San Diego's top three attractions -- the San Diego Zoo, Wild Animal Park, and SeaWorld -- keep extended summer hours. SeaWorld caps off its "Summer Nights" programs at 9:30pm with a fireworks display. You can catch the show from SeaWorld or anywhere around Mission Bay.
San Diego's most unique movie venue is experienced at Movies Before the Mast (tel. 619/234-9153; www.sdmaritime.org), aboard the Star of India at the waterfront Maritime Museum. During July and August, nautically themed movies (such as The Perfect Storm or 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea) are shown on a special "screensail" Fridays and Saturdays at 7pm.
In Balboa Park, the Starlight Theatre presents four Broadway musicals in the Starlight Bowl from mid-June to mid-September (tel. 619/544-7827; www.starlighttheatre.org). This venue is under the flight path to Lindbergh Field, and when planes pass overhead, singers stop in midnote, frozen like a statue, and wait for the roar to cease (really -- we don't make this stuff up!).
Running with the Grunion -- The Grunion Run is a wacky local tradition. If someone invites you down to the beach for a late-night fishing expedition, armed only with a sack and flashlight, don't be afraid. Grunion are 5- to 6-inch silvery fish that wriggle out of the water to lay their eggs in the sand. Found only in Southern and Baja California, they make for decent eating (coated in flour and cornmeal, and then fried), providing you don't mind catching them by hand, but it's fun just to watch the action. April to early June is peak spawning season, but they may only be caught during the months of March and June through August. (A fishing license is required for those 16 and older.) Grunion runs happen twice a month, after the highest tides and during the full or new moon, and anywhere from a few dozen to thousands of grunion can appear during a run. The fish prefer wide, flat, sandy beaches (such as Mission Beach); you'll spot more grunion if you go to a less-populated stretch of beach, with a minimum of light. For details, go to the little critters' website, www.grunion.org, or check with the Department of Fish and Game at www.dfg.ca.gov.
