How far is San Diego from DLR?

[cirquelover]

Please help me, I'm freaking out!

We leave for a business trip and then a vacation in four days and now my husband just called and says three/five days after we get home we have to leave for San Diego/La Mesa(?) area.
How far is that from Disneyland? How long would it take to drive? And how is the drive?

The worst part is that puts us there from May 1 to May 12 and I think that will be a very busy time. I doubt if I could get a room for the kid and I during most of that time period but I know we will be looking to go to DLR. It looks to far to drive up for the day and then go back.

Any great ideas of what to do in San Diego? I know about Seaworld and the zoo, but I haven't been there in twenty years.

Thank you so much for any advice you can give, you guys/ galsare the greatest :snap:

[Ghoulish Delight]

As with all things here, it depends on when you're leaving. If you are motivated and get up bright and early on a weekend (like, say, on the road by 8), it would be under 2 hours from La Mesa (maybe a little more if you don't drive like me). That can easily inflate to 4 hours if you go during rush hour. Moderate traffic, say on a weekend afternoon, I'd say maybe 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

In addition to the Zoo, there's the Wild Animal Park. There's old town. Downtown makes for a nice day. It's right by the water where you can get tours of old merchant sailing ships.

Forgot to add...it's totally doable in a day. The drive back at night will be a breeze.

[Ponine]

GD's pretty spot on.
I live in La Mesa, and on a good day I can make it to DLR in 90 minutes leaving fairly early, and driving quickly.
Two hours is a safe bet, barring accidents and rush hour traffic.

I've never had issues on the drive home at all. It's always been on the way up.
If you'll be doing the sightseeing thing, look into the City pass, I dont know the pricing, but i've seen it at Costco, and DLR. Seems that in a 14 day period you pay one price and get into DLR, the SD ZOO, the SD Wild AP, Sea world... Darkbeer might know specifics on that.

How old is your son? Mine's 6 1/2.
We've also got a funky little nature preserve down south of us, with a manta ray pool; lots of things to see in Balboa park. Jot me a pm.. we'll compare notes.
You will spend an entire day at any of the three major sd attractions easy. Old town would make for a whole other day on top of that... I'm rambling... just holler.

[Ghoulish Delight]

SD Wild AP, Got that right. Those APers from SD are outta control. ;)

[Ponine]

Got that right. Those APers from SD are outta control. ;)
Well, some of us locals tend to call it the WAP, and that sounded even worse, and I wasnt in the mood to type San Diego Wild Animal Park... as it was, it took me three tries just then to spell it right.
;)

[cirquelover]

Thanks for the help.

He just sent me an email and it looks like we will be in Mira Mesa, I have no idea where that is, he says San Diego area. I'm off to look it up!
Thanks GD!

[BarTopDancer]

Mira Mesa is nice. There is an original Ferrals there still. YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!! You'll be pretty close to the zoo and the WAP and it won't be a terrible drive to Anaheim. I think you'll be able to take the 5 straight up.

[cirquelover]

Ooo, Ferrells ice cream is great.

That may be the perfect idea for the boys birthday, if we can't make it to DL that day. Thanks BTD!

[DisneyDaniel]

There's also LEGOLAND California (http://www.legoland.com) in Carlsbad (North County San Diego), about 30 minutes north-west of Mira Mesa.

[Motorboat Cruiser]

There is an original Ferrals there still.

It is the only Farrells left, unfortunately. Glad it is still there though, or at least it was a few months ago.

[Name]

MIra Mesa is about 90 miles from DLR...I'm basing this off of the fact that I am about 100 miles from DLR, and Mira Mesa is about 10 miles from me(north of me) Heading norht or south, off peak hours, the Del Mar area will be the biggest bottleneck(at least in my experience has always been the slowest traffic), but you shouldn't be any more then 1.5 to 2 hours away from the park in Mira Mesa(rush hour times will vary).

[Claire]

Mira Mesa is nice. There is an original Ferrals there still. YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!! You'll be pretty close to the zoo and the WAP and it won't be a terrible drive to Anaheim. I think you'll be able to take the 5 straight up.

Went there for two birthdays! When I turned six and again when I turned 18!! :snap: I went to Sea World on both those days as well! Nerdly, or what?

Enjoy!! I love the Mission Bay area....we stayed a week at The Catamaran last time we were there (five years ago). It was awesome. Fish tacos for breakfast, lunch and dinner in that area.....;)

I love downtown and the shops on the waterfront. We also had the most amazing seafood dinner....twice....nearish the shops, but not exactly in that area....what is that little area called? It's a bit touristy, but we always enjoy for some reason....habit, I guess.

I also have been obsessed with the Hotel Del Coronado since I can remember. I think it's worth a drive out there to Coronado to see it.

Also....fun for others, notsomuch for me (former Coast Guard brat), is a trip to see the Naval yards. The ships are so overwhelmingly huge and there are so many. We don't have anything like it in Oregon, not by a long shot!

San Diego is on my short list of desirable places to live, BTW. Enjoy!!! :)

[Claire]

Oh--They had an okay-sized FAO Schwartz in the mall downtown.....my kids loved it, as they'd never seen an FAO before. I'm not sure if it's still there though.

[Ghoulish Delight]

If you like aquariums, Scripps is very nice.

[Motorboat Cruiser]

Balboa park is very nice. Besides the zoo, there are some good museums to check out. It's a cool relaxing place to hang.

[cirquelover]

Thanks everyone!

Now I'm looking up all the places you suggest, as I won't have much time in between trips. I am seeing a huge amount of museums in my searches. They even have a special museum ticket that gets you into a bunch of different ones for quite a discount, I'll have to check further into that.

To top it off I'm trying to figure out how to be more "girlie" so I don't embarass my husband in Las Vegas. I have a hard time matching clothes, shoes, makeup and don't get me started on hair!! I don't know how you beautiful ladies do it!

You are all wonderful, Thank you so much!

[BarTopDancer]

Balboa park rocks! If your son is into space or planes the Air & Space museum is not to be missed. If you have AAA most of the places have discounts.

There is also a very nice outdoor shopping mall called Fashion Valley located off the 163 and Friars Rd.

And in Vegas, if you have the time, the Shark Experience at Mandalay Bay is amazing.

To top it off I'm trying to figure out how to be more "girlie" so I don't embarass my husband in Las Vegas. I have a hard time matching clothes, shoes, makeup and don't get me started on hair!! I don't know how you beautiful ladies do it!

Hehe. I'm sure the fashionistas will be happy to help you :)

The most important thing is to be comfortable in what you're wearing. If you're not comfortable in frilly girlie outfits it'll show through. And in Vegas you'll see everything from frumpy to exotic.

[cirquelover]

My husbands conference just happens to be at the Mandalay Bay, so it would be easy to go to the shark experience! Thanks for the reccommendation. I also plan on hitting the Monet exhibit at the Bellagio and may hit the Guggenheim at Venetian too!

I understand what you mean about it showing through, last time I bought an old fashioned Sakk's dress, had my hair done and was in all my finery. When I hit the Bellagio for O I was feeling good, but the rich older ladies picked me out as a phony right from the start. They were actually mean and made nasty comments! The next night I just went out in my little black dress, nothing fancy again!! I just can't pull it off!!

[Ponine]

Also....fun for others, notsomuch for me (former Coast Guard brat), is a trip to see the Naval yards. The ships are so overwhelmingly huge and there are so many. We don't have anything like it in Oregon, not by a long shot!

i'm with Claire on this one. The catch here, is that your son might like to see the ships, and there's a way to do that. :)
Seaport village is a nice little mall, across the street from Kansas city bbq where they filmed the bar scene in top gun, and a mere short walk away from some of the navy ships.
You dont have to go all the way to the ship yard and its a nice little excursion.

[Name]

mmmmmmmm, Balboa Park, I'm going there this afternoon actually. One of my classes has an assignment where I have to visit an art musuem and write about a piece of art. Damn the bad luck. I'm a member of the Musuem of Art in Balboa Park, so this is a breeze assignment, just gives me an excuse to visit my favorite musuem, like I need one.

In the Seaport village area, you can visit and take a tour of the USS Midway as well. Then hop on over to The Fish Market next to the Midway for a fabulous lunch or dinner. My parents took one of the SD Bay tours when they came out to visit me, and said it was a good time, got to see the navy piers and a pretty up close look of the ships. Didn't excite me too much, I was in the navy at the time and saw the ships up close all the time, but may be worth looking into.

[Not Afraid]

The next night I just went out in my little black dress, nothing fancy again!! I just can't pull it off!!

You cannot go wrong with The Little Black Dress! (But, I'm slightly partial to black in general.)

[cirquelover]

I'm feeling too old for the "little" part of the dress right now. I will go with my longer black dress, I was actually married in it!
Most of my clothes are black also. So I decided to make it easier on myself and just wear black the whole time except for a few accents.
The hardest part is planning to be in two different climates in 10 days! Capri pants for Vegas and sweaters for Montreal I guess. Let alone now I'm planning this next trip!!

[BarTopDancer]

My husbands conference just happens to be at the Mandalay Bay, so it would be easy to go to the shark experience!

I could spend all day in there. But I love sharks and marine life in general. I think it's $15 for adults and $10 for kids. It's a self guided tour and they have staff around to answer questions (and guard the pirana tank... I got the guy to put his finger in there!). They have different types of fish, and some other animals. It's amazing. And of course sharks. Lots of sharks. No Great Whites (the only one that was in captivity recently was in Monterey Bay and she was just released) but I think theres a Mako or 2 and some other pretty big sharks.

May I also recommend the champaign brunch at the Belliago if you are there on a Sunday, and the seafood buffet at the Rio if you like seafood. And I'm partial to the Coyote Ugly for dancing. :cute:

Have fun!

[AllyOops!]

What a coincidence! This Texan born, Los Angeles bred girlie is in the middle of packin' her stuff and movin' to San Diego! :)

In fact, the only reason I'm online is because I'm at my brother's pad. My DSL was cut on Monday evening.

I love the city, although I'm a beach bunny at heart. :) My stay in San Diego, however, will be temporary. I'm thinking I would like to make the OC my home.

San Diego is lots of fun, and so pretty! The shopping is pretty fantastic fabulous, too! I just love how friendy the people are.

Enjoy! Have a wonderful time! :)

[Name]

What a coincidence! This Texan born, Los Angeles bred girlie is in the middle of packin' her stuff and movin' to San Diego! :)
Welcome to Sunny Sandy Eggo....

[AllyOops!]

Welcome to Sunny Sandy Eggo....

Aww! Thank you! :) (I love that- Sandy Eggo! :D ) :cheers:

[CoasterMatt]

I guess we'll have to have margaritas somewhere other than Casa Vega...

[CoasterMatt]

The Giant Dipper at Belmont Park is a fun wooden roller coaster, definitely one of my favorite spots in San Diego - especially when you convince the scared first timer next to you that if they don't hang on, they'll fly across the street and land in the Jack In The Box parking lot...

[AllyOops!]

I guess we'll have to have margaritas somewhere other than Casa Vega...

Oh, we're still having maggies (no salt on mine!) at Casa Vega! I love Los Angeles, and I'll still be visiting a whole bunch! :)

Of course, we can also have them in Anaheim, Sandy Eggo, and hey! Mexico! Authentic, and next door to me! :D :cheers: ;)

[Morrigoon]

cirquelover: don't sweat the outfits in Lost Wages... people there are in all manners of dress and undress. You could walk around in a torn t-shirt and nobody'd really care. But don't tell your hubby that if you're really onto this shopping thing ;)

[Ponine]

What a coincidence! This Texan born, Los Angeles bred girlie is in the middle of packin' her stuff and movin' to San Diego! :) :)
Wait wait.. you know if we live in the same city and dont meet, there's hell to pay, yes? ;)

(You do not have kids, right? So we cant hang while kids do kid stuff... We'll have to work around that)

[MouseWife]

The Giant Dipper at Belmont Park is a fun wooden roller coaster, definitely one of my favorite spots in San Diego - especially when you convince the scared first timer next to you that if they don't hang on, they'll fly across the street and land in the Jack In The Box parking lot...

Oh, that is sooo cruel.

Ally~ how cool! Well, you are coming to San Diego when it is really starting to get busy! A new House of Blues is opening up next month, a Hard Rock Hotel is also opening, the Ballpark and it's surrounding activities are a lot of fun {MickeyD, do you 'do' the ballpark?}, and so many restaurants! I still love Buca de Beppos'. But, I can't wait for the HOB to open up.

Dinner at Old Town on a summer night, either down in the town {Casa de Bandini} or up on the hill {the Acapulco Restaurant has a beautiful view}.

It would be cool to have a meet around here at some point.... :cool:

[Ponine]

Well I second all of the above, but if the rumors are true and Casa De Pico will be in Grossmont Center... that'll be great for me, as it's close.. but how totally wierd.

Where's the HOB going in?

[Claire]

Doh! :eek: Ally's moving to San Diego??? :confused: Have fun!!! :) I loooove it there!

Seaport Village....that's the place with all the touristy shops I like. I normally hate places like that, but for some reason I've always loved it there!

I wish I could remember the name of the seafood restaurant on the waterfront nearish Seaport Village....it's not part of the village area.....it's a little bit further away and on the waterfront. I have had many many seafood meals in my lifetime as a girl living on the coast (Pacific, Atlantic, Gulf) and I tell you, the two meals I had at this place were superior!!! So excellent!! :snap: My husband still talks about the dish we had the first time we were there, and my mom found the place again two years ago and had her second excellent meal there.

Now it's going to drive me crazy.......must go Google....

[Not Afraid]

Claire, I think the seafood restaurant is called Anthony's and there is a more elegant/upscale restaurant attached to it called Star of the Sea. Both a nummy.

[Claire]

I think it's Anthony's Fish Grotto.....damn. Now I'm hungry!!! :rolleyes:

http://www.gofishanthonys.com/grottoabout.html

[Claire]

That IS it, because there is the little take-out place in front attached to the restaurant. That's the right link! Yahoo!!! :snap: Mystery solved! It's one of those places I can get to and know it when I see it, and that's how my mom found it last time.....she remembered where it was, not what it was called!

[Name]

It;s either Anthony's or its the Fish Market......I've never been to Anthony's but the Fish Market http://www.thefishmarket.com/san_diego.htm is really good, and its a great place to get some fish to take home and grill.

[MouseWife]

Well I second all of the above, but if the rumors are true and Casa De Pico will be in Grossmont Center... that'll be great for me, as it's close.. but how totally wierd.

Where's the HOB going in?

Hey Ponine~ Just got back on.

The HOB is going downtown on 5th Ave. Are you familiar with the older downtown? Well, what is cool is that they are putting it in the old Woolworths' building. I am so anxious to see what it is like. We used to always go to Woolworths' when downtown. Two floors, second being a basement. It looks no where near complete but they have a lot of shows booked and a few sold out {Audioslave {which I am going to}, Queens of the Stone Age {which I am going to try and win tickets or E-bay some maybe} and a Blues Brothers band with Dan Ackroyd and Jim Belushi}.

You know, ladies, NA you are right about the Star of the Sea/Anthony's but there is also a different, not new but not as old as SOTS/A, about halfway between SOTS/A and Seaport Village. You hit SOTS/A by going straight down Broadway and hitting Harbor Drive. I think you make a right turn and it is there.

Oh, just re-read Names post, Fishmarket is left when you hit Harbor Drive. Left is also heading towards Seaport.