A Week of Sunsets, Seals, and $4 Fish Tacos: My San Diego Diary
I booked San Diego for the zoo. Just the zoo. A friend had been raving about it for months and I figured I'd spend a day with the animals, eat some tacos, and fly home. Instead I stayed a week. Here's what happened.
Day 1: The Shortest Airport Transfer in America
The Uber from SAN airport to my hotel in the Gaslamp Quarter took 8 minutes. Eight. I've had elevator rides that felt longer. The driver said, "Welcome to San Diego, the airport is basically downtown." He wasn't exaggerating.
Dropped my bags and walked the Gaslamp. Victorian buildings, outdoor dining, a genuine energy that wasn't trying too hard. Had dinner at Puesto — upscale tacos in a converted police headquarters. The filet mignon taco ($8) was better than most steaks I've eaten. The lobster taco was even better.
Sat on the patio until 10PM. The air was 20°C. No humidity. No bugs. I started to understand why 1.4 million people live here.
Day 2: The Zoo Day (It Earned the Hype)
Full day at the San Diego Zoo. $67 admission. Worth every penny.
I arrived at 9AM, took the guided bus tour first (included — 35 minutes, covers the whole park). Then spent five hours walking. The Africa Rocks exhibit redesigned how I think about zoo design — rock formations, waterfalls, and animals that seemed genuinely content.
The koalas were sleeping. Apparently they sleep 22 hours a day. So basically me on vacation.
The Skyfari aerial tram gave views of the park from above. Lunch at Albert's Restaurant inside the zoo — a real sit-down place where peacocks wander between tables. Not a sentence I expected to write.
By closing time, my step counter read 22,000. My feet were done. Dinner at Ironside Fish & Oyster in Little Italy — a massive shark jaw sculpture outside, raw bar inside. Oysters at $3.50 each, grilled branzino ($34). The bartender recommended a local IPA that I can't remember the name of but can still taste.
Day 3: La Jolla Changed Everything
I rented a car and drove 20 minutes north to La Jolla. This is where San Diego shifted from "nice city" to "wait, why don't I live here?"
La Jolla Cove is a rocky inlet where harbor seals and sea lions bask on the beach. Just... hanging out. Dozens of them. Sunbathing on rocks while tourists stand 10 feet away with cameras. The seals couldn't care less.
I signed up for a kayak tour through the sea caves ($55, 2 hours). Our guide paddled us into seven sea caves carved into the sandstone cliffs. Inside the caves, the water was turquoise and the acoustics amplified every splash. Below the kayak, leopard sharks — harmless, the guide assured us, and he was right — glided through the kelp.
Lunch at The Taco Stand in La Jolla Village. Adobada taco, $3.75. A birria quesotaco, $4.50. Both were better than tacos I've paid $15 for in other cities.
I drove to Scripps Pier for sunset. The pier silhouette against the sky, the waves crashing, the light turning everything gold. I sat on the sand and watched the whole show. Free.
Day 4: Balboa Park and a Surprise Garden
Rest day. Balboa Park's gardens and museums at a gentle pace.
The Japanese Friendship Garden ($14) was the surprise hit. Twelve acres of koi ponds, bonsai, stone paths. The tea pavilion serves matcha ($6) in a ceramic bowl that you hold with both hands while sitting on a wooden bench overlooking a waterfall. I stayed for 45 minutes doing nothing. It was exactly what I needed.
The Botanical Building is free and extraordinary — 2,100+ tropical plants under a massive lath structure with a lily pond out front. The San Diego Museum of Art ($18) has a Spanish masters collection that I wasn't expecting — El Greco, Zurbaran, legitimate old-world paintings in a California park.
Lunch at The Prado, inside the park. Fish tacos ($18) on a garden patio. Happy hour starts at 4PM.
Day 5: Coronado and the Floating Museum
Morning at the USS Midway Museum ($26). I planned for 2 hours and stayed for 3.5. The flight deck with 30+ restored aircraft is impressive, but the below-deck tour — crew quarters, engine room, the galley that fed 4,500 sailors — is where you feel the history. The audio tour, narrated by actual Midway veterans, is personal and moving.
Afternoon ferry to Coronado ($7, 15 minutes). The Hotel del Coronado is a Victorian wedding cake of a building — white turrets, red roofs, a beach that stretches forever. I rented a bike ($10/hour) and rode around the island. Flat terrain, palm-lined streets, the kind of town where everyone waves.
The beach at Coronado is consistently rated one of America's best. I believe it.
Day 6: The Beer Mile and a Fish Taco Pilgrimage
Morning at Sunset Cliffs in Point Loma. Free. Clifftop park with crashing waves, sea caves, and views that belong on a postcard. I went at 7AM and had it nearly to myself.
Then I did the thing I'd been saving: the Oscar's Mexican Seafood fish taco. North Park location. Hole-in-the-wall. Cash only. The beer-battered fish taco ($4) was crispy, fresh, dressed in white cabbage and crema with a lime wedge. The kind of taco that makes you angry at every fish taco you've ever paid more for.
The 30th Street Beer Mile in North Park was an education. Ten-plus taprooms within walking distance. Modern Times Beer has the best decor (retro-futuristic murals), North Park Beer Co. has the best rooftop, and Belching Beaver has a peanut butter stout that divides opinion sharply.
I did four stops. Flights of 4 tasters at $10-15 each. By the fourth brewery, I was convinced San Diego has the best craft beer scene in America. I'm not sure I'm wrong.
Day 7: One Last Beach
Final morning at Mission Beach. Walked the boardwalk, got a coffee, sat on the sand. The Pacific was catching early light and surfers were already out, black wetsuit silhouettes against gray-blue water.
Breakfast at The Mission — churro French toast ($14) that made the 20-minute wait worth it.
One last fish taco stop. I'd heard about Mariscos German — the food truck that started San Diego's fish taco obsession. Found them via Instagram. Fried fish tacos, $3 each. Cash only. The tortilla was warm, the fish was freshly fried, the salsa was homemade.
Three dollars. Better than most $15 tacos in any major city.
The Verdict
San Diego is the city that ruined my expectations. The weather is unreasonably perfect. The food — particularly the tacos and seafood — punches way above its price point. The nature (La Jolla, Sunset Cliffs, Coronado) is world-class and mostly free.
But what got me was the vibe. San Diego doesn't try to be New York or LA. It's not in a hurry. It's not competing. It's just... good. Confidently, quietly, consistently good.
I came for the zoo. I'm going back for everything else.
