San Diego

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In Vegas, we got chatting with two San Diego residents in the hotel hot tub. The men were from Pacific Beach - or 'PB' as they called it - and were really enthusiastic about their home, extolling all the virtues San Diego had to offer.

We didn't have the time to see as much of San Diego as we would have liked, but we did make it to Balboa park, a fine urban park spread over 14,000 acres. The Spanish Colonial buildings (their ornamental facades have been rebuilt over the years but lend a real character to the park), and the Botanic gardens were a highlight of the walk we enjoyed there.

Balboa Park - Spanish facades
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Our other highlight was a giant burger (veggie for Heids!) in 'OB' (Ocean Beach) on Halloween. As zombies, Harry Potter and an assortment of stoned-looking surfers wandered by, we tucked into the giant creations at a burger joint named Hodads,served with a huge basket of chips, some cool beers and some onion rings thrown in by the owner for good measure. "No shoes, No shirt, No problem" it said on the wall, which was lined with comedy US liscence plates and cool diner-style decor.