The perfect San Diego day: What’s yours?

This week, I’m traveling on the East Coast, which consequently has me thinking about the Best Coast and all of its glory.

Because we live in America’s Finest City, jet-setting isn’t always top priority. Why leave when we can spend every Saturday and Sunday beach-hopping, rooftop drinking and driving from ocean to mountains in under an hour (with the windows down)? It’s what leads a lot of locals to opt for a staycation instead of vacation, and why DiscoverSD encourages - actually mandates - more exploring of San Diego’s varied neighborhoods and hidden gems.

Whether you’ve lived in San Diego for 15 years or 15 minutes, you’ve likely mapped out the ideal day and maybe even lived it out once, twice or a trillion times.

I’ve crafted my agenda below. What’s yours? Email me at michelle.dederko@utsandiego.com, and you could be featured in an upcoming series.

My perfect San Diego day:

1. Hike Torrey Pines at 7am. The dramatic ocean views alone are enough to wake-up the senses and get the day started right.
2. Refuel with brunch. If I’m already up in the Torrey Pines area, I’ll take the quick coastal drive to Del Mar, Encinitas or down to Pacific Beach. I’m known to belly-up to the bar of JRDN at Tower23 or Jake’s Del Mar, Bloody Mary in hand.
3. Find a beach and quick change. The trunk of my car always contains the following staples, in case of a beach emergency of course: swimsuit, towel, blanket, snorkels and sunscreen. I’ll usually lay out on La Jolla Shores or Windnsea, but sometimes take the sun-soaking over to Coronado.
4. Time to move! I’m big on water activities in San Diego, including snorkeling in La Jolla, kayaking the Seven Caves, paddle boarding through Mission Bay or surfing at Black’s Beach.
5. Before I start turning red, I’m heading home to clean off the sand and get ready for a night out downtown.
6. Dinner and drinks with friends or just the bf somewhere cozy. When it’s warm out and the sunset is late, it’s vital to find a rooftop to occupy for the night. Kettner Exchange captures this vibe perfectly, as does Fairweather atop of Rare Form by Petco Park. For something a little fancier, I’ll head to Tom Ham’s Lighthouse for the stunning bay views.
7. No night out is complete without a little after-dark drinking and dancing. This is when I start corralling the crew and decide on a dance floor, these days most likely the new OMNIA San Diego or Bang Bang.
8. To end the perfect San Diego day? A late-night burrito that I will 100% regret the next morning.

What’s your perfect San Diego day? Email me at michelle.dederko@utsandiego.com, and you could be featured in an upcoming series.

Source: DiscoverSD