San Diego Zoo visit should include Balboa Park
A trip to San Diego, simply include a visit to the world famous Zoo San Diego, where visitors from around the world continue to be amazed.
However, many people do not realize that San Diego Zoo is only part of an amazing collection of fascinating attractions and museums that, together, constitute Balboa Park. While it may allow several hours for your visit to the zoo, literally could come back several different days to enjoy the 15 museums located in this picturesque piece of San Diego real estate.
The park has become a cultural centerpiece for a city that combines majestic landscapes with a cosmopolitan downtown, and oh, did we mention the weather? Fame for having the best climate in the country, San Diego boasts hundreds of blue-65-to-75-degree days every year.
And so much more often than not, the sun casts a warm glow in Balboa Park, impressive combination of lighting in the park of the historic architecture and lush landscaping. Many of the buildings of the park were the result of two exhibitions, "the 1915-16 Panama-California Exposition and the 1935-36 California Pacific International Exposition. Wherever you go in the park that recalls the ornate, almost palace-like designs common in the first part of the 20th century.
While we had enjoyed many visits to the San Diego Zoo, the focus of our most recent visit was the other side of the park "that houses the museums, gardens and many other attractions. Our advice to anyone visiting the park is a lot of time to plan their visit. And be prepared for a little walk.
After a quick visit to the Park Visitor Center, where you can buy combo passes that allow obtain in most museums for a fixed price "in the first we stopped at the nearby Museum of Photographic Arts. Rows and rows of the extended wall and black, while the photos were tastefully arranged just as you would expect in any modern art exhibition. This modern art does a wonderful job of transmitting many times historical turn of the century. Photos often seemed to be taken in the 30s and 40s.
The museum has pictures of some of the greatest photographers of the country, but we think that some of the most fascinating photographs were part of an exhibition by the movie star by Jeff Bridges. His wife gave him a special camera shortly after they married and this camera, in effect, create wide-angle black and white photos that have the same shape as a movie screen. Bridges apparently took photos in most of his movie sets, and this "behind the scenes" look at movie-making is not only artistic, but interesting.
Next door was the San Diego Model Railroad Museum, a sure hit with our four year old and a reminder of our own childhood memories of electrical conduction Lionel trains. Our own monitoring systems trains are more or less confined to the bedroom floor, and our landscape is equivalent to a train station and a few people in miniature. The Model Railroad Museum offers us all the train set you've always wanted to have "actually a series of trains and tracks that show dioramas Highly detailed terrain in San Diego County and the U.S. Southwest
It is obvious that many hundreds of hours that have been in the care of re-creation of small towns passenger stations, switching stations, freight yards, and even things like the model of refineries and other industrial plants. Dissemination through a series of the rooms are rail systems, each sample travels through a geographical region of the country. Standing somewhere in the middle of all this were the middle age, engineers are still children at heart, everyone.
Just above the Model Railroad Museum is a very nice bar that offers deli-style sandwiches and a tempting variety of fresh pastas. If an elegant sit-down meal is more to your liking, the Prado restaurant is in the same general area.
After pause for a brief lunch at the deli, take a brisk walk down to the southern edge of the park where we wanted to be sure and take in the San Diego Aerospace Museum. The fans a veritable museum of air actually appreciate the fact that the museum is directly under the flight path to a major airport. When you are looking Historic aircraft on display somehow seems only fitting that the building shook every few minutes by aircraft apparently only a couple of hundred feet high.
The Aerospace Museum is a gem for anyone fascinated with planes. The circular building is full of real planes, they are all logically either by type or historical timeline. The museum features a replica of the Wright Brothers airplane and even offers visitors the opportunity to sit in a simulator flight to see what the flight would have been like. A progression is shown through World War I aircraft, including a screen where you can see the uniform, maps, glasses and other equipment of a true World War I of the ECA. For those interested in military weaponry, it's almost amazing to see what they used to bomb shell "a small hand with missile fins simply tossed out of the cab.
World War II commercial aviation is concerned, well, but part latest in aviation history is the Apollo 9 spacecraft on display at the museum "type boats only shown in the western United States. The Moon rocks are on hand, as are examples of space suits and other equipment used by our astronauts in the various programs that put Americans into space.
Only one building north of the aviation museum where you will find plenty of hot cars – San Diego Automotive Museum. Similar to car shows classics you might find in Las Vegas or Laughlin, Nevada, this museum is an exhibition hall filled to the brim with historic cars produced worldwide. In Altogether there are over 80 historic cars and motorcycles and, every few months, it takes a special screen – such as Italian cars in the display during our visit.
Walking to the next stop of our museum, we stopped outside Spreckles Organ Pavilion, which offers free concerts every Sunday at 2 pm It's a great place to get his feet for several minutes while listening to a top-rated musician who demonstrates extraordinary this organ pipes. Visitors of all ages were enjoying the music.
We ended our day with stops at the Mingei International Museum and the San Diego Natural History Museum. The Mingei offers a good collection of contemporary folk art and above, an impressive collection of children's toys and dollhouses. The Natural History Museum is worth a little more time and, besides exhibitions generalizations about the natural world, the museum currently features a special exhibition today called Earth, Wind and Wildfire, detailing the forest fires that swept San Diego area in October 2003.
It took us the better part of day to just scratch the surface of many Balboa Park museums and attractions future trips no doubt that spending time in the park's attractions, like the Reuben H. Science Center of the fleet, which includes IMAX theater am awesome, and the Museum of Art San Diego. And there's more.
In fact, now when we think of Balboa Park and we are likely to think about more than just the zoo made famous this park.
AT A GLANCE
WHERE: Balboa Park is located near downtown San Diego and is easily accessible from Interstate 5 or 163.
WHY: The park is home not only to the San Diego Zoo, but only 15 museums and several gardens and trails. There are also a pair of theaters offering live performances.
WHEN: Year-round.
WHY: The park has something for everyone. If you are interested in automobiles, airplanes, trains, art, science or just a beautiful setting, Balboa has.
HOW: For more information about the Park Balboa, call (619) 239-0512 or visit www.balboapark.org.
About the Author
Cary Ordway is president of Getaway Media Corp which publishes websites on getaway travel. GMC websites focus on California beach hotels and other lodging, as well as Oregon travel and other destinations in the Pacific Northwest.
Quinceanera Hugo Benson Photography San Diego Seniors