We fell asleep to the occasional pop of fireworks like the end of a microwaveable bag of popcorn before it’s burned. Normally a heavy sleeper, I tossed from side to side in the gigantic hotel bed with a normal amount of anxiety about not only waking up on time for the first flight out but also for just flying in general. We love to travel, but hadn’t taken a big trip like this one for a few years and a million little sticky note reminders flashed through my trip planner’s working memory like slides clicking on an old projector screen. I don’t remember when I fell asleep but I seemed to just naturally awake before the alarm sounded. Relieved, I began my morning ritual, grateful that we decided to stay in Chicago the night of July 4th instead of waking an hour earlier to drive in. 

Navigating O’Hare airport for us is like going through the motions on auto-pilot on our home turf. While too early for Garrett Popcorn, we settled into a comfortable stroll from parking to TSA until we reached our gate. I still admire the miraculous invention of air travel that after just four hours in the air we were driving through San Diego at 9:30 am Pacific time. This was the farthest southwest we’ve ever been and the surrounding environment instantly hit us with the feeling of visiting a new place. Just above the U.S.-Mexico border, the climate was a surprisingly breezy 65 degrees with a wide array of desert plants and palm trees surrounding us. 

First stop, Old Town State Historic Park, the reconstructed settlement of Spanish colonization in San Diego. The park recognizes the first peoples of Kumeyaay with a native plant garden to those who lived in what was known as Kosa’aay and migrated between the ocean and mountains gathering seafood, and acorns for their necessities. It was intriguing to see such large succulent plants and cacti growing everywhere along with western birds like the Anna’s hummingbird dipping in and out of flowers. 

We were interested in the old buildings like the first San Diego newspaper and adobe brick homes made by the Spanish soldiers and Mexican residents along with handmade pottery made by local artists built on a massive scale. However, it was disappointing that Old Town was more or less a tourist trap with vendors selling cheaply made trinkets and San Diego apparel everywhere we turned in the state park. I would have liked more information and less commerce in the site of the city’s history.

San Diego was a very drivable city with hourly street parking available everywhere we went. It would have been difficult for us to do the activities we set out to do without the convenience of a rental car. We also saved money by reserving our hotel 20 minutes north of the downtown area in El Cajon. 

If there was one place we kept coming back to in our four days of travel it was Balboa Park. Much like NYC’s Central Park or Chicago’s Millennium or Lincoln Park, Balboa felt like the cultural heart of San Diego. While we were recommended to visit the San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park, we just didn’t feel like seeing another zoo for a $70 per person price tag. What we found instead were unique museums like the Comic Con and the Museum of Us along with walking a loop of gardens and an artist village. 

Balboa Park is not just a place for visitors like Old Town as there are many community events such as free organ concerts at the outdoor pavilion every Sunday afternoon and twilight concerts featuring local musicians. Balboa Park is also home to the Youth Symphony Orchestra, the San Diego Civic Dance, Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theater, Youth Ballet, Junior Theatre, and the Old Globe that features three theaters including an outdoor theater with seats in-the-round inspired by Shakespeare’s Globe theater. 

We were captivated by the Spanish Village Art Center in Balboa Park designed in the style of an early 20th-century old village in Spain. Immersed by the brightly painted concrete tiles and colorful awnings that hang from quaint buildings, the art village felt like following the yellow-brick road to the land of Oz. Home to over 200 local artists’ studios, the village was a thriving heartbeat of the city with community art classes and artists demonstrating works in progress. The Spanish Village Art Center is also home to community groups such as the Painters Guild, Art Glass Guild, Potters Guild, and the Sculptors Guild among others. Gallery spaces in the rustic buildings provide artists with the opportunity to sell their work to the crowds of people that mill about the trails from the zoo and park gardens each day as if an Art Fair is happening year round. 

Finally, San Diego is home to a U.S. Naval base with roots since the 1920’s when Liberty Station welcomed its first recruits to the Naval Training Center. With the end of the Cold War, Liberty Station transitioned from a training center to city ownership as a site for history, commerce, and the arts. While the Navy is still active on the San Diego base, the former training center at Liberty Station is now an arts district. We arrived at Liberty Station a little early for our dinner reservation and were pleasantly surprised to see an Art and Music festival happening in the square along with a lively Stone brewery, art museums, galleries, and unique shops.

We enjoyed a hilarious show called “All Hands on Deck” by the Mockingbird Improv Company after dinner that presents free performances on a weekly basis as a nonprofit community organization. Liberty Station hasn’t erased its history and we admired model ship dioramas in the Nautical History Museum built by Navy veteran and artisan, Joe Frangiosa, who hand built each of the displays. The U.S.S. Midway aircraft carrier docked in San Diego’s harbor is also a living museum of Naval history that is quite a sight to behold. We spent our last couple hours before our flight walking along the shore of Seaport Village where fishermen sold tuna from the boat just two miles away from the airport. 

The fair weather, delicious food, and adventurous hiking that we experienced over a short period made San Diego one of my favorite places that we’ve ever visited. The city is rich in the arts and cultural history that make this tourist destination feel more like a community to the people who visit and those who call it home. While there is more to come from our stories of  San Diego adventures by the Game Changers, we hope to come back to this city to visit one day.