California Suggestions?

[ktlm]

This will be our 9th year of going to DLR in the summer. (DH and I and DD(12)) We usually spend half the week there and then head south to do things in the San Diego area for the other half. We stay by the beach about 20 or 30 minutes north of SD, and hit different San Diego tourist things every year. Still doing DLR for the first half of the week, but I am wondering if we should try something different this year for the 2nd half of the week. A beach day somewhere is still a must, but I am totally open to suggestions for where or what else to possibly do. Anyone have any suggestions? I would love to hear some!

 

[usnuzuloose]

This will be our 9th year of going to DLR in the summer. (DH and I and DD(12)) We usually spend half the week there and then head south to do things in the San Diego area for the other half. We stay by the beach about 20 or 30 minutes north of SD, and hit different San Diego tourist things every year. Still doing DLR for the first half of the week, but I am wondering if we should try something different this year for the 2nd half of the week. A beach day somewhere is still a must, but I am totally open to suggestions for where or what else to possibly do. Anyone have any suggestions? I would love to hear some!

Try these sites

Groupon.com
Livingsocials.com
Travelzoo.com

put in the city. I use these to save money on food and fun things.
But you could take a boat for whale watching.
Take the boat and go to Catalina Island for the day and rent a golf cart for the site seeing. That is a lot of fun.
My daughter used to love to shop in thrift stores. Some times in a different area you might find different style of clothes.
Eating lunch on the pier.
Do lots of window shopping.

 

[PHXscuba]

Head north to LA or Santa Barbara (both of which have plenty of beaches). If your daughter is into things Hollywood, take her to the El Capitan Theater, Griffith Observatory, the Warner Bros Studio Tour, Universal Studios, etc. Or Space Shuttle, Getty, the Grove/Farmers Market, Malibu, etc.

PHXscuba

 

[oakleycat]

Do something different! PHXscuba's suggestions are great, or even stay in Orange County and do Laguna Beach, Dana Point, Huntington Beach, etc.

 

[ktlm]

Try these sites
But you could take a boat for whale watching.
Take the boat and go to Catalina Island for the day and rent a golf cart for the site seeing. That is a lot of fun.
My daughter used to love to shop in thrift stores. Some times in a different area you might find different style of clothes.
Eating lunch on the pier.
Do lots of window shopping.

Would love to do whale watching, but I don't think summer is the right time of year is it? Catalina Island is a great idea! DD loves thrift stores too, she would probably love that.

Head north to LA or Santa Barbara (both of which have plenty of beaches). If your daughter is into things Hollywood, take her to the El Capitan Theater, Griffith Observatory, the Warner Bros Studio Tour, Universal Studios, etc. Or Space Shuttle, Getty, the Grove/Farmers Market, Malibu, etc.

PHXscuba

Those are great ideas! She is a theatre/actress kid, so she would probably love those things.

Do something different! PHXscuba's suggestions are great, or even stay in Orange County and do Laguna Beach, Dana Point, Huntington Beach, etc.

Love Laguna, spent a little time at Dana Point last year. Those are on the path we sometimes take and explore on our way south. Haven't done Huntington Beach since I was a kid. That may be a place to check out.


Thanks everyone for the suggestions! I am making a list of ideas with them!

 

[Douglas Dubh]

One year when my kids were about that age we stopped at the La Brea Tar Pits. They enjoyed it.

There’s also the aquarium of the pacific and the queen Mary in Long Beach.

 

[bcla]

California Science Center. It has a little bit of everything, including a smaller aquarium, natural science exhibits, an IMAX theater, aviation exhibits, etc. There is no entrance fee except for a nominal fee to see the Space Shuttle Endeavour.

https://californiasciencecenter.org

It's also in Exposition Park, which has a rose garden and other attractions.

 

[HerbivoreMom]

Would love to do whale watching, but I don't think summer is the right time of year is it?

Summer is actually when you see Blue Whales - the most awesome, giant whales. They are great!
http://traveltips.usatoday.com/whale-watching-southern-california-12255.html

Something fun that can only be done in California and Mexico: stay up late and find a grunion run. Watch these silly little silver fish come onto the beach to mate and lay eggs. Fun
https://www.californiabeaches.com/grunion-run-schedule/

Have you been to Balboa Park? So many great museums and things to do there!
https://www.balboapark.org/

If you do go up to Laguna Beach, you should check out the tide pools. They are some of the best in the nation! Just make sure to check the tide schedule to get the best views. You want to go explore during low tide
http://www.visitlagunabeach.com/things-to-do/beaches/tide-pools/

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

Have you been to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park? DD and I both really enjoyed visiting. We did a lion tour and one of the safaris.

We also visited Universal where we did a VIP tour - that was a great way to visit in one day. We also enjoyed the WB tour - if you have Gilmore Girls, Harry Potter, or Back to the Future fans, I highly recommend this. I thought the Harry Potter exhibit was extremely well done. I was actually a little let down when I took the UK tour after visiting this one because I couldn't get as close to the memorabilia.

The El Capitan theater is great. If there is a good Disney movie out, it is definitely the place to see it. DD and I saw Finding Dory there.

You could also look for other performers in Hollywood while you are in town. We actually went to see DD's favorite YouTube comedians - Disney and all this other stuff were just add-ons!

 

[bcla]

El Capitan Theatre? Why not El Capitan?

 

[ktlm]

Have you been to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park? DD and I both really enjoyed visiting. We did a lion tour and one of the safaris.

We absolutely love the Safari Park! We were thinking about a return trip there, if we don't go in a different direction.

El Capitan Theatre? Why not El Capitan?

Wow!!! Probably a little farther than we want to drive, but that is absolutely gorgeous!

 

[bcla]

Wow!!! Probably a little farther than we want to drive, but that is absolutely gorgeous!

Yosemite is my favorite place to visit. If you haven't been there, it's nice enough to visit for maybe just two days. It might take about 6 hours to get there, but I think it's worth it.