Los Angeles & Southern California - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [270]
Return to beginning of chapter
SHOPPING
Most of coastal San Diego’s shopping is limited to surf shops and bikini boutiques. A notable exception: Newport Ave in Ocean Beach, where a dozen antiques consignment shops line the main drag; Newport Avenue Antique Center (Map; 619-222-8686; 4864 Newport Ave) and Mallory’s (Map; 619-226-2068; 4916 Newport Ave) are good places to start. Cow (Map; 619-523-0236; 5029 Newport Ave) gives the same treatment to music. Thrift shoppers should head to Garnet Ave in Pacific Beach for vintage and recycled drag. Most stores buy, sell and trade.
South Coast Wahines (Map; 858-273-7600; 4500 Ocean Front Blvd, Pacific Beach) is at the foot of Garnet Ave at Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach, and South Coast carries spiffy surf apparel for women.
For swimwear, women should head to Pilar’s Beachwear (Map; 858-488-3056; 3745 Mission Blvd, Mission Beach), which has all the latest styles in all sizes.
If you don’t find anything at Pilar’s, head up the street to Gone Bananas (Map; 858-488-4900; 3785 Mission Blvd, Mission Beach) for a large selection of mix-and-match bikinis and one-pieces. Look for Body Glove, Mossimo, Sauvage and three dozen other brands.
Apathetic surfer dudes staff the counter at South Coast Longboards (Map; 619-223-7017; 5023 Newport Ave, Ocean Beach), a beach-apparel and surf-gear shop that carries a good selection of Quiksilver, Hurley, Billabong and O’Neill for men and women. Oh yes, you can buy a surfboard here too.
Buff (Map; 858-581-2833; 1059 Garnet Ave) has a wide range of outrageous clothes, many of them suitable for Halloween costumes, at this super-fun shop. Hot accessories, too.
If you need something to wear to dinner, Buffalo Exchange (Map; 858-273-6227; 1007 Garnet Ave) carries a good selection of contemporary and vintage fashions, including designer labels.
Return to beginning of chapter
GETTING THERE & AROUND
For details on getting to and from the San Diego metropolitan area, as well as getting to and from the airport, riding MTS buses, and traveling by train, taxi and rental car, Click here.
Bicycle
Pacific Beach, Mission Beach, Mission Bay and Coronado are all great places to ride a bike. The San Diego Bicycle Coalition ( 858-487-6063; www.sdcbc.org) has maps and a wealth of information about biking in and around the city. Public buses are equipped with bike racks.
The following outfits all rent bicycles, from mountain and road bikes to kids’ bikes and cruisers. In general, expect to pay about $7 per hour, $10 to $20 per half-day (four hours) and $20 to $25 per day.
Bikes & Beyond (Map; 619-435-7180; Coronado Ferry Landing, foot of Orange Ave)
Cheap Rentals (Map; 858-488-9070, 800-941-7761; www.cheap-rentals.com; 3689 Mission Blvd, Mission Beach)
Holland’s Bicycles (Map; 619-435-3153; www.hollandsbicycles.com; 977 Orange Ave, Coronado)
Boat
San Diego Harbor Excursion operates the hourly Coronado Ferry (Map; 619-234-4111; www.sdhe.com; one way/round-trip $3/6; 9am-9pm Mon-Fri, 9am-10pm Sat & Sun) shuttling between the Broadway Pier on the Embarcadero to the ferry landing at the foot of Orange Ave. Take your bike on the ferry for an additional $0.50. See also San Diego Water Taxi.
Return to beginning of chapter
LA JOLLA
Immaculately landscaped parks, white-sand coves, upscale boutiques and cliffs above deep, clear blue waters make it easy to understand why ‘La Jolla’ translates from Spanish as ‘the jewel’ – say la-hoy-yah, if you please. The name may actually date from Native Americans who inhabited the area from 10,000 years ago to the mid-19th century, who called the place ‘mut la Hoya, la Hoya’ – the place of many caves. Regardless of the name’s origin, it’s a lovely place to spend the day.
Today’s La Jolla has its roots in 1897, when newspaper heiress Ellen Browning Scripps moved here, acquiring much of the land along Prospect St, which she subsequently donated to community uses. She hired Irving Gill to design local institutions, such as the