Football Games, Fun and Sun in Sunny San Diego…

We sure have been enjoying the sunny weather in SoCal. Soon after we arrived we met up with friends Donna and Mike who pen a blog called Flying the Koop. They invited us over for an impromptu happy hour and it was a real treat reconnecting. Sharon brought some of her homemade roasted garlic pesto veggie pizza and Donna had a fabulous spread of goodies for us to partake in as well. Mike also shared an interesting Latitude 33Blood Red Orange IPA that was really quite good. We spent most of the night catching up on each other.

Because of the near perfect weather we have settled into a routine where we do our weights workout in the mornings combined with walks or bike rides along the bay. Each outing offers spectacular waterfront trails lined with beautiful palm trees. We love walking along the beautiful San Diego Bayfront. Our neighbors are out and about as well so we have made quite a few new friends which is always nice.

A few days later other friends we met at the resort 4 years ago pulled into the RV park. Blake and Dawnderee are a fun and lively couple we always have a good time with. Blake had tickets to the San Diego Aztecs college football game and invited us along. We haven't been to a college football game in some time and we had a blast watching the Aztecs “Fear the Spear” whip up on the University of Hawaii.

As Sunday rolled around Blake and Dawnderee asked us to tag along with them to watch the San Diego Chargers play against the Tennessee Tians at Qualcomm Stadium. San Diego didn’t particularly play well but when it counted they came up with a couple of key turnovers and went on to win a must win game for them.  It was an exciting game and the Charger Fans were elated after the big win. It was yet another wonderful day of great weather, great fun and good times with RV friends we would never have met had we not undertaken this lifestyle.

We have lots of other things planned to see and do but are saving a lot of them until our daughter, Katie and her boyfriend, Brooks, arrive here in San Diego on the 19th.  Once they arrive it will alter our routine as we will hit the ground running to show them all there is to see and do here. It will be fun but I must confess we have been savoring this quiet relaxed time we are having in beautiful, sunny San Diego….

NOTE: We will be here at Mission Bay RV Park until December 4th.

Frugal Camping in San Diego and Free Things to Do…

The first thing we do to save money is to stay a month. For example if we were to stay at the daily rate here at Mission Bay RV Resort we would be paying $60.00 plus 10.5% tax per night. Instead we book the monthly rate so we are only paying $29.84 per night including the taxes. This is a savings of over 50% per day! This is still higher than the $18.25 per day we have been averaging per night this year but there are other savings when staying a month.

Many folks we talk to ask… How can you afford to stay in San Diego or even southern Florida in the winter? When we stay at these locations in high season we expect to have to pay a lot more for camping and realize it is the price we pay for our desire to be near the ocean and beaches as well as all the attractions that go along with them.

When considering we we spend $166 per month on average this year for diesel it means we are saving an additional $5.50 per day not driving the RV. This brings our daily average for staying in San Diego to $24.44. Many parks charge additionally for electricity when staying monthly but this one doesn’t so there are no additional costs involved. Staying in San Diego for under $25.00 per day is a bargain to us yet many still others still may feel it is too expensive to experience this city.

More money can be saved by staying further away from the ocean and beaches. This holds true even more in southern Florida. For example many RV’ers  stay in Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve. The cheapest site there is $24.33 per night but they charge for electricity making it only a bit cheaper than staying where we usually stay so our feeling is why not be closer to the beaches we love! Plus we can save money by riding our bikes to the beach whereas we would have to drive from Santee.

Another reason to stay in such a beautiful city as San Diego is there are lots of free things to do. Some of our favorite things to do in San Diego that cost nothing are:

1. Ride our bikes along the nearly 20 miles of the Mission Bay Bike Trail which can take us all around Mission Bay and over to Pacific Beach.
2. Visit Balboa Park for a nice long stroll through one of the most beautiful parks in the USA where there is plenty to see and do. A big treat is to hear the Spreckels Organ Pavilion outdoor pipe organ free concerts on Sunday afternoons.
3. Walk the shoreline of La Jolla. The rocky shoreline in La Jolla is stunningly beautiful and there are neat little pocket beaches to explore. Seals are everywhere and if you have your own snorkel gear like we do you can even snorkel with the seals!
4. Drive to the top of Mt Soledad in La Jolla for 360 degree views of San Diego
5. The Torrey Pines State Natural Area has lots of hiking among the cliffs above Black’s Beach. The area also is where people are frequently seen paragliding or hang gliding.
6. Walk along the Embarcadero adjacent to downtown San Diego.to see many historic ships in the harbor as this is also a fishing harbor and cruise ship terminal so there is much to see.
7. If you have the National Park’s Golden Age Pass you need to go see the tidal pools in Cabrillo National Monument.
8. We love driving the short distance over to Mission Beach and walk the three mile boardwalk… great for people watching and hanging out on the beach.

Actually there are plenty of other free things to do in San Diego including hiking, exploring the college campuses, scenic drives  and taking in a round of disc golf. While we haven’t ever taken up geocaching it too is another way to have fun at no cost. So although it may cost a bit more to stay we have found ways make it affordable. We love our extended stays in beautiful and warm San Diego!!!