Things to do in San Diego, California (CA): The Best Points of Interest & Landmarks

Reviewed By cherier548

I am a second generation San Diegan. In 1980 I was attending San Diego State University and watched Seaport Village rise as the brilliant new uplift to a struggling downtown, located on the southern turn of its waterfront, bookending the city with Balboa Park laying northeast. Upstart Crow was the first bookshop/coffee house I had ever encountered and their embrace of both astonished and delighted me. The art gallery across from it was stunning and its pieces within reach if you saved up some money. Nothing was ordinary about the Village or its shops. Geppetto's toy store with toys only made of wood, the Harbor House with an unparalleled menu, and the landscape of rolling, green mounds, winding sidewalks and nautical lighting was pure joy. Who can improve on this? To tear down or radically alter Seaport Village would be like wiping out San Francisco's Pier 39 or Seattle's Pier 57. Our two sister cities developed their piers to appeal to visitors just like Seaport Village in the early 80's, and all three became as embedded in the hearts of the inhabitants as intrinsic to their city's identity and character as in the hearts of the visitors. So little lasts out west. Let our icons be. When firestorms rage and wipe out entire neighorhoods in our north and east county, why not allow those of us who grew up with San Diego and future generations to take a walk through a truly unique little seaside village that echoes the voices and tumble of our small children playing, and a man and woman, still straddling youth, buying each other t-shirts silk-screened with their favorite fantasy creatures. The sunsets are beautiful from Seaport Village's vista, let it stand. If you visit San Diego, put this on your list with the Midway and tall ships around the bend along Harbor Drive, the Spaghetti Factory in Gaslamp (just like San Francisco and Seattle), and of course the zoo, museums, and hospitality houses in Balboa Park up the hill.