Educational Travel

mmeduchatelet

Hello~I’m an Atlanta newby to this forum, and am looking for help in planning an educational vacation for my husband and me. We’re both 60(+/-), and yearly we must attend a 4-day work related conference that’s held in different parts of the country. We always get a rental car and tack on a few extra days for exploring. And since my husband is actually the one required to attend, I usually duck out of the “ladies program” and go on a juicy scientific/history-like safari of my own.
For example:
Vermont Robert Frost home/grave, whale watching, Boston history stuff
Vegas (yuck) Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon south rim
Washington St. Sunset Cone Crater, Mt. St. Helens, whale watching
Whistler, BC Zip-lining, San Juan Islands, Seattle
Phoenix Challenger Space Center, Grand Canyon north rim, Anasazi culture
Chicago FermiLab, Field Museum, Museum of Science & Industry
(I also just finished NASA’s Space Camp - what a hoot!)
So the trip this year is scheduled for Sept in San Diego, and I’m dreading the struggle to
find information. You wouldn’t think it would be that hard to do, but I don’t even know
the appropriate search terms to use! Any ideas you guys might have would be greatly
appreciated.

DanP

Jump in a car and drive across the continent with no special plans.

Evo

Don't listen to dan, lots of great things to do around San Diego, some "respectable" members will give you some suggestions.

DanP

Evo, out of curiosity, what makes you think they'll got more from a planned journey than from a "free for all" one ? In the end, drifting across a continent, socializing in places and visit local objectives you learn from locals is *extremely* rewarding :P The best education IMO does not comes from visiting a famous battlefield. No ghosts will rise to tell you the story. But if you are lucky you'll find humans to tell you stories while you travel. Some real, some legend. And thats the charm. Interaction and personal exploration. Else you can stay home and read a history book and you'll get more enlighten in history than visiting 10001 places. At least this is my not so humble opinion. Drift across the continent. Interact and discover things different from you.

Ivan Seeking

The San Diego Zoo is [or was] considered to be one of the best. And of course there is Sea World.

Keep in mind:
Native American history
Mexican-California history
Missions
Military history

I would suggest a day trip across the border to Tijuana, but I don't know if that is safe to do these days. If it does sound okay, there is a tram you can take.

Tours of ships and military facilities

A must do if you can: Brunch at the Hotel Del Coronado, on Coronado Island.

A google of San Diego history provides some specifics
http://www.google.com/search?sourcei...+Diego+history

If you get a chance to visit Dog Beach, in Ocean Beach, take a dip for me. A long time ago, I lived thirty steps or so from the sand. At the time the rent was pretty reasonable. Today, I doubt you could touch my little cottage for less than a $million.

Evo

She's looking for local things to do while her husband is in town.

DanP

Oh yeah, you are right. My bad.

OP take your husband and drive across the continent after conference:P

lisab

Balboa Park has lots of things (including the famous zoo). Lots of museums and gardens, etc.

http://www.balboapark.org/

Math Is Hard

I would hop on the Amtrak and go up to see San Juan Capistrano or San Clemente. The mission at SJC is an especially nice tour.