It’s that time of year when the blossoms on the trees remind us that spring quickly blooms into summer in San Diego, where the sun nearly always shines. If you’re planning a vacation or an overnighter to San Diego this year, there’s a lot to look forward to starting with great spring events such as the Gaslamp Mardi Gras. The Fat Tuesday party takes up many blocks in the quarter and offers musical acts throughout the district, plus a Mardi Gras Parade. You won’t want to miss it. But if you do, look for the St. Patrick’s Day ShamROCK celebration in March to ease you into the summer months that prominently feature the color green.

If you are wishing for a beautiful winter escape away from the snow and cold, San Diego is the place to go. And Balboa Park isn’t just a beautiful day filled with museums and gardens, it’s a walk in the park with lovely architecture, interesting landscapes, beautiful breezes and the warm summer sunshine reminiscent of a spring day back East. The Balboa Park Pass makes a great gift any time of year, spring, summer, winter or fall.

This winter Balboa Park is offering great prices on its museum packages where you can buy a pass and save big bucks on visits to the many museums (over 13) that fill one of America’s Great Parks! If you plan a trip to San Diego, be sure to see our little piece of paradise. It’s not exactly a hidden secret, but it’s definitely a gem.

Temperatures remain on the pleasant side as we enter autumn in San Diego, but that doesn’t mean that we won’t get a heat spell or two before Christmas. Southern California is known for its warm and windy September – October days that can come unexpectedly. And of course in its 100 year history, there has only been rain on January 1 a few times.

This is the finest season to vacation in San Diego. Sunny days, less crowded beaches and even the theme parks offer pleasant experiences during this special time of year.

New developments in Legoland make it worth a trip to see not one but three new theme parks. It’s an especially fun place to take toddlers who haven’t entered school yet. There’s a water park, an Aquarium and the original Legoland California. The two new parks are pint-sized fun so kids have just the right amount of activity and entertainment.

Sure, the kids have returned to school & classes, so for many parents the trips to San Diego must be curbed for weekends only and holidays. But for those with flexibility in their jobs, their retirement and travels, fall season is superb opportunity to book your hotel rooms and have a less crowded vacation at America’s playground of sunshine in San Diego.

What you will notice is prices dropping at nearly every hotel during the fall. One exception is when major conventions and events, or a special heat wave drives exceptional fall traffic to the beach. But overall, you should check out some of the fall pricing on hotel rooms and get booking now for the break you need. One such example of great pricing as of this posting is the Hilton San Diego Resort with rooms starting at $139 in mid-September 2010. You rarely see the hotel offer such savings. This is a spectacular resort and the price is right.

San diego

San Diego is California’s second largest city and one of the top visitor destinations in the United States—a scenic harbor convention center, world-class San Diego Zoo, Wild Animal Park, Sea World, Balboa Park, Point Loma Lighthouse, Cabrillo Monument, historic Old Town, the San Diego Padres, miles of beaches, and Coronado Island are all set to the finest weather anywhere on globe, with average temperatures of 70º F.

Ocean Beach “OB”, Mission Beach, Pacific Beach, Mission Bay, and Coronado Island, and La Jolla beaches all make for a vacation that includes theme parks, fine weather, and beach settings around every bend. The outdoor sports mecca provides great walking, jogging, sailing, swimming, roller blading, kayaking, golf, surfing, and just about any other sport you can imagine.

Getting there: Located 120 miles south of Los Angeles and 20 miles north of Tijuana, Mexico, just drive on the Interstate 5 from L.A. and you’ll arrive in downtown San Diego in just over two hours. Another option is to hop on the Amtrak train at Union Station in Los Angeles and never drive during your stay! It is quite easy to get around San Diego on public transportation and many tourists do it.

San Diego has been the epicenter of hospitality for as long as people have known about the place. It is also infectious, so once you visit, you can count on returning again to explore local favorites such as Hotel del Coronado hotel, Hardrock Hotel, and the Catamaran. There are just so many amazing hotels to enjoy that you’ll never tire of exploring.

San Diego is one of the top options for a surf vacation in California, mainly because of the vareity of waves ranging from beginner to advanced. The stretch of coast between Baja Mexico at Tijuana and Orange County at San Clemente includes some of the most famous surfing spots in the U.S.  Swami’s is one such surfing destination where you can book a hotel room in Encinitas, Del Mar or Solana Beach, and be on your way to one of the most memorable trips of your life.  International tourists visit and check out because of the consistent waves, but also because of the surfers, themselves. San Diego surf culture is like no other and while Californians take it for granted, visitors recognize and see the unique aspects to the people and the lifestyle. Surfboards, surf apparel, and even the surfing road signs all make a statement that you’ve arrived in surf city.

la costa resort

Carlsbad, Calif.–When a neighbor knocked on our door and asked us to watch their family’s house for the weekend, we asked where they were going for the weekend.  “LaCosta Resort,” came back the reply. For those who know San Diego’s north county region, you’ll be fully aware that La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, home to Legoland California. And in short order Legoland has grown, adding two additional attractions –Sea Life Aquarium, which opened last year, and Legoland Water Park, which opened in the summer 2010.  Geared toard toddlers, youngsters and pre-teens, Legoland is a weekend unto itself, and ideal for our neighbors with children no older than six.

La Costa Resort is a place where adults don’t have to compromise their vacations for the needs of the children. In addition to a fantastic swimming pool near the PGA ranked golf course at the resort, La Costa accesses Legoland, Carlsbad beaches, and is only a thirty minute drive from San Diego Wild Animal Park.

It’s likely our neighbors went to Carlsbad to enjoy the resort and Legoland on their three-day trip. La Costa Resort is among the top two places to stay on Legoland vacations. Highly recommended if you don’t mind paying a bit more.

Celebrate Independence Day in San Diego with a boom. 70 miles of picturesque coastline invites visitors to view and participate in festive July 4th celebrations such as the epic 20-minute Big Bay Boom fireworks display over San Diego Bay. Like the holiday boat parade, this is the largest display in the region. fireworks are launched simultaneously from four barges placed around the bay and choreographed to music broadcast on 105.7 FM radio. Back for its 10th year, the Big Bay Boom fireworks display can be seen throughout downtown San Diego, neighboring Coronado, Point Loma and many communities throughout the city. Great viewing spots are all along the bay front and aboard popular harbor cruises. Fireworks begin at 9 p.m. on July 4.

Part of the fun in travel is the unexpected. You just never know what you’re going to see in California. But you especially don’t know what you’re going to see in San Diego, either. A cool cat with a smile worked his way through a tune on one of the SD piers (San Diego has a couple piers–Oceanside, Imperial Beach, Ocean Beach, and Crystal Pier) and without even a cup to catch some coins or cash, people started looking for a place to drop their money in approval. You’ll see this sort of thing in practically any city, but in San Diego, the sun glistens on the water and everything seems hotter, including the music.  San Diego has some excellent night clubs where you can catch the music scene.

It’s easy to fall in love with the North County city of Oceanside. It’s warm weather, inviting atmosphere, friendly people, and value for your stay all make it the overlooked, but well worth the trip vacation. Long known as the city that supports Cample Pendleton next door, Oceanside has much more to offer than its old-fashioned values. The feeling of stepping into a time warp is one element of your surprise when you arrive, but another is the array of activities that you can participate in and enjoy, often just by walking once you park your car. Whether you hop on the train passing through and head for the cities of San Diego or Los Angles, or you just spend your time exploring the beach and pier in Oceanside, you have your work cut out for you. Give it a rest by kicking back with a lounge chair at the beach. Oceanside is the place where you truly feel you’ve given yourself tiime to reconnect with the real world–sunshine, sipping cocktails and maybe even surfing.