SanDiego or Santa Barbara?

palmer wrote in message ...
Hello,
I am planning a trip with my family (2 adult + 2 teenagers) to
California for next Aug.2004 from Europe.

We will spend 5 days in San Francisco area and then down to Santa
Barbara or San Diego (La Jolla)for other 5-7 days.

Where would it be better to lodge S.Barbara or S.Diego ?

Which area is more interesting of the two ?

We are looking for nice beaches and some place to visit (Parks,
museums,......)

Could somebody point me to a photo website of S.Barbara and/or S.Diego?

Thanks

I prefer Santa Barbara over San Diego, however, with teens, there is
more to keep them occupied in SD. That said, if they like discovering
the seashore and can be happy doing that for 5 days (I easily could as
a kid, and an adult!) SB may work well. You can kind of do a lot of
the same things in SD as you can in SB, but SB, being much smaller,
has a nicer pace to it, IMO.

I've lived in San Diego since 1968, but I've never been there. It is
quite a distance from downtown San Diego, I believe.

However, the Palomar Observatory was in the news last week when the
discovery of Sedna, the planetoid outside the orbit of Pluto, was
announced. Surprisingly, the researches used a 48-inch telescope, not
the 200-inch Palomar telescope.

I would think there must be a website for the Palomar Observatory.

DKM

On Fri, 26 Mar 2004 19:29:30 +0100, palmer
wrote:

Thanks for the good idea to split S.Barbara - S.Diego.

Actually we have been already to Sea World in a prev. trip where we
lodged in L.A. (you may guess we like California )
I was thinking to visit S.Diego/La Jolla and to take them to Mount Palomar.
Is the observatory interesting ?

Cheers

Palmer

brenda wrote:



Why not do both? 2 nights in Santa Barbara, which I think you & your
wife will enjoy more and 3 nights in San Diego, where I think the kids
would be happier. Santa Barbara has wonderful restaurants, shopping,
culture, the Mission, beaches & wine country.

San Diego is more teen-oriented - I personally like the zoo, I think
Balboa Park is fabulous, Old Town very interesting, Seaworld is always
fun, the Wild Animal Park is great, but it can get very hot in August,
La Jolla is wonderful and, of course, the beaches.


To contact me directly, send EMAIL to (single letters all)
DEE_KAY_EMM AT EarthLink.net. [For example .]

Doug McClure writes:
I would think there must be a website for the Palomar Observatory.

That's http://www.astro.caltech.edu/observatories/palomar/.

Basically you get to look at the 200-inch telescope through a window.
http://www.umich.edu/~lowbrows/refle...rnecki.13.html
is a nice account of a visit to the site.
--
Mark Brader "Never re-invent the wheel unnecessarily;
Toronto yours may have corners."
-- Henry Spencer

thomas goodwin wrote:
The North Carolina Zoo is vastly more interesting.
The exhibit areas are divided in continents, with North America and
Africa currently complete, and Australia opening this spring. Animal
enclosers are very large ---- the elephants have perhaps 100 acreas to
roam vs. a small pen in San Diego. The whole San Diego zoo is way too
cramped. I grew up in San Diego and enjoyed the zoo immensely as a
kid, maybe because adults were 50 cents, kids under 16 were free. Then
they started commercializing it. I haven't been there in about five
years .... have they changed the snake house since 1950?
tarheel tom

Thanks for that.

I like that idea of sectioning a zoo off into continents. Makes sense. As for
the snake house, I moved to San Diego in 1995, so I really can't say. Nex

On Fri, 26 Mar 2004 05:49:36 +0000 (UTC), Alan Pollock
wrote:

Seriously, both of you are so vague. Tell me what you like better at other
zoos, and/or what you don't like at the SD zoo. Specifically. It'd make for
more interesting posts, and folks intending to visit would get a better idea,
rather than relying on 'hey, it's over-rated, or 'not so good'. If you're
going to put a place down, at least say why.

Honi soit qui mal y pense, unless you explain. Nex

I didn't say I liked anything better at other zoos; I said, in
effect, I didn't think the San Diego zoo was any better than some
other zoos and not up to its own hype.

************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *

On Sat, 27 Mar 2004 03:31:04 +0000 (UTC), Alan Pollock
wrote:

thomas goodwin wrote:
The North Carolina Zoo is vastly more interesting.
The exhibit areas are divided in continents, with North America and
Africa currently complete, and Australia opening this spring. Animal
enclosers are very large ---- the elephants have perhaps 100 acreas to
roam vs. a small pen in San Diego. The whole San Diego zoo is way too
cramped. I grew up in San Diego and enjoyed the zoo immensely as a
kid, maybe because adults were 50 cents, kids under 16 were free. Then
they started commercializing it. I haven't been there in about five
years .... have they changed the snake house since 1950?
tarheel tom

Thanks for that.

I like that idea of sectioning a zoo off into continents. Makes sense. As for
the snake house, I moved to San Diego in 1995, so I really can't say. Nex

In that sense I'll throw in the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum here
in Tucson, filmed a while back by the BBC for a series on the ten
best zoos in the world. No pandas or koalas, but set the standard
for the sort of zoo that displays and elucidates the regionally
local fauna (and flora); sort of like the Monterey Bay Aquarium
does for the aquatic live of Monterey Bay. But I believe the
Desert Museum was the first to do this right.

************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *

Today I stumbled upon this website:

http://www.planetware.ca/photos/PHUSCA.HTM

This page indexes 540 photos of California, so take a look at some
Santa Barbara and San Diego sites.

DKM


On Thu, 25 Mar 2004 22:31:05 +0100, palmer
wrote:


Where would it be better to lodge S.Barbara or S.Diego ?

Which area is more interesting of the two ?

We are looking for nice beaches and some place to visit (Parks,
museums,......)

Could somebody point me to a photo website of S.Barbara and/or S.Diego?

Thanks

Palmer


To contact me directly, send EMAIL to (single letters all)
DEE_KAY_EMM AT EarthLink.net. [For example .]

palmer wrote:
Thanks for the good idea to split S.Barbara - S.Diego.

Actually we have been already to Sea World in a prev. trip where we
lodged in L.A. (you may guess we like California )
I was thinking to visit S.Diego/La Jolla and to take them to Mount Palomar.
Is the observatory interesting ?

Interesting, but not particularly exciting. You can view the scope from
a glass enclosed visitor's booth or gallery along one side of the
interior of the dome. You don't get anywhere near the scope itself, you
won't even see people looking through it, only setting it up
for the coming night's viewing.

But the drive to the observatory, and the rest of the mountain itself,
are pretty interesting and make a trip there worth the time. Palomar
Mountain has thick conifer forest, completely different from the
vegetation in most of SD county. The drive up on County Highway S6 is
seven miles of switchbacks with views at the higher elevations. There
are several hiking trails you can take, one from a Forest Service
campground just below the observatory up to the observatory itself,
about 2 miles. Other trails are in Palomar Mountain State Park, about
seven miles from the observatory, on County Highway S7, which intersects
S6 near the top of the climb.
http://www.palomar.statepark.org/aboutthepark.html

The Sivercrest Picnic Area has views from the edge of the mountain west
to the Pacific, on clear days. Down in the Doane Valley, there's a
short nature trail with a 500 year old incense cedar, probably the
largest tree on the mountain (there are no actual redwoods or sequoias
there). There's a full system of trails through the state park, so that
you can hike from the park entrance through the Silvercrest area, down
into Doane Valley and back up in a loop of about 5 or 7 miles.

If you really want a tour of all the varied ecosystems of San Diego
County, you could start from Torrey Pines State Reserve, a high mesa and
beach just north of La Jolla, with a rare pine tree and lots of
wildflowers in spring. http://www.torreypine.org/ A beautiful beach
with more to do than just lie in the sun.

From there, take S6 through Rancho Santa Fe, an exclusive, semi-rural
suburb with a four star French restaurant (Mille Fleurs). Then through
the city of Escondido, the more truly rural area of Valley Center, the
Rincon Indian Reservation and up Palomar Mountain. After checking out
the moutain, head down on S7 (away from the State Park), around the east
side of the mountain to pick up County Highway S22, which heads down
into the desert (after crossing the Pacific Crest Trail). It's a
dramatic descent, higher than the ascent up Palomar Mtn. Views all the
way to the Salton Sea. You'll end up in Anza-Borrego State Park.
http://www.anzaborrego.statepark.org/aboutthepark.html

You should plan on an overnight stop somewhere along this route, perhaps
in the town of Borrego Springs, or camping on Palomar Mountain.

Cheers

Palmer

brenda wrote:



Why not do both? 2 nights in Santa Barbara, which I think you & your
wife will enjoy more and 3 nights in San Diego, where I think the kids
would be happier. Santa Barbara has wonderful restaurants, shopping,
culture, the Mission, beaches & wine country.

San Diego is more teen-oriented - I personally like the zoo, I think
Balboa Park is fabulous, Old Town very interesting, Seaworld is always
fun, the Wild Animal Park is great, but it can get very hot in August,
La Jolla is wonderful and, of course, the beaches.

palmer wrote in message ...
Hello,
I am planning a trip with my family (2 adult + 2 teenagers) to
California for next Aug.2004 from Europe.

We will spend 5 days in San Francisco area and then down to Santa
Barbara or San Diego (La Jolla)for other 5-7 days.

Where would it be better to lodge S.Barbara or S.Diego ?

Which area is more interesting of the two ?

We are looking for nice beaches and some place to visit (Parks,
museums,......)

Could somebody point me to a photo website of S.Barbara and/or S.Diego?

Thanks

Palmer
Hi! San Diego website www.sandiego.org , Imperial Beach website
www.cityofib.com, Tijuana-Mexico website www.seetijuana.com for
pacific beach website go to www.pacificbeach.org Best beaches in San
Diego area: Pacific beach, Mission beach, Coronado beach, Silver
Strand beach (4$/car), Imperial Beach. I don`t live in San Diego but
I`m visitor every month. If you plan visit Tijuana, to avoid long
waiting line comeback to U.S. late evening.

I have been to both zoos and what I liked about the N. Carolina zoo is
that they post under the animal names, cooking instructions.