The San Diego Traveler

If you’re new to town, or a tourist in San Diego, you should probably stay off the roads today. 
No, I’m serious. You’re probably laughing now, right? You’ve driven in blizzards, huge storms, or far more dangerous conditions elsewhere, and after all, it’s just a little rain! That’s entirely true, but it’s a sad fact:

San Diegans can’t drive in rain!

This phenomenon is not unique to San Diegans; I have first-hand knowledge that it extends throughout Southern California, and probably beyond. It just seems worse in San Diego, mostly due to speed.
During normal traffic conditions, San Diegans drive at 70 to 75 mph on …read more

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On Sunday, December 2, the Vista Community Clinic will sponsor the 21st annual Holiday Home Tour in Vista. This event will feature four exquisite North County homes professionally decorated for the holidays, as well as the opportunity to tour the historic Rancho Buena Vista Adobe. Each room of the Adobe is appropriately “decked out” for the holidays by various community groups. The Adobe will remain decorated the entire month of December.
Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit VCC’s Kare for Kids Fund, which enables the clinic to fulfill its commitment to “never turn away a sick child.” Tickets purchased prior to Dec. 2 …read more

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On December 11, the Mission San Luis Rey will host A Taste of Christmas at the Mission. You can experience gourmet food provided by local restaurants and the breathtaking sight of 1,000 luminerias. Enjoy Franciscan hospitality, strolling carolers and holiday handbell ringers, an opportunity drawing for exciting giveaways, and a Franciscan scholar and humorist, Brother William Short.
Local restaurants include The Outback Steakhouse, Fiesta Mexicana, Hunter Steakhouse, Capozzoli’s, Flying Bridge, Trupiano’s, Anita’s Fine Mexican Cuisine, Joli Filippino Express, Valley Buzz and others.
When: Tuesday, December 11, 6-9 p.m.
Where: Mission San Luis Rey, 4050 Mission Avenue, Oceanside, (760) 757-3651, Ext. 146
Cost: $35 includes food …read more

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On December 8, Rancho Buena Vista Adobe will be decorated in traditional hacienda seasonal style and open for living history tours featuring:

Historic vignettes depicting life at the rancho from the 1800s to the present
Storytellers, mariachis, dancers and a trick-roper will perform.
Children can tool leather or create corn husk wreath ornaments and watch demonstrations of luminaries, roping and weaving.

When: December 8, from 4 to 7 p.m. 
Where: 651 E. Vista Way, Vista
Cost: $10 family pack; $5, general; $3, seniors and children; (760) 639-6164.

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The holidays have taken over the Hotel del, with one magical celebration after another. Guests staying at the hotel can enjoy a variety of activities including Santa’s surrey-sleigh rides through Coronado Island, cookie decorating, holiday crafts for kids, Tent City Kids’ Camp with holiday scavenger hunts and family s’mores roasts. Little ones love the ‘Elf Tuck-Ins’ where they are visited by real elves at bedtime!
But you don’t have to stay overnight at the Del to join in on the fun.  There are even more festivities planned for anyone who wants to come down for the day or evening:

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The San Diego Zoo has the largest number of giant pandas in the United States.
In appreciation of the community’s continued support of the giant panda conservation program, the San Diego Zoo asked its visitors to suggest a name for the female giant panda cub, born August 3, 2007, when visiting the Giant Panda Research Station between October 5 and 14.
Suggestions were reviewed by the Zoo’s Giant Panda Team, comprised of keepers, veterinarians, scientists, and others. The selected names were then submitted to the Chinese Wildlife Conservation Association. The approved names in Chinese (pinyin) all have English translations that …read more

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It may seem early to be talking about Comic-Con again, but July 24 will be here before you know it, and the 4-day tickets will be sold out long before then.
Comic-Con has once again announced an incredibly diverse guest list including writers and artists from the worlds of comics and science fiction/fantasy/horror. The following special guests are confirmed for Comic-Con 2008, with many more to come!
Sergio Aragonés
 The world’s fastest cartoonist returns to Comic-Con as one of the show’s most popular guests. Sergio Aragonés continues to tell the tales of his wandering barbarian, Groo, and has recently become the newly-named co-writer …read more

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San Diegans have so much to be thankful for. It starts with our beautiful weather, extends through our miles of scenic surroundings, and continues into the wonderful people in our communities.
In the twenty years I’ve lived in San Diego county, I doubt that I’ve ever gone to a store without someone striking up a conversation with me, or waving at me as I drove down the street. 
I’ve lived in four homes in those years. In each, I’ve known most of my neighbors. We’ve taken care of each other’s pets, homes, and sometimes children. We’ve loaned cups of sugar, garden tools, and our ears when …read more

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If you’re planning on doing any driving around San Diego over the holidays, note that your GPS or map may need some updating.  A new 10-mile toll road opened this week from Spring Valley to the Otay Mesa border crossing.
You may enter South Bay Expressway from the north at SR-54 and at Otay Mesa Road/SR-905 from the south. The Expressway features several convenient on/off ramps located at San Miguel Ranch Road, East H Street, Otay Lakes/Telegraph Canyon Road, Olympic Parkway and Birch Road. At each of these locations, you can use FasTrak to pay the toll electronically or stop and pay with cash.
 

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Welcome to the November 19, 2007 edition of The San Diego Special Edition. Much of our attention has been on the recent wildfires that spread throughout the county. It’s not surprising that so many of this month’s articles come back to this topic. Although the fires are out now, we all know that this isn’t the last time that we’ll see them in San Diego, so it’s worth spending a bit more time sharing our memories and thinking about prevention.
Of course, that’s not all we’re thinking about. You’ll also find restaurant reviews, humor, news of an alcohol ban, a local …read more

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