Summer is here and that means thousands of visitors are descending upon San Diego County. Maybe you will host some of them, so it’s the perfect time to acquire a copy of David Swanson’s “100 Things to Do in San Diego Before You Die, 3rd Edition.”
The 146-page softcover is a guide to the area’s known and not-so-known destinations, including restaurants and entertainment venues.
Even if you’ve lived “here for five or 10 years,” Swanson said in a phone interview, “you’ll pick up the book and say: ‘I didn’t know about that. Oh, I didn’t know about that…’”
A third-generation San Diegan and veteran travel writer, whose work appears in the Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald and National Geographic Traveler, among others, Swanson has “watched San Diego grow and mature into a world-class destination. Since 1995…it’s been my fortune to be able to explore amazing cities and countries around the world, but it has also provided me the perspective to recognize what’s wonderful about coming home.”
With all the tourist attractions that San Diego offers, it’s easy to forget that, as Swanson points out, the city is the oldest European settlement on the West Coast.
You can bring this point home with an area history tour that includes:
- The site of the Presidio, once home to the indigenous Kumeyaay people, that became, on July 16, 1769, Spain’s first stake in California.
- Mission Basilica San Diego De Alcalá, the first of California’s 21 missions and still an active parish.
- Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, with its grassy plaza and historic buildings.
- Point Loma, with the 1855 lighthouse and breathtaking views from 422-foot-high Cabrillo National Monument. The panorama includes the vast Pacific, aka Gray Whale Highway, the harbor, Coronado Island, various military installations, and the hills of Mexico. The visitors center chronicles the exploits of Portuguese explorer Juan Rodriquez Cabrillo, who sailed into the bay in 1542.
My favorite least-known attractions are the murals of Chicano Park, and for North County visitors, the Mission San Luis Rey complex in Oceanside that includes the exquisitely renovated church, serene cemetery, museum, and the quiet, verdant grounds.
Swanson originally was recruited to write the second edition of “100 Things,” published in early 2020 just as COVID-19 surfaced and travel tanked. But with this catastrophe came a silver lining.
“It was originally written with out-of-towners in mind,” Swanson said, “but the pandemic uprooted what we were doing. Staycations became a thing. People were using the book to rediscover the city they lived in. It was nice to get feedback that said that (the book) had value.”
With current high gas prices and soaring costs of plane tickets, staycations may be a thing again. Besides the county’s well-known attractions — Sea World, San Diego Zoo and Safari Park, Legoland and La Jolla — Swanson’s guide includes some lesser-known gems: Living Coast Discovery Center on South Bay’s Sweetwater Marsh; Palomar Observatory atop 5,598-foot Palomar Mountain; the Public Market and Arts District at Liberty Station (formerly Naval Training Base San Diego); and the small-but-mighty (and free) Timken Museum of Art in Balboa Park.
Another freebie (and two-fer): The unique and austere architecture of Salk Institute, and next door, Torrey Pines Gliderport. And a North County gem: the 37-acre San Diego Botanic Garden in Encinitas, with its rich collection of worldwide succulents, bamboo, trees and plants; four miles of trails; an 8,000-square-foot glass conservatory; and a multi-tiered, 60-foot-high waterfall that anchors the garden’s rainforest.
Best time for locals to enjoy all our county has to offer?
“I love the fall,” Swanson said. “That’s when the weather is the best. The days are warm, the water is warm, and there is little rainfall. That’s when the tourists clear out.”
Happy 257th birthday, San Diego.
