We are going out early March, flying in/out of San Diego. First, to visit a cousin in Yuma who winters over there, then back to San Diego, where we have accommodations adjacent to Balboa Park. There, we have 4 nights.

We will drive back from Yuma on a Friday morning and will fly out on a Tuesday morning. We would like to make some provisions in advance, as one of our daughters will join us in SD and she will be reliant upon us for this trip.

We have been to the Zoo a couple of times previously, but never included any of Balboa Park's museums/gardens/trails/etc. We will most likely get a multi-day pass but would like some museum recommendations. We will be staying on the west edge of Balboa Park and would like some good walking recommendations as well as short drives. Goal is to stay off busy roads and limit driving.

Zoo - have been but will go again if SD wishes. Museums - thinking Museum of Man since the tower just opened. What other museums do you recommend? Planning on a multi-day pass, but need to narrow our options.

We had a lovely lunch at The Prado -
http://www.balboapark.org/in-the-park/prado-balboa-park

We wandered about, all of the trails were lovely.
http://www.balboapark.org/in-the-par...-biking-trails

Hard to keep track of exactly where we've been. We did the Rose Garden, The Botanical Building. Alcazar, Japanese Friendship.

Museums - for sure, perhaps others.
Mingei International Museum
Photographic Arts
Air & Space Museum
Automotive Museum
Hall of Champions Sports Museum
Reuben H. Fleet Science Center
San Diego Museum of Art
Timken Museum of Art

We LOVE Balboa Park. The reality is - you can't go wrong; it is a delight. Pick what works for you; tickles your fancy.

Best deal - http://buymyexplorer.balboapark.org/...erve.aspx?p=51

Thanks, DebitNM; Prado looks wonderful. Hard to decide how to spend limited time - but we just rebooked our flight home a little later, so now we have about 3.5 days. That certainly means the multi-day pass will be the choice!

I'm sure the answer is "yes" but have you been out to Coronado and visited the Del?
http://hoteldel.com/

Hi, starrs! The answer is yes, but only a brief visit (so maybe I should say "no"?). Your suggestions are always so very welcome, and I thank you.

This trip, we will first go to Yuma for a few days to visit a cousin who is wintering over there. We are so happy that she has recovered from injuries she suffered from a serious fall from icy RV steps last winter. (Who would have expected Mobile to be so miserably cold and icy?) She lives in Washington State, far from our Florida home, so am anxious to see her.

Then it's back to San Diego, where this time we plan to focus exclusively on Balboa Park. Previously, we've only been to the zoo and not experienced anything else. Joining us is a daughter who lives in the L.A. area, and we have a room in a timeshare at the edge of the park. I don't even know if we will bother keeping the rental car.

But who knows? We might go over to Coronado too.

I just love it there. Watch the movie before you go, if you go again -
http://hoteldel.com/press/like-hot-f...-del-coronado/

We stayed at the Marriott on Coronado and I just fell in love with the island. We were totally amazed to see windows wide open without screens. Someone (nanabee?) lives there and I'm jealous of anyone who does. We took the ferry over to San Diego and even had a private event on the sister ship to the presidential yacht Sequoia. The High Spirit was absolutely gorgeous. I actually took the helm as we went under the bridge. There's a picture somewhere. I'll try to find it.
http://www.hornblower.com/port/yacht/sd+6/gallery

Enjoy Balboa Park. I'm no help to you with this trip.

I hope your cousin heals quickly. A sibling worked in Yuma years ago. When I first read "ice" I squinted and then re-read. But Mobile = icy? Almost as weird. Hope she's doing well.

If you go to George's at the Cove, toast me there.

This year is the park's centennial celebration, so check out some of the websites to see if there will be something special going on while you are there. I've just been once but had a delicious meal at Prado as well.

http://celebratebalboapark.org/

http://www.balboapark.org/sites/defa...2015report.pdf

http://www.sohosandiego.org/main/event_centennial15.htm

Thanks, Kailani. DD has mentioned that car show, and there are a couple of others that looks appealing.

I also see that we will be staying in the Hillcrest area. Any restaurant recommendations there? I saw one, Baja Betty's, that looks appetizing. DD is vegetarian, any suggestions there would be most welcome.

For real old fashioned Italian in Little Italy, we love :
http://www.realcheesepizza.com/

http://www.cohnrestaurants.com/teapavilion/menu

This is a somewhat new restaurant in Balboa Park very near to The Prado Resturant and owned by the same people. It is very informal with out door seating (and large umbrellas for shade). The food is quite good.

Hillcrest has a lot of good restaurants. I don't think Baja Betty's will be your cup of tea. I've eaten there and the food is just ok. You can check it out, but if you aren't part of the party animal scene you might consider a few other choices on the same street.

These are all on University Ave. between 4th and 2nd Streets
http://www.ortegas.com/
http://www.breadandcie.com/
http://www.yelp.com/biz/fig-tree-cafe-san-diego
http://www.burgerlounge.com/locationhillcrest

Around the corner on Fifth (between University Ave and Washington St) is a great breakfast place called Snooze. It is extremely popular so call to find out the best times.

http://www.burgerlounge.com/locationhillcrest

I absolutely love the Air & Space Museum in Balboa Park (it is off the beaten path but walkable).

http://www.sandiegoairandspace.org/

Opps, I posted the wrong link for Snooze.

http://snoozeeatery.com/

Hi Starrs, I grew up in Coronado and it is a very special town across the harbor from downtown San Diego. It is a very easy car ride over from Balboa Park/Hillcrest/Downtown. It's probably less than a 10 minute drive. The Hotel Del Coronado is definitely worth visiting (and they have a nice little historical museum downstairs that is fun to see).

Wow, thank you so much. (And no, we are not part of the party animal scene!)

sludick,

I just heard a news story that you can climb the large tower next to the Museum of Man. I don't think it's ever been open to the public.

http://www.museumofman.org/california-tower/

I think it would be very exciting! The views must be fabulous!

If you haven't been to Old Town, it is worth a trip over. We had passed going there for a couple of trips, thinking it would be too kitchy or too much like the old towns here in NM. We finally went last trip, did a walking tour and enjoyed it alot. We got the tour at the Visitor Center, given by a park ranger I believe. [It is a state park.]

nanabee, YES! I saw that! Can't wait, that sounds great! We'll add it to the "list" we started with the upstairs Monticello tour once they opened that.

DebitNM - Old Town is special to me when I am alone and can linger anywhere I like. One of my favorite memories is being in Old Town during the lighting of the luminarias by park rangers one year. I was in the area for an extended training class, and spent a magical weekend just chilling there. With DH, bless his heart, it loses a lot of the allure for me. Men!

Nanabee, growing up there had to be magical. I loved the bungalows, the flowers, the screen-less windows. If I had to pick a place on the left coast, that's where I'd want to be.

It's been a million years ago, but we enjoyed Croce's. I checked and they've moved over to 5th Ave. Have no idea if it's a decent place anymore, but we had a great time. Especially good if you remember his music.

sludick, I uploaded the photo. Yacht captain for the evening. It was a great night!

sludick - I always thought you were a he!

Croce's was always on Fifth; moved from Gas Lamp way north on Fifth to Bankers Hill in early 2014.

http://crocesparkwest.com

It's a bit of a distance to get to, but still great.

"Croce's was always on Fifth; moved from Gas Lamp"

I went to it when it was in the Gaslamp. As I said, I learned they have moved to 5th.

http://crocesparkwest.com/about-us/

LMAO, DebitNM! I am a professional in a male-dominated field, so that might explain my online presence. Always one of the guys.

There are a couple of restaurants that I really enjoyed in Old Town that don't seem to be there anymore, or have changed their menu - maybe you know.. One served a chile relleno, non-battered, stuffed with cheese, pinons, cilantro and baked. The other served more Cuban-type - I had rice, black beans, salad, maduros - wonderful mix of flavors, all vegetarian, pretty presentation too.

Nanabee - great pic! You look fabulous, and I'll bet it was a blast. Keep that picture up for awhile!