(upbeat music)
- Hey guys, this is Will from Going Awesome Places.
And you know,
one of my favorite
cities in the United States is San Diego.
Here's some of my favorite places
you just have to check out.
Our first stop along the way
is the famous San Diego Zoo.
Alright, let's go.
Located on a hundred acres of Balboa Park,
this is one of the best zoos that I've ever been to
and it features animals from around the world.
It really allows you to get up close and personal
with the animals that you want to see.
Now, because it's a large park,
the zoo's actually broken up into different geographical
and climate related regions from around the world.
So as you're walking through the park
you get to really see the diverse changes
of species and animals.
The zoo is absolutely family friendly
and features a really convenient transportation system
and guided bus tour that takes you around the park.
Not to mention they also have the Skyfari,
which is a gondola that can take you
from one end of the park to the other.
I think a lot of you will have to agree with me here
that the USS Midway
is probably the most impressive thing about San Diego.
Now this is a super carrier
that was commissioned,
actually just after the end of World War II.
But it definitely saw a lot of action since then.
Now whether you like the military or not,
this is a highly interactive museum
that gives you a chance to talk to veterans,
to see planes in action,
to jump into a cockpit
and just roam around the deck of the aircraft carrier.
♪ Goodness gracious great balls of fire ♪
- [Will] On the deck,
you'll also hear directly
from veterans just how planes took off and landed
on a carrier like this.
What you can't miss is the guided island tour.
Now this is the structure that sits above the ship,
and where the command center is located.
So sit on the captain's chair,
learn about things like aero-operations and navigation,
and see the bridge itself.
Oh and we thought we were done,
but there was so much more
below deck to see with exhibits like
the chow line, the chapel, ward room,
sick bay, engineering, and so much more.
Just remember it's a really big ship,
so account for four to five hours here.
Now next up is Seaport Village.
And this is really just a walk away
from the Midway along the water.
What's really great about this place
is that it's filled with great restaurants
and shops if you want to pick up souvenirs.
I always come here for a quick lunch stop.
There's always something happening
and it's also a great place for Ben and Jerry's.
Another place that you can't miss is La Jolla.
Now La Jolla is a seaside,
picturesque village
just north of San Diego
and it's completely different from the city.
It's laid back, it's artistic, it's upscale.
It has a culinary focus
and it's absolutely just beautiful.
It's great for a date night or,
as a traveler,
coming here for a stroll and really exploring the town.
As you walk along the coast,
make sure you keep your eyes peeled
and listen for the grunts and growls
of sea lions that make La Jolla
their home half the year.
We could have easily spent hours just watching them
on the shore.
We made sure we stayed a night here
and loved our stay at the Pantai Inn.
Now a great way to see San Diego
is actually by boat.
And so with Hornblower Cruises
you get a chance to combine site seeing
and wild life watching with this narrated
family friendly one or two hour experience
around San Diego Bay.
You start off right be San Diego harbor
right near the USS Midway.
And you make your way around San Diego Bay.
Key features, highlights and sites
and pointed out to you through the audio guide.
You'll be sure to spot sea lions on the platform here.
And if you didn't think that San Diego
had a large Navy presence
you'll definitely notice it on this cruise.
Conveniently located beside
the Hornblower and the Midway
is the Maritime Museum of San Diego.
What you're looking at here's the Star of India
which is the oldest active iron hulled merchant ship
in the world which is really,
really cool to see.
From sail we move on to submarine and we go into
the depths of a Foxtrot Soviet submarine which has
an interactive exhibit talking about the cold war
and the Cuban missile crises.
There's more sail boats to check out
before we go inside the Berkeley which si a steam boat
that houses most of the museum's artifacts.
Before closing things out on the USS Dolphin
a research submarine.
And welcome to Bro-Am!
- My friends welcome to my favorite day of the year!
(crowd cheering)
We got people from all over the world here today.
So for the locals
that live right here in San Diego
let's give 'em a warm 'round
of applause and they're welcome.
(upbeat rock music)
Why do we do what we do?
Love alone.
Eh yeah!
I want to hear you sing it like this.
♪ Oh ah oh ah oh ♪
- There's no better representation
for the City of San Diego than my favorite band Switchfoot.
And so once a year they host
an incredible event called Bro-Am
on Moonlight Beach in Encinitas.
And this is a chance for the community to come out
to support a really great cause
for at risk youth and is packed with activities
including surf competition, surf jousting
that you saw earlier and lots of bands
on the stage including Switchfoot.
(loud rock music)
(audience cheering)
Now if you've seen San Diego by water
then you definitely need to see it by land
and that's where Old Town Trolley Tours comes into play.
This is similar to a hop on and hop off
bus experience with pick up points
and drop off points all around the city.
But what makes it different is really in the driver.
This is somebody that is giving real life
engaging commentary and what I loved about the various
drivers that we had were that
they were full of jokes,
full of stories and full of knowledge for everything
you need to know in the city
as you were driving by.
Having done a lot of the city
already our first stop was Balboa Park.
Balboa Park is simply incredible.
Occupying 1,200 acres
and overlooking downtown San Diego
this is a place and it's gonna sound like a mouthful,
15 major museums,
performing arts venues,
lovely gardens,
the San Diego zoo which we went to already.
It is seriously the largest urban cultural park
in the USA.
And that's why I say
it's another must visit in San Diego.
We waited for our Old Town Trolley
at the designated spot which took us around
for another tour around the city
before ultimately taking us
into Gaslamp Quarters.
Now if you're looking for
the most happening spot in San Diego,
you've come to the right place.
Right by the San Diego convention center
and Petco Park you got a ton of food options,
shopping options,
and entertainment options all in one spot.
One restaurant that we really loved was Werewolf
And they served up the most
incredible pork belly eggs Benedict.
And that's why I love San Diego.
Well I hope you guys enjoyed this video
of all my favorite spots in the city.
Make sure you subscribe,
hit that bell and like.
But anyways this is Will from Going Awesome Places
and I'll see you guys next time.
Ah. (yelling)
- That's weird but okay.