Page 107 - 2019 Travel Guide to California

water fishing and tranquility. The vast
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, home of
“California’s Grand Canyon” at Fonts Point,
provides hiking trails through palm
canyons, fields of cacti and dazzling wild-
flower displays.
Heritage & Culture
Explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo spotted San
Diego Bay in 1542 but quickly sailed on
north, leaving the Kumeyaay Indians to their
warm, bountiful home. San Diego County’s
18 tribes represent the largest concentration
in the country, and more than half benefit
from casinos in east and north counties.
Cabrillo’s brief stay is commemorated at
Cabrillo National Monument at the tip of
Point Loma overlooking the bay. European
settlers who returned in 1769 built a fort
and mission church at Presidio Hill, a gor-
geous swath of lawns above Old Town State
Historic Park, which contains many of San
Diego’s oldest buildings.
Family Fun
Adults and children alike relish the San
Diego Zoo and its separate Safari Park,
Legoland California and SeaWorld San
Diego. Downtown’s New Children’s
Museum is an eco-friendly playground for
all ages, with multicultural, bilingual
exhibits that make learning fun, and its
adjacent one-acre park allows kids to burn
energy. Teens flock to fighter planes and
flight simulators at the USS Midway
Museum. Top choices for inexpensive
entertainment: bicycling at Mission Bay
and Coronado, fishing off piers in Imperial
Beach and Ocean Beach and stargazing from
Mount Palomar.
DRIVE
» OCEANSIDE
TOUR
CARLSBAD
Historic Highway 101, also called the PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY, runs through
San Diego’s idyllic NORTH COUNTY coastal communities, passing by gor-
geous long beaches and wild lagoons. You can do the trip in a couple of
hours, but why hurry? Begin at the north end of La Jolla at TORREY PINES
STATE PARK and descend a steep hill to Torrey Pines beach, then uphill again
to DEL MAR. Stop signs at each block force you to slow down and appreciate
the Tudor-style buildings and quaint shops and cafés in town before you
descend again and cruise through SOLANA BEACH, CARDIFF-BY-THE-SEA,
ENCINITAS, LEUCADIA, CARLSBAD and OCEANSIDE. Each town’s main street
presents an array of dining and browsing options, from funky Mexican take-
out stands to fancy restaurants on the sand. Of the many beaches along the
way, MOONLIGHT BEACH in Encinitas presents the most playtime possibili-
ties including a playground, snack bar, picnic tables and a year-round
lifeguard station. Take your time and stop often. The distance between
Torrey Pines and Oceanside is only 25 miles, but you can easily spend a full
day exploring. When you’re ready to return to central San Diego, just hop on
I-5 South at one of the many entrances along 101.
LEUCADIA
MOONLIGHT BEACH
ENCINITAS
CARDIFF-BY-THE-SEA
SOLANA BEACH
DEL MAR
TORREY PINES
STATE PARK
2019 TRAVEL GUIDE TO CALIFORNIA 105