In late June of 2024 I had the pleasure of taking a work trip to sunny San Diego, California. I stayed downtown for the work portion of the trip, and then stayed a night in the Old Town San Diego area for a day of being a tourist at the end of the trip.
Stay
The conference I was working placed me in the Moxy San Diego Downtown / Gaslamp Quarter, which couldn’t have been in a better location. I had a nice 15 minute walk to the convention center through the quaint Gaslamp Quarter neighborhood full of bars and restaurants. It was my first time staying in a Moxy hotel, a trendy Marriott brand that emphasizes its stylish communal spaces, with guestrooms that provide only what you truly need when you travel – no bulky wardrobes or desks, just a small murphy desk and some hooks on the wall for hanging clothes. For a traveler like me who rarely ever fully unpacks and spends little time in my guestroom other than showering and sleeping, I loved the Moxy style.
The last night of my time in San Diego when I moved to the Old Town area, my stay was at the Cosmopolitan Hotel, a historic hotel dating back to 1827 that has been featured on Ghost Adventures. The hotel was built as the Casa de Bandini, the mansion of Juan Bandini and social center of Old San Diego. I was staying in Room 11, the Ysadora Bandini Room, one of the reportedly most haunted rooms in the hotel. The spirits weren’t active during my stay, but I had a nice quiet evening in bed reading the guestbooks full of other people’s experiences.
See and Do
On my first day in San Diego, I had a free afternoon before I started working my conference, so I took the afternoon to tour the USS Midway naval aircraft carrier. It wasn’t my first time being on a naval vessel, having toured the Battleship New Jersey across the river from my home in Philadelphia. But I was in awe of how huge the Midway is. It was like a floating city during its period of service from 1945 to 1992, with everything you could possibly need onboard, from a sick bay and dental office to a chapel to a little convenience shop. I spent a good few hours exploring the maze of below deck hallways via a self-guided audio tour, before heading up to the sprawling flight deck for scenic views.
After the Midway, I had intended to tour the Star of India and other historic vessels at the Maritime Museum of San Diego. I ran out of time to enter the museum, but was still able to take in views of the ships walking along the Embarcadero waterfront.
On one evening during the conference after I had finished my booth hours, I did a quick change of clothes and took an Uber out to Coronado, a peninsula in the San Diego bay. My destination was the Hotel del Coronado, a historic hotel and resort that opened in 1888 and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1977. “The Del” is an architectural masterpiece uniquely identified by its large red-roofed turret and has been host to celebrities and presidents over the years. Along with such a long and storied history, The Del has its share of ghost stories and is a must on a paranormal enthusiast’s bucket list. A stay at The Del is, for now, a bit out of my budget, but I was happy to just get dinner there and wander. I enjoyed a flatbread pizza at The Del’s ENO Pizzeria on an outdoor patio, and then explored the hotel and its grounds. I wandered out to the beach to dip my feet in the Pacific Ocean, then grabbed a beer at one of the beachfront bars. I concluded my evening with a sunset walk along the beach path.
The last day of my trip was spent exploring Old Town San Diego, the part of the city that was its earliest settlement and today is a great place to experience early California history and Mexican heritage. At Old Town State Historic Park, you can explore a collection of 19th century buildings and adobe homes to learn more about life in early San Diego. The park includes Casa de Estudillo, which had been on my list since it was included in the Ghost Adventures episode on Old Town along with the Cosmopolitan Hotel, but unfortunately the Casa de Estudillo was closed on the day I visited.
Just up the road from the State Park sites is The Whaley House, a landmark early San Diego house that is considered to be one of the country’s most haunted houses. The Greek Revival house was built in 1856 for Thomas Whaley, a pioneer who arrived in San Diego around the time of the California Golf Rush. In addition to being the Whaley homestead, the building housed Old Town’s first commercial theater and the county courthouse. The house and its grounds have seen their share of tragedy over the years, including the deaths of Whaley family members and being the site of the execution of a horse thief, which contribute to its paranormal history. I bought a combination ticket, which included a self-guided daytime tour and a guided 30-minute evening ghost tour.
After spending the morning exploring Old Town, I ended up with some extra time in the afternoon and decided to just wander. I came across the Mormon Battalion Historic Site & Museum and decided to visit. The museum offers a guided interactive tour through the story of 500 Latter-day Saints who joined the United States Army in 1846 during the Mexican-American War, and journeyed nearly 2,000 miles westward, contributing to the settlement of the American West. The tour concludes with an interactive gold panning demonstration, and a tower you can go up in for views out over Old Town.
Next, I wandered up the street to Heritage County Park, a collection of restored Victorian homes from 1880s-1890s San Diego, as well as the city’s first synagogue Temple Beth Israel.
Up for more of a walk, I decided to take a little hike up through Presidio Park, a hilly park just up the street from my hotel. Within the park, I took in the views of Mission Valley from the exterior of the Junipero Serra Museum (the museum itself was closed the day of my visit). Looking on Google Maps as I wandered, something called the Witches Tower caught my eye, so I had to check that out. From ground level, it’s an unassuming one story adobe tower. It’s otherwise known as the Pattie Memorial, having once been a Spanish guardhouse and jail cell that housed an American named Sylvester Pattie who died there and was the first American buried in California soil. “What’s so witchy about it?” I asked myself as I approached. I ascended the steps to quickly find out – the top of the tower resembles a pentagram, with a star pattern inlaid in brick. There’s frequently staining and wax in the middle of the pentagram from supposed occult rituals, and the site is believed to have some paranormal activity and sightings of cloaked figures. I also went down a rabbit hole of watching TikTok videos about a body that was found there by a group of teens. Needless to say, I didn’t hang around too long. It’s a truly eerie and spooky place.
Eat and Drink
As expected with as much Mexican influence there is in the San Diego area, the city is home to some great Mexican cuisine, especially in the Old Town area. While staying in Old Town, I ate a delicious lunch of beef enchiladas at Cafe Coyote.
For dinner, I wandered into Casa de Reyes, the sister restaurant of the Cosmopolitan Hotel, and had a lovely dinner of chicken mole poblano and a margarita in their garden area.
While staying downtown during the conference, I went to the Little Italy location of Ballast Point Brewing for dinner one night and had an al pastor chicken sandwich with a flight of beer.
One night after finishing up work at the Convention Center, I wandered along the waterfront and had some tasty tacos and a margarita at Puesto, a trendy award-winning Mexican restaurant.
On my morning walks to the Convention Center, I stopped for coffee and a California-style bagel at Spill the Beans. I enjoyed their chaga cold brew, which features chaga mushroom for a boost of antioxidants.
Between the history, beautiful beaches, perfect weather, saturated brewery scene, and delicious Mexican cuisine, it was hard not to fall in love with San Diego. I hope to go back again soon!
C to Shining C 
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