San Diego and Coronado Island

Everywhere I have lived, I have always loved to take little day trips. Usually a destination is picked that is around two hours away, a little research is done the night before and a few key areas are chosen in the destination to visit (since time is limited). I currently reside in Southern California so San Diego was a perfect day trip location.

Since San Diego is too big to make one day out of the whole city, I chose to visit two areas: Balboa Park and Silver Strand State Beach on Coronado Island. Balboa Park is an amazing place to visit. It is home to the San Diego Zoo and almost too many museums, gardens, restaurants, and other attractions to count! Below I’ve included some photos from the various gardens and outdoor areas we visited. I didn’t make it to any museums or the zoo as I felt I needed another day to visit them; plus I was having too much fun walking around!

Above left: the beautiful Rose Garden. Above right: the Cactus Garden.

Above: a giant cactus from the Cactus Garden. This is one of the most unique plants I’ve ever seen and it was almost three times my height!

Above left: the Koi Fish and Water Lily Pond outside the Botanical Gardens. Above right: a gorgeous orchid from inside the Botanical Gardens.

Above: walking around Balboa Park brings you to new and exciting places around every turn such as this sculpture garden!

Above: Balboa Park has many trails for exploring! I walked down a little ways on this one and it almost looks like a jungle. A great way to get in some exercise!

Coronado Island is a lovely place to visit and if I had more time I would have gone into the town and walked around more. The main place I wanted to visit was Silver Strand State Beach, which is a beautiful long stretch of sand with two sides (photos below)! One side faces San Diego and one side faces out into the ocean. A little time at the beach was a great way to end the day trip to San Diego. I will definitely be planning a return trip soon!