New Children's Museum: Feast

I've posted about the New Children's Museum before, but they change the exhibits every so often, and when they do, they put in new exhibits in almost every area of the entire museum! So, if you went during the Trash exhibit, you should totally go again. Now, the theme is food. It's free on the 2nd Sunday of each month, from 12-4pm. It's a really fun place for kids, but I enjoyed it quite a bit myself :-) Besides the exhibits pictured, there's also a bubble blowing porch, which I think may be my favorite part. 

This area is just for children 4 years and under. It looked really fun.

This is a food-themed bounce house

This is one of the permanent exhibits (well, the paint is always there; I think the object that gets painted changes, and the paint color)

SO FUN. It's a play structure that has motion sensors so as you move through it, it plays sounds. It's called "Orange."

There were short videos that played on the interior surfaces of the table cloth

Comic Con!

I am not nearly interested enough in Comic Con to actually pay to get in (I'm not sure if I would even ask anyone to waste a ticket on me if I could get it free), but I do think it's quite fun to wander around downtown and see all the costumes, and various public exhibits. This is the 2nd year I've done this. I REALLY wanted to get into the Ender's Game exhibit, but it was already closed by the time I got there on Sunday afternoon. 

The Wolverine (in case you don't already know, this robot machine thing is actually the Wolverine's enemy)

Lego Catwoman

Lego Bag End!

25th St. Musical Bridge

Ok so this sounds really cool, and it's pretty cool, but it's not absolutely amazing. I mean, if you're in the area, check it out, but don't make a day trip out of it (unless you're going to go to the zoo afterwards like I did, or something).

It's a normal bridge that crosses a freeway (the 94, I think?), and cars drive over it but there's also a pedestrian walkway on one side. The railing that separates the cars from the people, though, is special. There are chimes, and if you hit them one at a time as you walk, it plays a song. It's pretty hard to hear with all the cars going by, and it's also hard to hit the chimes the right way, without hitting the plain metal bars near them. But it's a creative idea, and I think there should be more musical bridges!

Chinese Historical Museum and New Children's Museum

I visited the New Children's Museum on the 2nd Sunday of the month, when it was free. It was pretty incredible. I also went to the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum on the same day (they're a few blocks apart, and there was a farmer's market along the way!). It was part of Museum Month, so I only had to pay $1 admission. The thing is, I only got one photo of each place! I don't know what I was thinking. So, here are the two photos. Both museums are pretty amazing, by the way. But the Chinese one probably isn't as interesting if you aren't Chinese, and the Children's one probably isn't that interesting if you don't have kids.

There's a main museum room, a garden with a koi pond, and then an annex museum room with even more exhibits!

I wish that the one photo I had of this place was of my favorite exhibit, the rock climbing wall! Alas, this is some metal sculpture called "Beast." It's pretty, though.

I think the the exhibits at the New Children's Museum rotate every few months (or every year, or something), and they are all on the same topic, then there are a few exhibits that stay all the time. The theme when I visited was "TRASH," and there were lots of recycled things and exhibits on how our trash affects things. There's also a clay play area, and a big-bubble-blowing area. I'd say it's good for ages 4 and up- not so interesting for the toddlers.

The List

Here is my preliminary Bucket List. I got most of the ideas from the website Hiddensandiego.net, and I hope emeraldrain doesn't mind me using her ideas (I figure that's what she made the site for anyway). I then supplemented with ideas from the San Diego Family free magazines, particularly the one called "Out & About: 380+ Fun Family Adventures," as well as a little bit from the AAA Westways magazine. I will probably add to it as I find out about new ideas. If anyone knows specifically about slides in San Diego (like playground slides, but cool ones, specifically super-long slides, concrete slides, and slides that go down hillsides), let me know and I will definitely add it to my list. Here goes:

Hiking/Nature

• XBlue Sky Reserve
• #Mt. Woodson
• XElfin Forest
• #Devil’s Punchbowl/Cedar Creek Falls
• Los Peñasquitos Canyon (easy)
• XHo Chi Minh trail
• #Kit Carson Park (hiking, and feed ducks?)
• XBlack Mountain trail
• #Golden Hill Park (part of Balboa Park)
• XPalomar Observatory (and trail)
• #Bridle Trail in Balboa Park
• #Palm Canyon in Balboa Park
• Adobe Falls in Mission Valley
• ?Old Pomerado Road
• #Old Mission Dam
• ?Stonewall Mine
• ?Lake Hodges (incl. bridge)
• #Webb Park (ducks & scooter)
• #Mission Trails Regional Park
• #Lake Miramar/Miramar Reservoir
• *Double Peak Park (San Marcos)

Museums/Paid places

• #Tijuana River National Estuary
• #Living Coast Discovery Center (Chula Vista Nature Center)
• #Carlsbad Flower fields (march-mid may)
• #Old Town museums (esp. Mason Schoolhouse)
• Marston House & Gardens
• ?Lavender Fields (free)
• #Mission Basilica San Diego de Acala
• #San Diego Botanic Garden ($12 or $8 plus $2 parking)
• ?Sunny Jim Cave ($4)
• #Water Conservation Garden (free)
• #World Beat Center (Balboa Park)
• #Map and Atlas Museum of La Jolla
• Women’s Museum (Pt. Loma)
• ?Whaley House (Old Town)
• ?California Wolf Center
• ?William Heath Davis House
• XMonarch Program Butterfly Vivarium
• ?San Diego Firehouse Museum
• ?Maritime Museum
• ?Midway Museum

Just to Look Around

• #Santa Fe Train Depot (Amtrak)
• Grant Hotel
• *Hotel del Coronado
• Point Loma University
• #UCSD grounds
• San Diego State grounds
• #Heritage Park Victorian Village (Old Town)
• ?Murphy Canyon
• XGalleta Meadows (metal sculptures)
• #25^th St. Musical Bridge
• #U.S. Olympic Training Center
• Martin Luther King Jr. Promenade

Day trips (multiple or extended activities)

• #Julian: apples and Eagle/ High Peak Mine
• Leo Carillo Ranch and Rancho Carillo trail
• Mushroom Beach (add to Beach Walk)
• #Presidio Park (trails and historic places)
• Rancho Peñasquitos waterfall hike and other stuff
• ?Warner Springs County
• ?Old Poway Park

Other

• #Ocean Beach Farmer’s Market
• #Maple Canyon (bridges)
• Blue Sky Ranch
• #Chicano Park
• #Queen Califa’s Magical Circle (Kit Carson Park)
• #Santee Drive-in theater
• #South Bay Drive-in theater
• ?Sunset Park (San Marcos)
• #Suspension Bridge (Banker’s Hill)
• #Topiary Garden 3549 Union St.
• Washington St. Skatepark
• #Grape Day Park
• XWriterz Blok
• ?Mt. Helix
• *Coronado Public Art Walking Tour
• #Tweet Street park 

*=I really want to do this

?=I might not really care to do this
#= I did it!
X= I decided not to try (probably because of distance, or difficulty)

I should probably number it... but then it'd mess up the categories if I were to add more. Hmmmmm.... Well, there it is for now! We'll see how much I can do in a year!