San Diego is a major city some miles south of Los Angeles and reaches the Mexican border to the south. It is considered to be the second biggest city in California and eighth in the largest cities of USA. San Dieguito and the La Jolla people were said to be the original inhabitants of this place. San Diego’s major inhabitants had been the Kumeyaay people. The Portuguese-born explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo was the first to land and claim the land in the name of the Spanish King. San Diego boasts of its wonderful weather. It is never too hot or cold. The temperature ranges from 58F (14C) to 75F (23.8C). This makes outdoor activities and outings very comfortable. Anumita takes us through the coastal city, in the weekly column, exclusively for Different Truths.

I have always been fascinated with nature. A place which has the saltiness of the sea and the freshness of the mountains would be the ideal place for me. San Diego fits the bill for me. There are some hilly areas and the Pacific Ocean makes the long coastline beautiful.

San Diego is a major city some miles south of Los Angeles and reaches the Mexican border to the south. It is considered to be the second biggest city in California and eighth in the largest cities of USA.

San Dieguito and the La Jolla people were said to be the original inhabitants of this place. San Diego’s major inhabitants had been the Kumeyaay people. The Portuguese-born explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo was the first to land and claim the land in the name of the Spanish King.

San Diego boasts of its wonderful weather. It is never too hot or cold. The temperature ranges from 58F (14C) to 75F (23.8C). This makes outdoor activities and outings very comfortable.

For our stay, we picked a hotel, which was just across the ocean. We were able to wake up to the sounds of the ocean and have breakfast on the balcony watching the glorious sunshine glitter on the ocean waves. We picked up a hotel in Tamarack, located few miles north of Solano Beach.

We were staying for two days in San Diego between our trip from Grand Canyon to Los Angles. We had two major places to visit in our list. The San Diego Zoo and the Old Town San Diego State Historic Park were the main part of our visit other than visiting family and taking long relaxed strolls along the beach.

The San Diego Zoo

With 3700 animals housed and more than 130,000 memberships, The San Diego Zoo is the largest membership associations of the world. This massive zoo is situated in Balboa Park of San Diego and houses the aquarium and safari too. It takes a whole day or two to really do justice to experience the entire zoo.

Guided buses ply inside the park covering most parts of the zoo. There are ski lift gondolas, which gives an aerial view of the massive zoo. The concept of the zoo is based on keeping animals in their habitat, which is very close to their origin. This also consists of cage free environment. There are large expanses of land provided to most of the animal species.

Exhibits are areas which hold a certain type of animals and they are categorized as follows: Monkey Trails and Forest Tales, Owens Aviary, Script Aviary, Panda Trek, Urban Jungle, Discovery Outpost, Ituri Forest, Elephant Odyssey, Gorilla Tropics, Absolutely Apes, Bonobos, Sun Bear Forest, Tiger River, Outback, Clouded Leopard, Cougar and African Rocks.

After a whole day of watching and learning about so many different species of animals, we reached our hotel to watch all the pictures of we shot during the day and talk about them.

The next day we kept it less hectic and walked along the gorgeous shoreline. The sand felt warm below our feet. It was the most calming experience. After a seafood lunch, we head to meet some family members living in San Diego. It feels great to meet family and friends, while on a trip to a different place.

The next day we drove around town and reached the Old Town San Diego State Historic Park. My elder son and I are very interested in historical civilisations. This place in the middle of the town seemed to defy the age we are living in. As we walked on the semi-paved roads, we were transported to the past. The township with salons, street markets and houses (Mexican Pueblos), which had their rustic décor was everywhere. The proximity of Mexico influenced the culture in San Diego. This place was a place to live a piece of history. Spanish as language, food, architecture, artifacts and music can be well understood while visiting this park.

We stroll through various open stores, which held crafts and merchandised in bright colors. The artistic blend of metal work, wood work and clay were eye catching. We had a late lunch at an open-air grill and packed food for the night. The music and the flavor of the little town like area in the park remained as a beautiful memory in our minds.

Other than these fabulous places San Diego had the Sea World. This city had numerous museums and old townships, which needs more time to explore. With miles of beautiful shoreline, San Diego needs definitely more than two days time to visit. I wish to go back there soon and take the time to visit all it has to offer.

©Anumita Chatterjee Roy

Photos by the author.

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Anumita Roy

Anumita Roy is an artist at heart and legal/medical interpreter by profession. She creates word images in her verses and loves to write short stories. Mother of children in the spectrum, she advocates special needs issues in whichever way possible. Born in India, brought up in several countries, makes her a true global citizen. She now lives in the Columbus, Ohio, with her family and follows her passion for writing and advocacy being the Managing Editor of Different Truths.

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