SAN DIEGO, CA

I had high expectations for this country's city-with-the-best-climate, remembering it as cleaner, less congested, and more interesting than the much larger Los Angeles to the north. To be truthful we were somewhat disappointed by our stay there, though last minute visits to the museums in Balboa Park, and dinner in the Hillcrest district stimulated a welcome upgrade to our initial ratings. Smog seems to be as much of a problem here as in LA. The city has no true center, and has been chopped up by criss-crossing freeways as intrusive as those of LA. Navigating around the city was a challenge, and the city seems to have no "soul". In its favor La Jolla is still pretty and impressively wealthy, Balboa Park is marvelous, and the beaches are, of course, quite wonderful, as is the harbor. We did make our visit to the maximum security prison for world fauna--the San Diego Zoo--but I came away as depressed as I am by other zoos. The animals look lifeless or neurotic, and the physical facility is quite rundown compared to my memories from the 60s. Best thing there are the walkways and plantings. We stayed in a hotel on Shelter Island, but might have preferred to be in the Hillcrest section or Gaslight District. Old Town, which I remembered as quaint and fun, just seemed a Disney joke this time. Our side trip to Tijuana (see next map site) was interesting, but ruined by the border crossing issues.

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