Ericka Chickowski - Moon San Diego

Balboa Park
www.balboapark.org

Comprehensive site about Americas second-largest municipal park. It contains background information, hours, and detailed information about the numerous attractions and gardens at Balboa Park.

Cleveland National Forest
www.fs.fed.us/r5/cleveland

Learn about the open space that dominates San Diego Countys backcountry at this official site for Cleveland National Forest.

Discover Baja California
www.discoverbajacalifornia.com

Information and tips about Baja travel are offered here by the State Tourism Secretariat of Baja California.

Gaslamp.org
www.gaslamp.org

The official site of the Gaslamp Quarter Association, with historical background and information about this historic district.

San Diego Association
of Governments
www.sandag.org

Demographic and geographical information about the entire county can be found at this site, the official website of the San Diego Association of Governments.

San Diego Convention
and Visitors Bureau
www.sandiego.org

The official site of the San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau. Includes comprehensive information about sightseeing, dining, lodging, and events.

San Diego Golf
www.sandiegogolf.com

One of the most comprehensive regional golf sites, this one offers local course descriptions, information on green fees, and online tee time reservations.

San Diego History
www.sandiegohistory.org

Run by the San Diego Historical Society, this site has hundreds of articles and photos that chronicle the citys extensive history.

San Diego Reader
www.sdreader.com

Run by the San Diego Reader, this site is a good resource to find out about local shows and events through its online entertainment calendar.

Sign On San Diego
www.signonsandiego.com

The online portal for San Diegos major daily newspaper, the San Diego Union Tribune.

San Diego is less a place and more a state of mind. Something about the constant sunshine, the sandy beaches, and the friendly people makes for a laid-back atmosphere that is as inescapable as a waves pull to shore.

Located in the southwestern corner of the United States, the sprawling city is part of an even more expansive county of the same name. Topping out at 4,255 square miles, San Diego County is a rambling maze of geographical diversity. The sun rises over the vast Anza-Borrego Desert, the largest state park in the contiguous United States. It traces over the peaks and valleys of the San Marcos and Laguna Mountain Ranges and sets on the 70 miles of shoreline stretching up the San Diego coast.

The region is certainly one of many personalities. It is at once a sleepy navy enclave and a bustling nightspot. It is a sanctuary for the arts and a surfing mecca. Locals wear flip-flops to the opera, but wont hesitate to spend a mint to get their hair done flawlessly. Rather than creating a cognitive dissonance, these contrasts only serve to accentuate the areas colorful uniqueness.

The regions claim to fame is its temperate weather, and nothing makes it stand out so well as the bodies of water that sparkle under all of that sunshine. At every turn, there are enough bays and beaches to give even the biggest water enthusiast their fill with places to sail, fish, swim, and paddle. But no recreational activity is quite as definitively San Diego as surfing. To say San Diegans like to surf would be shortchanging the impact that the sport has on the region. Surfing isnt just a sport in San Diego, it is a way of life, permeating the culture all the way into the vernacular. Youre as likely to hear a buttoned-down boardroom exec use the word dude as a tow-headed beachgoer in board shorts.