San Diego has a neighborhood called Old Town that has a historic State Park, with buildings that look like they are from the 1900s. This was the original settlement where the government and commerce took place when the city was settled. You can go into the buildings like the General Store. I enjoyed it, and recommend the sodas, which are delicious, and come in different flavors like lavender lemonade. Go in the back and you can find even more varieties. You have to visit the tobacco shop. The man that works there is perfect. He looks like he was pulled out of time…he poses well for pictures too.
The area is also know for the Mexican restaurants. We had lunch at Fred’s Cafe (nachos of course), and then Mexican hot chocolate at The Living Room, which is such a neat place…looks like, you guessed it, a living room. If you like Dias del los Muertos, you’ll love the souvenirs in the shops and stalls. I am a fan of colorful places and there was many things that caught my eye.
My sister and I also went to one of the most haunted homes in San Diego, the Whaley House, which was owned by Thomas Whaley who bought the place in 1857. He also had his general store there, along with the town courthouse, and the upstairs was rented to a theater troupe. All these rooms, along with the family’s rooms, are preserved for you to see. A wide variety of people have lived and been through the home. Now it is a landmark and museum. The guides are dressed from the time the Whaley’s lived there, and will answer any questions you through at them.
Many people claim to see Anna Whaley’s ghost, along with other entities that are said to haunt the place. Old Town does have a ghost tour and this is one of the stops. The guides are entertaining; they will tell you all about the history of the place. We sat upstairs in the old theater, and listened to the guide’s stories, along with her paranormal encounters. If you’re in Old Town, and you like historical homes, you’ll enjoy your experience here…especially if you’re a fan of haunted sites.
The next day, we went Navy Pier to see the USS Midway Museum, which is a retired aircraft carrier that had the longest service, from 1945 to 1992, and houses a large collection of aircraft there as well. You can even go inside the aircraft. There are also rides for the youngsters like flight simulators (made me queasy). I especially enjoyed seeing the sailors’ living quarters. They lived in such small spaces. You can also see the engine room, galley, eating quarters, officers quarters, post office, medical areas, and much more. It’s an impressive museum, and recommended if you have not ever been on a naval warship museum.
Being a fan of ghost tours, I wanted to visit the Hotel del Coronado since I have see on it on many ghost shows. It is across the San Diego Bay in Coronado, and built in the Victorian Beach Resort style. It opened in 1888 and is now a historic landmark. It has housed many famous guests like Thomas Edison and Frank L. Baum. The ghost of Kate Morgan is supposed to haunt the hotel. You can even purchase a book about her and the hotel if you are interested in learning more about her story. We looked around the hotel, which I thought was beautiful (check out the inside as well). The deck is a nice place to have lunch, but definitely pricey, so split something with a friend.
The beach makes for a beautiful walk, so spend some time frolicking and enjoying the view. We even found a sea horse that washed a shore, and put her back in the water. There are also some gorgeous homes near the hotel. The Livingston House caught my eye with it’s green wrought iron fence. It is nicknamed “Baby Del” since it resembles the hotel. We returned to San Diego that evening to hang out in the Gaslamp neighborhood, which has great shops and night life.
Another famous site we visited the next day was the Queen Mary, which is a ship and hotel that also is known for being haunted. This is in Long Beach, which is a few hours away from San Diego. This is a retired ship from the golden age of ocean travel; it sailed from 1936 to 1967. She even ferried soldiers across the Atlantic during the second world war.
We started out with the ghost tour, which is done in a haunted house style meant to scare you. I preferred the one that we took later that explained the history, and why certain rooms were haunted and by whom. I was excited to see the pool room since that is known for its activity since a little girl is said to haunt it, which is a sad story since she drowned there. There are other historical tours you can take, which our friends did and enjoyed. The restaurant on the top, Sir Winston’s, has delicious food and great service. I would have preferred to spend a couple hours, but the people we were with wanted to stay all day. I think you can condense it and just take one of the tours (we took two). Then you can go hang out at Santa Monica Pier for some carnival style fun, and call it a night!
