Whether you visit San Diego regularly, or happen to have lived your entire life in the famous southern California city, I bet you’ve barely scratched its surface. A collection of distinctly unique neighborhoods, gorgeous beaches, and the home of Ron Burgundy, San Diego is a destination where time slows down, and where the days meld together into one long endless summer.

Although a metropolitan in its own right, San Diego has uncannily managed to maintain its small town appeal by keeping a slow relaxed pace. Most know it for its miles and miles of beaches and sunny days, but few are aware of its distinct personality.   San Diego is a city that has defined the meaning of being chill, embracing an ultra cool relaxed vibe as part of its culture. In fact, as I write this, I’m lounging on the beach, debating if I should put my laptop away and just enjoy the ocean breeze and the hypnotic lapping of the waves. The San Diego swagger is so distinct, that you know when someone’s from SoCal. But with its trademark beaches, and laid back familiarity it’s easy, even for locals, to overlook the beauty and uniqueness that surrounds them; to become lost in the busyness of life, and take for granted what other’s travel far and near to experience.

I’ve lived in San Diego for a number of years, and just recently stopped in after 9 months of traveling North America. I visit San Diego so often to see family that I’ve become a creature of habit, never venturing too far from my own comfort zone. I’m the first to admit that I’ve squandered my visits. And so just this weekend, while entertaining a friend from India, I realized how little I actually knew about the coastal town beyond its own commercialized identity. Normally I would recommend the usual suspects like the Zoo, SeaWorld, Balboa Park, Seaport Village, or even the Gaslamp but this isn’t its authentic pulse. We needed to do how locals do; we needed to experience it, as would a San Diegan, and see the city through new eyes.

This is the true San Diego experience:

BBQ and Bonfire in San Diego

Image Courtesy of Senia L

Tuxyso / Wikimedia Commons, via Wikimedia Commons

Although we only knocked out a handful of the activities above, it was an incredible weekend. Part of the fun was trying to make it all happen, while the other part was being able to travel off the typical tourist circuit.

It didn’t matter how often I’ve physically been to San Diego, it was only with new eyes that I finally experienced San Diego.

What are your authentic San Diego adventures?

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Carey

I'm an aspiring scuba diver, novice spelunker and avid adventurer.I have a penchant for always getting lost with an established track record for choosing the worst places to eat. With a healthy aversion to staying in one place for too long, I am the ceaseless wanderer and explorer. I recently traded in the suit for a backpack, and am now pursuing to live a life of sustained travel. I travel to learn, I travel to live and I travel in search of adventure.

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