I left my heart in, the city that never sleeps, my kind of town San Diego is. Oh wait a second. Those songs belong to other cities. But, with so many people moving here from all over the country it seems like every city song and motto has a place in San Diego. Our hometown’s actual motto is “America’s Finest City”. Now that may come off as a bit conceited to those from other fine metropolises, but remember that we didn’t say best. With near perfect weather, nearby mountains and desert, over 70 miles of beaches, easy access to Mexico (the return takes longer), a growing restaurant scene and surprisingly good live theater; it is hard to argue that San Diego isn’t fine. Of course other cities may be “finer” for their residents. But, we hope you’ll give our city a chance to show what it has to offer.

On October 29^th, Atlantis has a gay cruise leaving from our port. So we wanted to outline a few of the things to do while in town. But, if you’re not on the cruise remember that there isn’t a bad time to come visit. Well except maybe in late May or June when we tend to have a coastal fog known as “June Gloom”. But, for the rest of the year we deserve our reputation as the city with perhaps the best weather in America.

The following sites aren’t secrets, but they are worth your time. Balboa Park is near the gayborhood and downtown and is worth a visit. There are around a dozen museums near the center of the park. To be honest, none of them is great if you happen to be from a major Eastern city. But, their architecture and setting are truly beautiful and worth a stroll. The gardens are lovely and the museums are mostly located in Spanish revival buildings that are left over from the 1915 Pan American Exhibition. A little, and under-visited gem, is the Timken Museum of Art. The building isn’t Spanish, but it has a great collection of Russian religious icons and a painting attributed to Rembrandt. It only takes half an hour to visit, and it’s free, so what do you have to lose? Check out www.balboapark.org for museums and current events. While in the park consider lunch, dinner, or just drinks at the nearby Prado Restaurant. Its patio overlooks the park and its interior is charming. Plus the food is good and they have a popular happy hour. It’s almost a cliché to mention it, but the World famous San Diego Zoo is also in the park.

If you’re visiting from inland, then do take time to visit the beaches. Black’s Beach is still the gay beach. The hike down the cliffs is part of the experience and they provide a dramatic backdrop once you reach the water. You can also watch hang and paragliders fly overhead from the Torrey Pines Gliderport. Or, take a tandem ride with an expert glider if you’re up for it! For flatter terrain consider Coronado’s beach near the famous Hotel Del Coronado. The beach glistens with mica in the sand and it offers impressive views of Point Loma. It offers even better views of the Navy Seals who regularly train at this beach. The Hotel Del was made famous as the setting for the movie “Some Like It Hot”. It is also believed to be an inspiration for “Oz” as L. Frank Baum wintered in Coronado. Others attribute other inspirations for Oz, but at a minimum Baum wrote three sequels to the Wizard of Oz while on the “Island”. Either way check out the Hotel’s lobby, or have a drink at one of the bars, after your beach visit. Note that the weather will probably be pleasant for a walk on the beach, but the water will be too cold for swimming when the cruise is here in October.

Spend some time in Hillcrest, the epicenter of gay life in San Diego. It has everything from neighborhood bars, to video bars to dance clubs. It also has a wide variety of restaurants representing many ethnicities and price ranges. If you’re into more manly, or leather, bars head to nearby North Park. Along with the leather bars, this is San Diego’s hipster neighborhood. It also offers good restaurants and an overabundance of coffee bars and local breweries. If you’re in San Diego on October 28^th there is another reason to visit North Park. We will be co-hosting “Sinners & Saints”, a costume and dance party there with local charity Urban Street Angels. Here is a chance to dance and drink for a cause as all proceeds benefit this wonderful organization which assists homeless teens; with an emphasis on LGBT youth. Entry starts at only $20 (early bird tickets through September 30th only!) and goes up from there if you want the VIP treatment or unlimited drinks. Amazing local DJ Aaron K will be spinning and popular Gay Cruise entertainers Matt Yee and Brad Loeckle will perform. For more information about this worthwhile event visit https://www.purplelightvacations.com/calling-sinners-saints-save-date-friday-october-28-2016/ on Purple Light’s site. Not too far from Hillcrest, and right next to the cruise ship terminal, is Little Italy. In the not so recent past this was considered more of a tourist zone. It is still popular with tourists, but now it offers some of the best and most popular restaurants in town. Although this isn’t always true in many cities, in Little Italy if you see a restaurant with over the top interior design it almost guarantees that the food will be good. If you booked the cruise with us we’ve already suggested where to go. If you book a future trip here with us, we’ll fill you in with the details. Fall and then winter are right around the corner and we know you want to visit. (Unless you’re from Palm Springs or Arizona, in which case we’ll see you next summer).