San Diego

     Greetings audience! It's Stephen Gaiber: The Autistic Traveler, and in this blog we're going to discuss my most recent getaway to San Diego. It's a well-known city in way south of California. I think San Diego has a lot to offer, such as theme parks (SeaWorld and Legoland in Carlsbad), Balboa Park and its museums, activities in downtown such as the Gaslamp district and the USS Midway, beaches such as La Jolla, Pacific and Mission Beach, and lots of activities for everyone. My personal opinion is that if you're looking for many tourist attractions paired with activities for the entire family, San Diego is your best choice. Now let's talk about some of the history of San Diego.

    Alonzo Erastus Horton got off a San Francisco streamer and strolled ashore in 1867. He was a worldwide traveler such as myself and felt that he had never saw anything more pretty. Though he wasn't nearly the first person to visit San Diego, he was the biggest real estate influence in San Diego. Alonzo Horton had a lot of influence in making San Diego what it is today, such as by creating jobs that helped stimulate tourism in San Diego. Centuries earlier, the area had belonged to the Southern California costal region's first Americans, known as San Dieguitos. The San Dieguitos were descended from Asians that crossed the land bridge in the Bering Strait in search of game, and from others who moved over the Sierra Nevadas and down the Pacific slope. Not unlike the modern Californians, they always found the best places to live. Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo was the first European to come, not to colonize San Diego but to find a northwest passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. I feel very inspired by a lot of the people who made San Diego what it is today, especially Horton since we both love to travel around the world, dream a lot, and make our dreams a reality when we find something we're passionate about. This is some of the brief history -- for more information, please visit http://www.sandiegomagazine.com/San-Diego-Magazine/San-Diego-Covered/San-Diego-History/.

     For those interested in saving money and still do the activities they want to do, one should explore the Go San Diego Card. I've talked about activity savings cards before, so I'll just elaberate on the Go San Diego Card. It's pretty much an all inclusive activity pass, where you can do as many activities as one can go to. One can do activities all around San Diego County. Those activities include the musuems at Balboa Park, San Diego Zoo, Belmont Park, Birch Aquarium, Legoland, San Diego Harbor Cruise, Legoland, Petco Park Tour, USS Midway Museum, San Diego Zoo Safari Park as well as many others. If one decides to get the 3, 5, or 7 day pass, they can get a premium attraction such as Seaworld, 3 Day Hop On and Hop Off Trolly, and Speed Boat Adventures. If YOU decide to leave San Diego and explore Orange County or Hollywood, some of the attractions included are Knotts Berry Farm, Knotts Soak City, a Whale Watching and Dolphin Cruise, Hollywood Museum, and Tour of the Dolby Theater. This is an excellent pass for those who want an all inclusive pass. For more information, please visit https://www.smartdestinations.com/san-diego-attractions-and-tours/_d_Sdo-p1.html?pass=Sdo_Prod_Go&allInc=true.

     One of the most notable parts of San Diego is Balboa Park, which has beautiful architecture as well as many different museums. I feel it's an excellent park that one can explore for the entire day, and it's also very close to Downtown San Diego. Some of the museums in Balboa Park include the Museum of Man, San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego Natural History Museum, and many others. They are plentiful, but very small and easy to do. It's easy to spend less than 30 minutes in each museum. My favorite is the art museum because of how nice the art looks. The most famous part of Balboa Park is the San Diego Zoo. The zoo hosts 3,700 animals across 650 species. The zoo has expanded throughout the years, including with the Panda Trek in 2017, which can require patience due to long lines. Other exhibits in the zoo include Elephant Odyssey, Gorilla Tropics, Outback, and African Rocks, which opened last summer. I even hung with King Julien from Madagascar, who likes to "move it, move it." Also feel free to take a gondola from one part of the zoo to the other. If you are a zoo lover, this is a zoo you should check out. Please visit my video about the San Diego Zoo at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4CLOI0jXOI

     Well, San Diego is an excellent place to go for tourism, museums, the beach, and more. It's a big county with a lot to see from north to south to east to west. If you are an active person, you should get the Go San Diego Card. I hope you will experience why San Diego is a unique place to visit, and I look forward to sharing more adventures with YOU soon.