San Diego is my favorite city in California. To edit our new map of San Diego County, I spent a week west of the airport where Liberty Station is. My hotel was close to marinas on the San Diego Bay with a couple thousand boat slips. I’m an Ocean Engineer who designs marinas, so I was right in my element. It was especially fun to see big jets, fighter jets and helicopters land at Naval Station North Island in the bay just south of the marinas, where several good seafood restaurants are positioned with views of the base.

I spent time in La Jolla at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography aquarium and then at Barry Ruderman antique maps – both passions of mine. Another day I met a yacht broker friend from Santa Barbara, and we went to the Miramar Airshow north of San Diego where the ‘Top Gun’ school used to be. While the school has moved to the desert in Nevada the newest and coolest jets were here at the airshow. My friend and I were blown away as jets flew fast overhead or sometime standing on their tails under power, then launching up into the sky like a rocket.

There are other nice towns up the coast of San Diego County, like Torrey Pines which is famous for golf tournament wins by Tiger Woods, and lovely beach towns like Encinitas. Inland there are mountains, great parks for hiking and other attractions.

If you’re planning a trip to California, consider San Diego!