In between going to Hawaii in July and Seattle in late August, I did a little one-night staycation in San Diego with my roommate, Jordan. We didn’t do too much planning in advance, but everything worked out pretty well!
My friend, Sierra, moved down to San Diego this spring and I hate being that person says “I’ll visit you” and never visits. So we found a day that was free, and Jordan decided to join me and we made a quick weekend trip out of it.
We decided to go to the San Diego Zoo, which is one of the largest zoos in the country. I had only been once before, when I was a toddler, so I was down to go! The zoo is kind of a big deal and feels like Disneyland, and it’s priced accordingly. Jordan got a small discount through his work’s ticket portal (FunEx.com), so we each paid $62 instead of $74 for a single-day ticket. 
DAY 1: SATURDAY, 8/17
We left Los Angeles around 7:15 am and made it to the zoo within 2 hours, which is pretty good. The doors opened at 9 am, and the massive parking lot was already starting to get pretty full. I don’t remember the last time I had seen so many families and strollers!
One of the big draws to the zoo this summer was that as of August 8, the pandas were back from China! Yun Chuan and Xin Bao were the first pandas to enter the United States in 21 years. While we were waiting to meet up with Sierra and her boyfriend, I noticed a sign near the zoo entrance that had a QR code to scan and make a (free) timed reservation to see the pandas. The morning slots were already all filled up, so we booked a 2 pm reservation. You can’t make an appointment online in advance, the slots are first-come, first-served. If you don’t get a timed ticket, you can join the standby line (would not recommend, definitely get a timed reservation!).
We got a map of the zoo and it’s absolutely massive. There are more than 12,000 animals spread over 100 acres (San Diego Zoo). We just started walking and went to the closest enclosures. We saw a lot of monkeys and birds, and made our way through the reptile house. Then, we saw hippos, lions, tigers, and elephants. It was the perfect weather. The marine layer burned off by noon, but there was a lot of shade on the paved paths between the animals.
Then, we went to lunch. Jordan’s sister used to live in San Diego and recommended that we go to Albert’s Restaurant, a full sit-down restaurant in the zoo. Yelp reviews advised making a reservation, and there were still reservations available on OpenTable the day before we went. The reservation was key because we heard the hostess tell other people that the wait was going to be 45 minutes to an hour. We checked in at the front and requested to sit outside, so we did have to wait about 10 minutes. It was worth it and peaceful to sit by the fountain outside. We were juts glad to sit down, since we had already walked many miles. The food was elevated park food (portions were huge) and nothing too special, but they had a lot of fun alcoholic beverages!
After the lunch break, we walked around for a little bit before getting in line for the pandas. Even though we had timed tickets, the timed ticket line still took probably 20 minutes. It was worth it, though! The female panda was eating bamboo and drinking water. She walked around once we got in front of her enclosure, putting on a show for us. The male panda was in a separate area snoozing.
There were a few more areas to explore after the pandas. One of the coolest animals we saw was the rhinoceros. I have never seen such a large rhino! It had to be one of the largest animals in the whole zoo. By 4 pm, we had pretty much conquered the zoo. We somehow skipped the penguins and the kangaroos, but other than that, we had seen everything.
To end the day off, we took the Skyfari Aerial Tram back to the park entrance. It’s included in the zoo ticket and the line looks long, but it moved quickly. It was only like a 5-minute ride, but it’s a unique part of the park and a must-do!
We were very dehydrated, so we stopped at Ralph’s on the way to our hotel to grab a lot of kombucha and juices. After checking into the Doubletree and getting our iconic Doubletree chocolate chip cookies, we headed to the pool for a little bit. I read and Jordan got in the water.
For dinner, we went to Mike’s Taco Club. A woman at the zoo had overheard us talking about it and affirmed that they were the best tacos. As one can imagine, parking was extremely tough at 7pm on a Saturday, so I went in to order our food and then we took our tacos to Sunset Cliffs and had a picnic just in time for sunset. The tacos were full of meat, so I’m glad we only got 2 each.
I was ready to head back to the hotel for the night, but Jordan wanted a drink, so we went to one of his favorite spots called Eppig Brewing. There was a nice outdoor patio and plastic Adirondack chairs overlooking the marina. It was just a nice laid-back vibe.
DAY 2: SUNDAY, 8/18
We had plans to get brunch with Jordan’s co-worker in Point Loma, but we were a little hungry, so we pre-gamed. I went to Marvelous Muffins (cash only) and got a poppyseed muffin to share. Jordan got coffee at Juno’s, a cute coffee shop that turns into a wine bar at night.
Hannah met up with us at Northside Shack, which just has a walk-up window. There was a line the whole time we were there! We took our acai bowls back to Eppig Brewing and sat out on the benches on their patio. While I am still loyal to Blue Bowl, I do have to say that Northside Shack had the most fresh fruit I’ve ever seen at an acai bowl place.
On the way back to LA, we stopped at Liberty Public Market, an expansive old Navy barrack that is now home to aesthetic shops and a food hall. Moniker Coffee Co was part coffee shop, part lifestyle shop with indoor and outdoor seating. Pigment has all the girly Instagrammable home decor and kids toys. The food market is always buzzing and busy. I didn’t get anything, but I’ve eaten there before!
The drive back to LA was a little miserable and took over three hours, but overall it was a good weekend!
Here’s a Google Map of everywhere we went:
RECOMMENDED READING:
24 Hours in San Diego
A Top Gun Weekend: San Diego and Orange County
How to Get Jeopardy! Tickets
