa--to anyone wanting a kid-friendly place to sleep with a terrific location. The Catamaran has its own sandy beach and pier on Mission Bay, with all kinds of boat and bicycle rentals available. The kids liked the heated outdoor pool, but an even bigger hit was the adjacent arcade with plenty of free games. Mrs. Curmudgeon liked the spa, while X enjoyed the fitness room looking out over the Bay.

A half-block walk across the street brought us to Pacific Beach (pictured above), a popular surfer destination with plenty of beach bars and musty little hotel/motels for the younger set. Spring Break--the college kind--was clearly in evidence along the beach, but we were able to find plenty of kid-friendly eating establishments within walking distance of our hotel.

Getting to San Diego's various attractions was a cinch--Sea World was at the other end of Mission Bay, less than a 10 minute drive, while the Zoo, Coronado and other attractions were a short ride down I-5 (just don't try to go before 9:00 am).

Our only regret: that we didn't stay longer.