So, I spent the past week in Seattle, and had a fantastic time..
Just a quick thought though... Us Phoenicians, after living here for a while, start deluding ourselves into thinking that our downtown isn't so bad and fairly decent... but then you go to a city like Seattle and you realize that Phoenix is a piece of shit and always will be. ugh.

Heh...same exact same thing happens to me after I go to just about any other city. :( Before going, I'm usually thinking "Hey, our downtown isn't so bad...it's getting there." and then I take a trip to San Diego or San Francisco and get reminded of what a real downtown looks like.

But we have a chipotle!!!

It can be depressing, but just think of it as an opportunity. What was more fun as a kid; looking at some awesome Lego thing your buddy already built, or building one yourself? We've got a long way to go, but it'll just make it all the more satisfying when we get there.

Very true, good analogy. Although, most people want to play with their buddy's lego thing right now rather than spend their childhood building something they can't enjoy while they're young.

We just have to enjoy the little things Phoenix offers. Sure, on the whole it's not as great and grand as most other cities' downtowns, but we can have a greater appreciation for the things Phoenix does offer.

For decades Phoenician's made their choice on the kind of city they wanted and what they wanted was cheap homes with big backyards. However, over the past 7-8 years or so, a shitload of stuff has happened downtown, in fact, some of the largest public investments of any city in America. Now the private sector is catching up. Yeah, I get the same feeling when I come back from other places, but Seattle, San Diego, etc., have the ocean and much longer histories. We're trying to make a really large suburban city into an urban one. That's pretty damn tough to do.

Now for something completely different...
 

So I'm going to see the Suns play the Knicks at MSG in January and wanted to get a new Suns shirt, all of mine are falling apart. I found this cool vintage one with the PHX Skyline on it today, thought some of you might like it:

http://www.shopbenchmark.com/sportiq...y-t-shirt.html

They also have a nice ASU shirt:
http://www.shopbenchmark.com/sportiq...y-t-shirt.html

But even cooler, they randomly sell a Matts Big Breakfast T-Shirt!:
http://www.shopbenchmark.com/sportiq...d-t-shirt.html

http://www.shopbenchmark.com/media/c...wn_matts_1.jpg

E: VV I like orange alright and I just dug that this shirt had a rough approximation of the PHX skyline on it and the vintage sunburst logo.

I don't like the color orange. I'd only buy a t-shirt that I could wear at anytime vs. just for game-time. If I were you, I'd buy an official NBA Adidas bball shirt. I used to shop at the NBA store on 5th ave back in the day. You may wanna hit that up before you go to MSG (if it still exists??)

The Matt's Big Breakfast shirt is cool though, even though it looks like one better try it on first before buying over the internet.

I could rock that suns shirt if it were another color, but I can't pull off orange.

Well I'm going to San Diego in a few weeks... Hope I'm not too disappointed when I get home.

BTW, it'll be my first time in San Diego (grew up in the midwest), any suggestions on things to do?

"BTW, it'll be my first time in San Diego (grew up in the midwest), any suggestions on things to do?"


Attractions: Balboa Park, San Diego Zoo, USS Midway, Point Loma/Cabrillo Lighthouse.

Restaurants: Anthony's Fish Grotto, Dick's Last Resort.

They also have "Duck" tours - WWII era amphibious vehicle tours. I've heard they're pretty fun.

If you're a beer drinker, go to 30th Street in North Park...there are numerous brewpubs and dive bars. Stone Brewing in Escondido is also worth a trip.

Check out Little Italy and Pacific Beach (Garnet Ave) as well

Downtown SD may be home to the most rooftop bars anywhere...if you're looking for that

What's the occasion? Just doing some site seeing (touristy spots)? Wife going along (shopping dining)? Any kids (amusement parks)? Partying (nightlife)?

There's basically 3 major hotel zones in the city.
1: Downtown/Gaslamp - Little Italy
2: Mission Bay
3: Mission Valley

Anything else (La Jolla/Del Mar) is a little farther out and I wouldn't recommend staying there unless you want to set up camp in a specific area.

All are within 15 minutes of one another and the major attractions that the city has to offer, depending on what you're looking to do (and budget) I can recommend one are over another.

San Diego has a lot of fun and unique spots. I used to go a few times each summer and once for a week in the winter and managed to find something new each time. For the most part, downtown is full of a mix of popped collar douches and bermuda short donning tourists. It's more fun (to me) to spend time in the beach communities like Del Mar, Encinitas, La Jolla, Pacific Beach, Ocean Beach, and some of the neighborhodos north of downtown like North Park, Hillcrest, and Mission Valley.

If you're a drinker, Lost Abbey and Stone Breweries are absolute do not miss spots in North County.

If you're going into the city, take some time to visit Ocean Beach for some weird hippy grit, or Pacific Beach for some casual fun night life. Garnet is a street full of bars and clubs with less of a dress code than you'll usually find in Gaslamp.

If you want to sightsee, check out Point Loma, Cabrillo, shopping in La Jolla, and Mission Beach. They are all great tourist sites for first time visits. Torrey Pines State Park is beautiful too.

One place that I consider a do not miss for food is in Hillcrest, Mama Testa Taqueria, which has been featured on Throwdown with Bobby Flay and a few other shows. The food is fantastic, and they have a salsa bar with a number of different homemade salsas each day. Also, one of my favorite things about San Diego are the fish tacos, and you can visit Ocean Beach and go to South Beach Bar and Grill for some fantastic ones, or visit Ki's Restaurant in Del Mar for lunch and sit on the rooftop patio looking at the ocean and munch on some healthy delicious beach fare.

Just doing some sight-seeing with the wife. No kids and no partying/nightlife. Breweries sound fun though.

We are staying on the north side of Fiesta Bay.

Is Stone the brewery that produces Arrogant Bastard? I've got a thing of that in my fridge but I'm not a big fan of ales (it was a gift).

Yeah, that's the one. If it is the "oaked" variety, you're in for an even bigger treat.

Yes, my issue with stone is their beers become repetitive very quickly. They are in love with their barley blend and all of their ales are virtually undistinguishable aside from the IBU each carries.

That said, the Ruination is one of my favorite beers of all time, but it is only slightly different from Arrogant Bastard, Levitation, Oaked, or any of the other brews. I guess they know what they are good at and stick to it!

Well since it's with the wife and it is your first time to SD, I'd recommend staying in the high traffic areas first before you venture off to other neighborhoods. I got a lot of recommendations, hope this helps!

If you're into physical activities and the weather cooperates:
Hiking: Mission Trails Regional Park or Torrey Pines like VLJ said
Biking: Bay front, Ocean front of Mission Beach and Pacific Beach and a great way to get around and site see.
Snorkeling/Kayaking: La Jolla Cove
"Children's Pool" in LJ is a good spot for picture taking at near sunset, no children allowed to recreate on the beach anymore, protected for the seals.
Harbor Tour: Hornblower off Broadway Pier, 1 or 2 hour tours, snacks and drinks on board.
Mt. Soledad: if you drive up to La Jolla and it's clear, take the scenic route and stop off at Mt. Soledad, awesome vistas at the top. You can see Tijuana to the south, Camp Pendleton to the North, Snow to the east, and great views of the ocean.

If the weather is not ideal:
Balboa Park has about 15 museums and attractions all clustered there.
Mission Valley: sprawls-ville, chains, big box, big malls, movie theaters. Fashion Valley/Mission Valley malls within a mile of each other. Good place to kill time if its pouring.

Dining: There are a lot of great places for a date night with the wife
George's at the Cove in LJ is an excellent restaurant with ocean views. Good shopping/dining in La Jolla Village.

PB (one of the highest concentration liquor licenses per capita in CA):
a younger crowd, but there are some good restaurants sprinkled in amongst the casual beach bars and clubs (which are fun). Cafe Bella Italia on Garnet is great. World Famous (steaks/seafood) on the boardwalk where Pacific Beach Dr. terminates and JRDN in Tower 23 hotel, north of the Crystal Pier along the boardwalk has a nice atmosphere.

Ocean Beach: casual, older, hippy-ish, gritty. CASH ONLY at most places, but some good spots on Newport Ave. Pizza Port on Bacon St. has some interesting beers and awesome pizza.

Gaslamp: It's a totally different scene than the beaches. It's a big mix of people, ages, incomes etc...Typically, there are dress codes and has the sophistication of a city atmosphere. Searsucker on 5th/Market is always a popular restaurant, Osetra on 5th/E is known for their seafood and wine tower at the bar.

Coronado: Very clean, very safe, nice little cafe's and restaurants on Orange Ave and of course, the historic Hotel Del on the ocean side. You can take a ferry from Downtown SD to Coronado for a couple bucks and explore around the town on foot or rent a bike. It's like taking a trip back in time to the 1940s.

Old Town: Touristy, but cool if you like history. You'll learn much about SD's history. Large cluster of Mexican restaurants particularly along San Diego Ave. Cafe Coyote, Casa Guadalajara and Miguel's come to mind. Also the location of Old Town Transit Center, busses connect to the Blue and Green line trollies if you're looking to go DT for cheap.

Thanks for the suggestions so far and keep them coming. We're staying up on the north side but plan on parking at the Old Town Transit Center and taking the Blue Line into the city for some of the things we do. Is this a good plan?

We want to go to the beach just to see the ocean, etc. What are good beaches for sightseeing? Cabrillo National Monument also sounds fun. We would probably drive to the National Monument.

We'd alsolike to see downtown and the Gaslamp Quarter to have some local brews and eats. Is the Gaslamp District an authentic historic area or is it kind of like a faux touristy/Scottsdaley attraction?