My guest blogger today is Carli Leavitt, the editor of SanDiego.com. Carli is a San Diego native with a wealth of knowledge about local attractions, hotels, beaches and nightlife venues in Southern California. Enjoy reading her article about finding meditation in San Diego:

Travelers who vacation in San Diego may get caught up in the hustle and bustle of downtown or the sometimes crowded beach scene. San Diego can seem like a big beautiful city packed with tons of people and no true solace – but that’s only if you don’t know where to look. With over three million residents, San Diego definitely isn’t lacking when it comes to a social scene, but for visitors looking to get away from it all in America’s Finest City, the best place for relaxing meditation is the Self-Realization Fellowship in Encinitas.

San Diego County happens to be home to one of the most amazing meditation grounds in the world. The Self-Realization Fellowship (or SRF as it’s often called) is home to an incredible meditation garden high atop a sea bluff above the gorgeous and famous surf spot, Swami’s. Located in the quaint coastal community of Encinitas in north county San Diego, SRF is just 30 minutes from downtown San Diego, but makes visitors feel like they’re a world away.

The north county coastal region of San Diego attracts yogis and yoga enthusiasts from all over the globe because of its laid-back vibe and health conscious culture. You’ll find restaurants catering to a healthy, yoga-infused lifestyle such as the Lotus Café focusing on healthy cuisine with vegetarian and vegan options, just a few blocks down Highway 101 from the meditation gardens. It seems there is a yoga studio on every block of this beach community, scattered in between countless local surf and skate shops just steps away from some of the most beautiful beaches on Earth.

Encinitas is an interesting area with a large population of people who love surfing and yoga. One morning they’re in their wetsuits at famous surf spot, Cardiff Reef, rubbing elbows with local surf celebrity Rob Machado, and the next their perfecting the crane pose at a local yoga studio. Of course, you don’t have to be a yoga aficionado to enjoy meditation and take advantage of the relaxation this area has to offer. The Self-Realization Fellowship is the best place for meditation in San Diego County with a gorgeous tropical meditation garden overlooking Swami’s beach. The gardens have flowing streams, koi ponds, waterfalls and lush green foliage with winding footpaths creating a serene environment for meditation. It’s open to the public so visitors can sit and get lost in the sounds of the ocean, resident birds and breezes blowing through the ferns in this beautiful coastal garden.

The timeless spiritual classic Autobiography of a Yogi was written at the Self-Realization Fellowship Ashram Center in Encinitas by founder and renowned yogi, Paramahansa Yogananda. Its overwhelming beauty and serene location make it a popular destination for visitors from all over the world, looking to meditate in these inspiring coastal gardens just 25 miles north of San Diego.

For guests staying in one of the downtown hotels in San Diego, SRF is an easy drive up Interstate 5 or a relaxing drive up Highway 101 along the coast. It usually takes between 30 minutes and an hour to get to the meditation gardens from downtown depending on traffic, but it’s definitely worth the trip. For those traveling to San Diego without a car, the NCTD Coaster also runs from downtown to Encinitas for an easy and stress-free public transportation option.

The convenient location and stunning coastal setting make the meditation gardens at the Self-Realization Fellowship in Encinitas the best place to find solace and meditate in peace in San Diego County. Get away from it all on your next San Diego vacation by making time to meditate or take a stroll through these unique oceanfront gardens.

The SRF meditation gardens are located at:

215 ‘K’ Street
Encinitas, CA 92024
(760)753-1811

Hours:
Tuesday – Saturday 9am – 5pm
Sunday 11am – 5pm
Closed Mondays
————————–

I hope you will follow up on Carli’s recommendation to visit the SLF gardens in Encinitas. My wife and I visited for the first time this past weekend and really enjoyed the visit. The gardens are in full bloom, the birds are chirping away, the babbling brook is full of koi, and the views of the Pacific Ocean, where the garden reaches the seaside cliffs, are spectacular.

Although we were lured to the Pacific Highway side of the Meditation Center by the gold domed structures you’ll see along the roadway, the entrance is actually a one block walk down K Street. Quite a few people were enjoying the meditation gardens on the day of our visit but there are a number of nooks and crannies where we found secluded benches and a grassy knoll next to the pool, which used to be used used by Swami Yogananda, to sit and enjoy the atmosphere of the gardens and watch the surfers on Swami’s Beach below.

TourGuideTim Reveals San Diego! - Blog About The Unique Aspects of San Diego - America's Finest County

January 22, 2013

The other day, a guest on my San Diego tour asked me about the cool looking mini-cruise ship parked in San Diego Bay, right between the Maritime Museum and Cruise Ship terminal on Harbor Drive.

Yes, it does look like a mini-cruise ship since it’s longer than a football field and has two helipads. But no, it’s actually the 19th largest superyacht in the world and when first built in 2010, it was claimed to the the largest expeditionary yacht in the world able to traverse long distances without refueling.

It’s been in San Diego Harbor for the past two months and you can still see it today. I’m not sure who’s brought it to town since it is owned by a Russian Billionaire, who also owns what is now the largest superyacht in the world, but charters these boats out to others. I have heard rumors that there was a Russion Billionaire who was visiting La Jolla and is now traveling the Southwest. However, I don’t know if the two are connected.

Anyways, keep your eyes open when driving or walking along Harbor Drive in San Diego. What may look like a cruise ship could in fact be one of the largest yachts in the world owned by someone famous. Here are the pictures I’ve taken and a little background on three superyachts I’ve seen San Diego. If any of the superyacht visitors are reading this, I’d love to take a tour of your yacht!

Superyacht Luna in San Diego Bay

Owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich. It’s the 19th largest yacht in the world at 115 meters long (377 feet …longer than a football field!) and has two helipads. Abramovich apparently started off selling rubber ducks and built an empire that now includes the Chelsea football team. [Yacht photo taken December 30, 2012]

Wikipedia Profile for Roman Abramovich
Luna Profile on Superyachts.com

Superyacht Attessa IV in San Diego Bay

Owned by American billionaire Dennis Washington. It’s the 27th largest yacht in the world at 100.6 meters long (330 feet) and has a helipad. Washington started a construction business to build highways in Montana and branched out into mining, railroads, shipping, and more. [Yacht photo taken July 7, 2012]

Wikipedia Profile for Dennis Washington
Attessa IV profile on Charterworld.com

Superyacht Ice in San Diego Bay

Owned by Russian billionaire and politician Suleyman Kerimov. It’s the 39th largest yacht in the world at 90.1 meters long (295 feet) but surprisingly no helipad as it was built supposedly to be an environmentally friendly yacht. Kerimov started as an economist before helping to start a bank to invest in struggling companies, which obviously became quite successful. He also served in the Russian Duma. [Yacht photo taken September 4, 2008]

Wikipedia Profile for Suleyman Kerimov
Ice Yacht profile on Superyachts.com

Largest Yachts in San Diego

The yacht rankings above will change as it seems each week a newer, longer yacht is introduced to the world. There’s a good chance we’ll get to see some of them not only because they like to visit San Diego but when I took a tour of the Port of San Diego, I learned that billionaire’s like Larry Ellison and Paul Allen send their yachts to San Diego for repairs and maintenance.

I’m curious if any of you know what are the largest yachts home ported in San Diego. If you have some ideas, let me know!

TourGuideTim Reveals San Diego! - Blog About The Unique Aspects of San Diego - America's Finest County

I agree. Watch the new McDonalds video, read my reasons on why San Diego is the luckiest city, and then share your thoughts on why we are the luckiest city in the U.S.

Monopoly at McDonalds

This McDonalds commercial caught my attention over the weekend during the NBC Sunday Night Football Game when I heard ‘San Diego’.

Looks like we’ve got a new resident moving into town because San Diego has the most sweepstakes winners and the fewest lightning strikes. Gotta like those odds. Update: McDonalds took the video off air now that the Monopoly promotion has ended. Basically, the commercial shows two buddies, one of whom is going to move to San Diego because it has the fewest lightning strikes and most sweepstakes winners so he feels he’ll be lucky once he moves to San Diego.

I hadn’t heard about San Diegans having great odds for winning sweepstakes but it doesn’t surprise me based on all the stories I’ve gathered as a tour guide in San Diego, some of which I share below. I’m certainly not surprised we have the fewest lightning strikes because we rarely ever have a lightning storm but don’t let that fool you into thinking most San Diegans know how to stay out of harm’s way. Since it is such a rarity (seems from my experience over the 14 years I’ve lived here that there is maybe one thunderstorm a year that I can at least hear somewhere off in the distance), I’ve seen many people ‘race outside’ to enjoy the rare spectacle.

Why San Diego is the Luckiest City

Here are a few stories about people from San Diego hitting it big with a little luck on their side:

Jimmy Wales (Wikipedia) – The founder of one of the world’s most used web sites is Jimmy Wales. Before Wikipedia’s time, it’s eventual founder Jimmy Wales moved to San Diego and set up a small internet hosting business in Pacific Beach. He had an idea to create an online encylopedia called Nupedia that was being created by experts in their respective academic fields. However, after a lot of time and money being spent on the project, they had little to show for it. That’s when a lucky opportunity struck. Larry Sanger, who was running Nupedia for Jimmy Wales, got together for dinner at the former Mama Mia’s in Pacific Beach with an old friend Ben Kovitz who had just moved to San Diego. Ben started sharing with Larry the new concept called wiki’s. A week later Wikipedia was launched so anyone on the internet could help work on the project and the rest is history.

Jewel – The signer Jewel was living out of a van and performing in a local coffee shop in Pacific Beach before she got discovered. Word about a surfer girl with an amazing voice singing on Thursday nights made its way to a friend of a friend who happened to know someone at Atlantic Records…and again, the rest is history.

Charles Brandes – Charles Brandes, one of the most successful investors in the country and owner of the most expensive home in San Diego County, which the County Assessor initially valued at $60 million before it was challenged, was a young stockbroker in La Jolla when a retired guy walked in the door and offered to mentor him. Who happened to walk in that fateful day when Brandes was in charge of handling the walk-ins? Benjamin Graham, Warren Buffet’s mentor, who had just moved to La Jolla to enjoy his retirement.

There are many interesting people in San Diego who have had fortuitous opportunities. What are your stories about lucky San Diegans?

TourGuideTim Reveals San Diego! - Blog About The Unique Aspects of San Diego - America's Finest County

I was sad to see musician and conductor Marvin Hamlisch passed away yesterday. He was a very entertaining conductor for the Symphony Pops Concerts in San Diego. I’ve always wondered how San Diego attracted so much of his attention. Maybe it was for the same reason why so many people want to live here.

I tweeted a comment he made during the Jane Monheit concert with the San Diego Symphony last year: “San Diego has great weather … and it has La Jolla. What more could it want?” I certainly agree.

But, I also read that he served as a Principle Conductor in Pasadena, Seattle, Dallas, Pittsburgh, and Milwaukee on top of all the other work he was providing for various productions. How was he able to be in so many places at the same time?! I’ve always wanted to be in multiple places or working on multiple projects at the same time. If anyone knew his secret, please clue me in!

Well, I’m glad so many people in so many cities got to see Hamlisch in person. He brought beautiful music and joy to our lives.

Have a good day.

TourGuideTim Reveals San Diego! - Blog About The Unique Aspects of San Diego - America's Finest County

There are many locals competing in the 2012 Olympics in London. In fact, there are over 80 Olympians from San Diego who are receiving great coverage from the Union Tribune.

However, there is one San Diegan who the local media isn’t talking about but she’s the one getting most of the air time on NBC.

That person is NBC sideline reporter Alex Flanagan. She’s the one interviewing the Olympic winners after their competitions. For quite some time, Alex has been the sideline reporter for NBC’s broadcasts of Notre Dame football games and their Sunday Night NFL Games. She also served as an NBC host during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

A few months back I met her husband Kevin who’s just launching an interesting business…selling shoes made from recycled materials. You can read more about The People’s Movement, which is based in Solana Beach.

TourGuideTim Reveals San Diego! - Blog About The Unique Aspects of San Diego - America's Finest County

I’m glad the oppressive heat wave sweeping the country during the 4th of July holiday week is finally subsiding. It’s been the leading national news story for more than 10 days with headlines like:

Chicago Heat wave: 3 consecutive days with temperatures in the 100s.
North Carolina Heat wave: 6 consecutive days with temperatures in the 100s.
Missouri Heat wave: 11 consecutive days with temperatures in the 100s.
Denver Heat wave: 14 consecutive days with temperatures 95 degrees or higher.
Washington D.C. Heat wave: 9 consecutive days with temperatures 95 degrees or higher.
Philadelphia Heat wave: 12 consecutive days with temperatures 90 degrees or higher.
New York City Heat wave: 5 consecutive days with temperatures 90 degrees or higher.

I get to meet guests from across the country who join my Coastal San Diego Tour. All of my guests over the past few weeks have been very happy they were missing the heat waves back home and enjoying the cool temperatures in San Diego.

I feel bad when I see them wearing jackets and sweaters but they say they couldn’t be happier avoiding not only the heat, but the humidity oppressing other parts of the country.

I’ve learned over time that most guests think they just had ‘good timing’ for their visit to San Diego to enjoy the nice weather and don’t realize that the weather is just as nice all summer long. The local adage is that San Diego weather is always in the 70s with sunshine all year round. Although not completely true, the weather usually does not vary far from that adage. For example, San Diego has the least amount of change in barometric pressure in the continental United States and the average monthly high temperatures range from 65 in January to 77 in September.

San Diego generally does not see heat waves during the summer just like it generally does not see cold waves during the winter…at least relative to how most people define heat and cold waves. (Locally, we call a streak of days in the 80s a heat wave and a streak of days with high temperatures lower than 65 a cold wave.)

Here are a couple weather facts I recently mentioned to my guests that made some of their jaws drop: In June, the highest temperature recorded in San Diego was 76 and the lowest was 59. And, the only months so far in 2012 to see temperatures in the 80s were January and March. In fact, the hottest day of the year so far was 83 degrees back on January 5th. (I’m posting this as of July 11.)

During the summer months, San Diego becomes home to a lot of Arizonans escaping their perpetual heat wave. Now, I want others across the country to start thinking about San Diego as a place to escape the next time they have to endure the hazy, hot, and humid days of summer.

Have a perfect weather day!

TourGuideTim Reveals San Diego! - Blog About The Unique Aspects of San Diego - America's Finest County

Mount Soledad is a one-of-a-kind veterans memorial located in San Diego, California. It’s in the northern community of La Jolla and sits 822 feet above sea level, affording panoramic views of the San Diego region and the Pacific Ocean. Often the views extend south to Tijuana, Mexico and frequently during the winter months they extend to the snow capped mountains east of Los Angeles.

Mount Soledad is home to a veterans memorial that represents veterans of all wars starting with the American Revolution to the most recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The feature that sets this veterans memorial apart from any other veterans memorial is the fact it includes the images of the veterans who have served our country. You can see it in the image of President Dwight Eisenhower, who will be the newest inductee on Memorial Day 2012. I was able to get a sneak peak with the sightseeing guests I bring to the Memorial as part of my Coastal San Diego Tours.

There are about 3,000 plaques at the Memorial with room for about 300 more. A number of famous veterans have their plaques up here, including the highly decorated and eventual movie star Audie Murphy, the General of Generals …Pershing, General Patton, Actors Cliff Robertson and Jimmy Stewart, Presidents Reagan, Ford, and Truman and many other whose names you will recognize.

To give you a greater appreciate of what to expect to see at the Mt. Soledad Memorial, watch my video below.

TourGuideTim Reveals San Diego! - Blog About The Unique Aspects of San Diego - America's Finest County

The California Presidential Primary Election booklets have arrived in the mail and it’s time to start making decisions as voters. Many voters who have not had a chance to get to know the candidates personally will rely on what’s written on candidate websites, stories written by the media, and friends who may have insight.

To my knowledge, there are no ‘candidate review’ sites equivalent to the ‘restaurant review’ sites like Yelp or ‘travel review’ sites like TripAdvisor, which people can rely on to judge a candidate based on the experience of others who have gone before them.

So, I’ll take a few minutes to share my experiences with two of the candidates in the San Diego Mayoral Election, Nathan Fletcher and Carl DeMaio. I’ve not had a chance to interact with two of the other main candidates in the race for San Diego Mayor, Bob Filner and Bonnie Dumanis so I’ll look forward to reading the reviews made by others who have interacted with them.

I’m someone who likes to get a detailed understanding of who wants to or is representing me in government. I try to see them in person so I can hear and see through body language and actions what they have to say without the filter of the media or their campaign’s carefully prepared advertising.

Since Nathan Fletcher is my State Assemblyman, I took the opportunity to attend town hall meetings he has held during his three years in office. He attracted good sized crowds, spoke well, carried a lot of energy, and appeared very polished despite being a novice in political office. The latter seemed to be explained when I learned his wife Mindy used to be the Deputy Campaign Manager and Deputy Chief of Staff for former governor Arnold Schwarzenneger. She apparently had worked with the 2004 re-election of George Bush for President as well. Thus, it appeared to me and with others I would speak to at events that considering his skills, connections, and his military experience in Afghanistan, he had the potential to rise up the political ladder to national attention.

However, the one thing I could never seem to do was break through to actually meet Nathan Fletcher in person. When the opportunity arises, I like to look a politician in the eye, shake their hand, and ask questions if time allows to get a better feel for the person. In year’s past I’d been able to do that with eventual President Bill Clinton, eventual Vice-President Joe Biden, and even exchange emails with the staff of Fletcher’s predecessor, Assemblyman George Plescia.

But for some reason, I sensed that a well-oiled political machine was already forming around the novice politician. It felt like unless I had money, connections, or a special cause, there was going to be no look in the eye and shake of the hand. He was already being sheltered and groomed for higher office.

Earlier in the mayoral campaign, before Fletcher left the Republican Party and made national headlines for doing so, it didn’t appear he was getting much support beyond those with money, connections, and special causes. He had many high profile name supporters who put big dollars into his campaign but very little traction among the voters in San Diego and more importantly among those he represented as Assemblyman.

Now, for the 2012 San Diego Mayoral Race, the only point of comparison I have is my City Councilman Carl DeMaio. I met DeMaio at a Mira Mesa Street Fair prior to him becoming City Councilman. When I went to introduce myself, not only did I get a look in the eye and shake of the hand but the opportunity to ask questions. Then he started asking about me and what I wanted out of city government. He certainly made a good first impression but it’s what he did afterwards that has compelled me to write this review of the San Diego Mayoral Candidates.

When I meet a politician, I don’t expect them to remember me since they meet lots of people. But, at least it gives me a chance to get to better know them so I can take that into account when I hear and read second hand stories about their activity. Not with Carl. He not only remembered our conversation but he followed up by email and phone seeking ideas and feedback, all the while asking me how I was doing with my endeavors and my health. (For those who haven’t seen my very first blog post, it was about my recovery from heart surgery in the Mother Theresa Room at Scripps.)

During his three years in office, I’ve learned others in my community have had the same experience with DeMaio. He’s very much a hands on person who seeks ideas from a wide-range of people, not just those with money, connections, or a cause.

I can understand when some perceive DeMaio as being a bit bombastic when it comes to pension issues, which has been his main issue and receives all of the media attention. But, beyond pensions, Carl has been very hands on in listening to what all of his residents want in terms of city services and working to find ways to make it happen. That is why I believe polls show DeMaio has a large lead over Fletcher in the areas where residents have be represented by both politicians.

Maybe DeMaio’s strong personality has something to do with his challenging upbringing but I’d like to let people know how much he cares about everyone he meets, how much he desires to do what is best to make San Diego government an entity we can trust once again to look out for the interests of everyone and not just the interest of those of influence, and that he is open to ideas from others on how to make San Diego a great city we can be proud of.

I look forward to reading about the experiences of others with our mayoral candidates. For now, if you are open to considering DeMaio for Mayor, I suggest taking a look at his ideas on how to make San Diego a great city.

On a final note, consider that DeMaio is not just someone full of ideas but also someone who has an excellent track record of executing on those ideas and turning them into reality.

TourGuideTim Reveals San Diego! - Blog About The Unique Aspects of San Diego - America's Finest County

January can bring warm sunny days…

Happy New Year! San Diego weather in January frequently offers warm days and cold nights. Although, I can tell you from first hand experience running a tour business serving guests from around the world, most travelers get a good laugh when we use the word ‘cold’ in San Diego.

To me, anytime it goes below freezing at 32 degrees Fahrenheit, it’s cold! Well, January is the only month of the year, historically, where temperatures tracked at the San Diego Airport, just a mile away from downtown’s tourist attractions, have gone below freezing. (Yes, woe is us in San Diego.) Officially, it’s only gone below freezing four times in our history, always in January. The coldest was back in 1913 when it hit 25 degrees.

The cold temperatures come during clear nights when there are no clouds to keep the previous day’s heat from escaping into the atmosphere. But, it’s those same clear skies that bring us warm days. We frequently see days with highs in the 70s and even 80s. The highest was back in 1953 when we reached a high temperature in San Diego during January of 88 degrees.

As for the average highs and lows in San Diego during January, they are 65 degrees and 50 degrees respectively. (For foreigners, that’s about 18 degrees Celsius and 10 degrees Celsius respectively.)

…but also cold nights & snow to our local mountains.

January is the wettest month of the year, with an average of 7 days of rain. However, on the bright side, it’s also the fourth sunniest month of the year in San Diego.

So, that’s what you can expect in San Diego for weather in January. Visitors who want to learn more about weather in San Diego throughout the year can visit my San Diego Travel Guide. For locals wanting to learn more about San Diego’s weather history, visit the NOAA web site. I also highly recommend subscribing to the Union Tribune newspaper where weatherman Robert Krier answers readers questions about weather in San Diego.

TourGuideTim Reveals San Diego! - Blog About The Unique Aspects of San Diego - America's Finest County

Have you seen bushes of these bright red berries in recent weeks while enjoying your favorite San Diego hiking trails?

I’ve seen quite a few, especially in the Los Penasquitos Canyon. With a little research, I’ve found they are appropriately called Christmas Berries. They are also called Toyons, which are evergreen shrubs with leathery leaves, small white flowers that bloom in the summer and the red berries seen in the adjacent photo that arrive by Christmas.

Christmas berries are native to the area and can be found throughout San Diego County from our coastal areas to our mountains. They’ve even been seen in the Anza-Borrego Desert. Christmas berries are found primarily only within the borders of California and are a popular source of food for birds.

Don’t be tempted to taste the berries as they are rated as having ‘Major’ toxicity. However, according the the UC Davis website, native Indians did eat them after boiling away their bitter taste. The native Indians also used the Toyon branches to create their arrows, harpoons, and fishing spears according to the Western National Parks Association website.

Enjoy the bright colors offered by the Christmas berries during our winter months while hiking in San Diego.

TourGuideTim Reveals San Diego! - Blog About The Unique Aspects of San Diego - America's Finest County