shelidonOctober 26, 20241 Comment on Things to do in San Diego

Should you ever go down there, let’s say for the 2025 Esri User Conference, I’ve got you covered.

1. The USS Midway and the Museum of the Sea

I’m not sure it’s actually worth it going inside the museums unless you’ve got time to spare (which we didn’t) and you’re really passionate about going aboard the ships and submarine, but it’s worth at least taking a stroll on the seaside. The massive Midway (CV-41) is an aircraft carrier commissioned on September 10, 1945, eight days after the end of World War II, and it was the largest warship in the world at that time. It could carry over 100 aircraft with a crew of more than 4,000, and it never lost a man in warfare till it was decommissioned on April 11, 1992. It was the first carrier to operate in sub-Arctic conditions during Operation Frostbite in 1946 and launched a captured German V-2 rocket from its deck the next year, during Operation Sandy.

The Maritime Museum of San Diego is located along the San Diego Embarcadero, walking north from the Gaslamp District, and it features ships like the Star of India, the oldest active sailing ship in the world, the USS Dolphin, the diesel-electric submarine holding the record for the deepest dive ever, a replica of the ship that arrived in San Diego Bay in 1542, and a replica of the Royal Navy frigate HMS Surprise. Yes, it’s the one from Master and Commander.

2. The Firehouse Museum

Located in the historic Old Fire Station No. 6 in Little Italy, this small museum is overpacked with jewels. From La Jolla’s first fire engine to a horse-drawn steamer, from Black Joke (a carriage with a live, coal-fueled fire under the steamer) to the Mankiller that was drawn by the same people who were supposed to put the fire out. We had a delightful visit with a retired firefighter telling us stories and insights on the different exhibits, including fun little facts like the origin of the 2003 firestorm (imagine being that guy) and the story behind cast-iron insurance plaques on the side of buildings. My pictures are awful because at this point I was reduced to taking them with my iPad, like some elderly lady, and they don’t render justice to the awesomeness of this place. Click on them to enlarge them. At your own risk.

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3. La Jolla

I’ve already said it, and I’ll say it again: you must go to see the seals. Not the Navy Seals, as I thought the first time a local friend brought me, and mind I wouldn’t have been against it: these are actual, wild seals and sea lions, chilling on the beach. And people will tell you they smell, I know, but dude: they are WILD SEALS. Chilling on the beach. Two feet from you. With their CUBS. They can smell how much they want. And I’m sure they think you smell too.

The place also has a merchandise shop where I bought a brass and moonstone pendant of a Mind Flayer, therefore I’m happy.

To be fair, I’m not sure that was the creator’s intention, but come on, look at it.

4. The Model Railroad Museum

Do you like trains, models and silly details in dioramas? You’ll spend half a day here: from a guy unloading a dinosaur to references to movies and TV, animals and people doing weird stuff, and a whole Halloween section.

The museum is located in Balboa Park, a must-see in itself and the location of many other cool places to visit, and it was established in 1982. It spans over 27,000 square feet, making it the largest model railroad museum in North America, and it contains many layouts that depict California’s rail history, including the Tehachapi Pass (the Southern Pacific and Santa Fe mountain railroads from Bakersfield to Mojave during the 1950s), the Cabrillo Southwestern which is in fact a fictional route from San Diego to Sacramento, the San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway line from San Diego Union Station through Carriso Gorge to El Centro, the Pacific Desert Lines based on a surveyed but never constructed rail line, and the recent addition of the Centennial Railway Garden.

5. The Museum of Us

Formerly the Museum of Man, it’s located in Balboa Park and it’s worth a visit not only because of the exhibitions in themselves but because of the approach to many of them, particularly the ones focused on indigenous cultures. Basically it’s a museum of how we sucked and we’re trying to do better.

Originally established as part of the Panama-California Exposition in 1915, this anthropology museum started with the “Story of Man through the Ages” exhibit at the Exposition, organized by archaeologist Dr. Edgar Lee Hewett, and currently features a wide range of exhibits that explore various aspects of human culture and history, starting with Beerology, a history of beer and a homage to San Diego’s rich brewing landscape.

Even more interesting are the sections on the Maya Civilization and the Kumeyaay Culture, which previously presented these two people as people from the past, extinct history. This of course perpetuates the erasure of people we tried to kill and are very much alive despite our best efforts. The museum liaisons with consultants from those cultures, now, and the storytelling is modified to reflect their history in a way that’s respectful and mindful of their present, instead of picturing them as a thing of the past. Which is long overdue.

Other interesting exhibits in the museum are an installation on the migration that’s taking place across the border of Mexico, one on the role of animals in our house, either as pets or pests, and a display of people telling secrets to a random guy through postcards. Some pretty intense stuff.
There’s also an Egyptian section, because why not.

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6. The Museum of Natural History

I’m partial to Natural History museums, especially when they have dioramas of animals and you can hunt for little details. If this is what you like too, you’ll like “The Nat” in Balboa Park, the oldest scientific institution in Southern California. It was founded in 1874, in fact, though the current building, designed by architect William Templeton Johnson, was dedicated in 1933 and it was renovated in 2001, almost doubling its extension.

The permanent exhibit highlighting the biodiversity of Southern California, called Coast to Cactus, was particularly enjoyable as I arrived prepared on stuff like the Chaparral and the Vernal Pool from playing Montrose Biology’s card games. I felt very wise and knowledgeable. There’s also a lot of dinosaurs, from Al the Allosaurus to Meg the Megalodon, the statue of a baby elephant and the statue of a baby sea cow. And a bear with two cubs. What else do you want?

7. The Air & Space Museum

Another of the ones in Balboa Park, the museum is recognized as California’s official air and space museum and is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution. It was established in 1963 and has loads of stuff, from the Apollo 9 Command Module (Gumdrop) to the Montgomery 1911 Evergreen glider, going into World War I aircrafts and back into the earlier years of flight, with stuff like the Spirif ot Saint Louis. And yes, that’s a Fokker. Curse you, Red Baron!