Fun on free Tuesday (Balboa park)

Balboa park is a great place to walk around, but the real attraction for most folks is the zoo and many museums. As far as we know there's no way to get into the zoo for free (legally). But every Tuesday, a subset of the park museums are open to San Diego residents, on a rotating basis. See here a list of which museums will be free next. Unfortunately for non-SanDiegans, almost all museums require a photo ID (with address) to prove you really are local (local college IDs also count). 

We like to visit all the free museums when we go, but there are some which we are more enthusiastic about. Alan's favorite is the San Diego Museum of Art, followed closely by the Museum of Photographic Arts. Both have traveling exhibits with some frequency, so there is reason to visit multiple times a year. When you visit the SDMA, be sure to check out the humming bird exhibit, which can be seen halfway up the main stairs opposite the entrance. You'll need to look out the window, as the birds in question are live and wild. Actually, you can check them out any day of the week if you walk around the back of the building, (slowly).

Jymm especially likes the Mingei International Museum. This museum features folk artists from around the world who work in various mediums. The art featured there is always interesting and colorful, and there is the added interest of having to decide which benches are for sitting and which are for looking at! Second on her list is the museum of photographic arts -- oops, Alan already claimed that one... I mean the Museum of San Diego History, although this one might only appeal to those with an interest in history in general. There is one room that is set up to resemble an old school department store which is particularly cool. Her favorite part of the history museum is actually available for anyone to look at- there is a mural of the history of Balboa Park itself on the wall outside of the museum entrance (near the bathrooms). Keep an eye out for the picture of Queen Zorine being kidnapped by a robot.

Other notable museums include:

• Reuben H. Fleet Science Center- where you can get a preview of what you would see if you went to the Exploratorium in San Fran
• The Air and Space Museum - where they've mounted and stuffed all of your favorite birds of a (metal) feather.
• The Natural History Museum - where science becomes art. Also, be sure to check out the giant fig tree outside the entrance.
• The Automotive Museum - more fun than you'd think.

Lake Hodges/ San Dieguito River Park

Mere inches from I-15 there is a surprisingly isolated hiking area. There are a couple trails in this area; we hiked the North shore trail. Though it's officially 14 miles long, a significant part is closed, and at present we think it's only 4 miles.

The trailhead is in a large recreation area with bathrooms and picnic tables. The first 5 minutes of the trail parallels a road, without much shoulder to walk on, but the pleasantness of the remaining walk makes it worthwhile.

After a five minute walk you come upon the most exciting feature of this hike, which is the bridge pictured here. It is a concrete suspension bridge open to pedestrians and bikers only. The view from the bridge is quite beautiful, though when we were there a stiff wind blew. Tie your hats and small children down tight!

The rest of the trail is a bit more pedestrian, but scenic in it's own stark, barren kind of way, with long vistas.The foliage is typical of San Diego, with lots of brush and not many trees. We were there right after a rain, which meant there were lots of pretty wildflowers. Your results will vary.

As soon as you get out of sight of the highway, the hike feels surprisingly isolated, with only the occasional house perched atop the hills. For the misanthropic among us, this is a great trail- we saw only a few people in the couple of hours we were hiking there.

Most of the trail was very flat, with the occasional steep spot. Don't take a wheelchair here, but pretty much any ambulator could do it.

Shade index: 1%.

Bathroom index: two actual bathrooms in the first half mile, nothing but scrub from thereon.

Trail info and map.

Busy Bee's Bagel & Bakery‎ in La Jolla

Their prices are about the same as Einstein's, but they don't even measure up to that lackluster standard in terms of taste. Their bagels taste like bread that's been shaped to look like a bagel. Not any better than what you could get at the freezer section in the grocery store. Heck, even Von's bakery tastes better than these!

Summary: Typical prices for a bakery, typical taste from the freezer.

Location: 6861 La Jolla Boulevard, La Jolla, CA 92037-6137