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Hawaii for Cheap: Camping in Paradise

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By John P. Anderson

Hawaii – land of honeymoons, idle thoughts, and sitcom ultimate vacations since the mid-1970s.  Also a land frequently visited by residents of Southern California due to the (relatively) close proximity and frequent flight deals.  I have been fortunate to visit Hawaii twice – my first trip, to Oahu, followed my junior year of high school and included my first flight, first time seeing an ocean, and many other firsts.  The second visit was a ‘babymoon’ in November of 2010, visiting Hawai’i, also known as ‘The Big Island’ since the state is commonly known by the same name as the largest island in the archipelago.

Following my typical travel planning routine we arrived in Hawai’i with no plans or reservations (other than a rental car).  Fortunately we discovered that the county of Hawai’i (which covers the entirety of the island) runs a spectacular set of nine beach parks located all around the island.  Camping is available at all the locations, although the associated amenities vary greatly at each park.   [Read more…]

The Best Bicycle Ride Around Mission Bay

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A Tour of the Best Bicycle Route Around San Diego’s Aquatic Playland

By Frank Gormlie

This started out as a chronicle – complete with a photo journal – of the best bicycle ride around Mission Bay. I had planned to post nearly one hundred photos with complete descriptions and commentary – but due to a glitch in our programs, I was having too many problems to present all the pics. So, I temporarily shelved that idea and gravitated to a briefer version, this one. (As you peruse the photos, be sure to click on them for larger versions to view.)

The tour I now present around Mission Bay is a great one and it is a ride that has been honed by me and a few riding friends over the last three decades – since the early Eighties.

It is a ride along a route that has a minimum of traffic and street exposure, and it is a route that is practically 13 miles round trip from the Ocean Beach Skateboard Park in Robb Field.

  [Read more…]

The Starting Line – Koch Brothers’ Coachella Failure-fest Set for this Weekend

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By Doug Porter

This weekend (Apr 28-29) hundreds of business executives and wealthy conservative donors will descend upon the Coachella Valley, hoping to forge a strategy to turn last fall’s drubbing of conservative candidates into future victories. I imagine the crowd will be considerably different from what locals have seen over the past two weeks.

Since 2003 billionaire industrialists David and Charles Koch have been hosting regular retreats at luxury resorts seeking to focus the resources and energy of wealthy and politically ambitious conservatives in the US.

Their latest invitation-only gathering, originally scheduled for January, was postponed.   [Read more…]

A Ride to North County

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By Judi Curry

For the past few months members of my support group have talked about taking a ride on the ‘Coaster’ to North County. Only one of the members had been on the Coaster; the others of us had it on our ‘bucket’ list.

The first time we were to go it rained; the second time we were to go someone was sick; the third time it was raining again. This time we decided we would go regardless if it rained, or regardless if someone became ill. It was a “go” no matter what. And, wouldn’t you know, the weather forecast WAS for rain, but we decided unless a hurricane was in the offing we would still go. And then one of the people that was going to go with us became ill, but she encouraged us to go anyway, and we did. We are so glad that we did.   [Read more…]

North Park to Ocean Beach by Bike – The Best Route

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I’ve only lived in North Park for a couple of months but have been working on finding the best route to get from here to Ocean Beach, my favorite San Diego beach, since I moved in.  The biggest issue is finding a good route from the mesa that North Park is on down into Mission Valley.  Once in Mission Valley the very solid path along the San Diego River takes you comfortably and quickly directly west to the Pacific Ocean.

I’ve tried various routes into Mission Valley – Texas Street in North Park, Fairmount Avenue between Kensington and City Heights, Bachman Place in Hillcrest – but found them all lacking.  Fairmount is very, very intense (read: dangerous) on a bike and Texas only slightly less so.  Bachman Place is a much better alternative although it is a meandering windy road down the hill, not bad for cruising down but quite a long haul back up.  Recently I was informed of a path through Old Town and it is my favorite by far.  After a couple of practice runs I took this trip “in earnest” this week.   [Read more…]

Bad News Environmentally Elsewhere Is Good News for San Diego

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Bad news for the environment in other locales can be good news for San Diego.

Today, two offerings by the media – one on how hot and dry the City of Phoenix is getting due to climate change, and the second about the loss of Monarch butterflies in Mexico – is good news for us.

In an Op-Ed piece in the Los Angeles Times, entitled “Phoenix Too Hot Future”, we learn:

In Phoenix, the convergence of heat, drought and violent winds is creating an ever-more-worrisome situation. … [High] temperatures, however, are child’s play in Phoenix, where readings commonly exceed 100 degrees for more than 100 days a year. In 2011, the city set a record for days over 110. There were 33 of them. … It goes without saying that Phoenix’s desert setting is hot by nature, but humans have made it hotter. The city is a masonry world, with asphalt and concrete everywhere. The hard, heavy materials absorb daytime heat more efficiently than the naked land, and then give it back more slowly after the sun goes down, preventing the cool of the desert night from providing much relief.

  [Read more…]

San Diego For Free: The Natural History Museum – Balboa Park

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A weekly column dedicated to sharing the best sights and activities in San Diego at the best price – free! We have a great city and you don’t need to break the bank to experience it.

The Natural History Museum – Balboa Park

Address: 1788 El Prado, San Diego, CA 92101 (Balboa Park)

Free Hours: First Tuesday of each month from 10 AM – 5 PM (Free for San Diego County residents and active-duty military, with ID)

Best For: Children, the naturally inquisitive, the curious, those looking for a break from the computer

The large white museum just off Park Boulevard in Balboa Park houses the San Diego Natural History Museum. If you’ve been to the zoo or museum campus of Balboa Park you’ve probably noticed the large structure and if you haven’t been inside yet you should take a visit. There is sure to be something of interest to you whether you are aged 5 years or 50.   [Read more…]

The Value of Human Smuggling

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By Beryl Forman

This semester I was unable to register for any classes offered through SDSU’s department of City Planning, where I am working towards my masters degree.  As to not get sidetracked from my academic pursuit, I opened my options up to what is being taught throughout the entire University.

A friend of mine offered a few recommendations, and the one that stood out was called Culture and Society of Tijuana, an entire class devoted to Tijuana!

As an Urban Planning student living in San Diego, Tijuana has captured my attention from the day I moved here over eight years ago.

I’ve had the opportunity to write a couple of research papers and interview important people about the history of planning between our border cities and Tijuana’s public spaces.  To further my area of interest, it only seemed appropriate that I register for this class, even if it was an undergraduate course that didn’t count towards my major.   [Read more…]

SD For Free: Lake Miramar – Great for Bicycling, Running, Rollerskating

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A weekly column dedicated to sharing the best sights and activities in San Diego at the best price – free!  We have a great city and you don’t need to break the bank to experience it.

  1. Directions: From Interstate 15 southbound: take Mira Mesa Boulevard east, turn right on Scripps Ranch Boulevard, then left on Scripps Lake Drive. The reservoir entrance will be on your left.  From Interstate 15 northbound: take Carroll Canyon Road east, turn left on Scripps Ranch Boulevard, then right on Scripps Lake Drive. The reservoir entrance will be on your left.
    1. Map link for directions
  2. Free Hours: 5:30 AM to 6:30 PM and beginning March 10th 5:30 AM to 8:00 PM
  3. Best For: Bicycling, walking, running, chatting with a friend, enjoying a cool breeze

Nestled comfortably below hillsides topped with the suburban dream, Lake Miramar (officially Miramar Reservoir) is a great place for getting some fresh air and exercise.   [Read more…]

Screwed Again – And Not By Any Man –This Time by Dollar Rent A Car

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Several days ago my granddaughter had to make a fast trip to Arizona to see her ailing father. She is leaving for Australia in a few days to be with her children and wanted to see Jimmy before she left. Unfortunately she does not have a credit card and “DOLLAR RENT A CAR” would not accept her debit card as payment for the one-way rental.  She called her mother and asked if she would sign the rental agreement but her mother – my daughter Michele – was suffering the ill effects of a nasty case of Shingles and could not get out of bed.

Guess who was next on Kyla’s list.  Grandma.

Although reluctant to do so, I felt sorry for her and didn’t want to have the guilt if something happened to Jimmy and she did not get to say “good-bye” so I agreed to do so.   [Read more…]

Hypocrites! Taxpayer Association Rallies Supporters to Support Corporate Welfare (UPDATED)

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Showdown Set for 2pm Monday City Council Meeting

The San Diego County Taxpayers Association has found a tax they like.

They have issued a “Call to Action” for their supporters to show up at City Hall on Monday for a scheduled hearing of the City Council where the 2% tax-that’s-not-a-tax being collected by local hotels is going to be discussed. The Center for Policy Initiatives (CPI) is rallying their people to support the Mayor’s decision not to sign off on the tax.

Reading their flyer, you’d almost think the Taxpayers Association had somehow morphed into a Union. Now this tax is all about jobs, jobs, and jobs.   [Read more…]

Author Q & A: ‘The Golden Shore: California’s Love Affair with the Sea’

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Conservationist David Helvarg talks about his book, “The Golden Shore,” a tribute to California’s beautiful and iconic coastline, and the Navy’s and San Diego’s roles in shaping it.

By Serge Dedina / Wildcoast

No one has done more to educate the public on ways to preserve our coast and ocean than David Helvarg. Author of six books and the founder and Executive Director of the Blue Frontier Campaign, Helvarg will be speaking about his newest book, The Golden Shore: California’s Love Affair with the Sea at the Birch Aquarium on Tuesday Feb. 26 from 6:30-8 p.m. Helvarg is also a former San Diegan who wrote for the OB Rag.

Serge Dedina: What is your first memory of the coast in California?

David Helvarg: Flying into San Diego at night to help out some friends in trouble in the Ocean Beach neighborhood and then staying up ’til dawn watching the Pacific lapping on the shore, small breaking wavelets sparkling with silvery luminescence. Two days later there was a concert on Sunset Cliffs. Watching the young OB residents dancing on the beach and wading into the bracing 68-degree water where silky-haired California girls in bikinis were tossing Frisbees, I knew I’d come home to a place I’d never been before.   [Read more…]

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