The San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park will have Maxfield Parrish -- Master of Make Believe, July 16-September 11, 2005. The touring show features 70 pieces ranging from Parrish's beloved calendar illustrations, to his signature classicized paintings, to rarely seen murals. Call tel. 619/232-7931 for more details, or check www.sdmart.org. Meanwhile, the Museum of Contemporary Art will be surveying the burgeoning arts scene of Tijuana with Strange New World/Extraño Nuevo Mundo, a multi-faceted portrait of a border town that is little understood (even in San Diego). The exhibit opens in July and will occupy space at both the museum's La Jolla and downtown San Diego branches. For exact dates and other details call tel. 858/454-3541, or see www.mcasd.com.
Where to Stay
New for this year is Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa (tel. 877/4-ESTANCIA or 858/550-1000; www.estancialajolla.com), a $60 million resort that opened on former equestrian grounds, across the street from the campus of University of California, San Diego. The 210 rooms sprawl over a 9.5-acre spread, and designers incorporated the old adobe (mud) bricks from the stables into some of the common areas. Although located just a few hundred yards from the ocean and 3 miles from downtown La Jolla, the property has a rancho feel. A major focus for the hotel will be meetings and incentive groups -- the meeting facilities are upscale and prodigiously equipped, certified by IACC.
Located in Carlsbad, 33 miles north of downtown San Diego, the Four Seasons Resort Aviara (tel 800/332-3442; www.fourseasons.com/aviara) is rolling up the accolades, as the reader surveys from two top leisure magazines prove. Golf Magazine announced America's Best Golf Resorts for 2004-05 and Aviara was one of 25 that made the final cut: "It's a beaut. Arnold Palmer tore a page from Alice in Wonderland, crafting a layout that bobs and weaves through the most vibrant flora this side of the Rose Parade," the editors wrote. Meanwhile, Aviara landed in the number 2 slot on Conde Nast Traveler's 2004 reader survey of Top Resort Spas in North America, with the spa's programs and treatments receiving particular acclaim.
Fortunately, not all of San Diego's new hotels cater to affluent types: 500 West, at 500 W. Broadway (tel. 619/234-5252; www.500westhotel.com) is a $9 million makeover of downtown's old YMCA building and offers 260 rooms geared to the budget traveler, with an eye-catching price-range of $49 to $89. Scheduled to open late 2004, rooms are small and spartan, with bathrooms down the hall, but the project is definitely a step up from your typical hostel-type environment, plus the "Y" is still in the basement and available to guests.
Where to Dine
The Padre's new Petco Park continues to reshape the downtown dining scene. Some upscale restaurants are struggling on game nights, while the moderate or bar-oriented venues located close to the park tend to thrive. Restaurants in Little Italy are little impacted. Parking on Friday and Saturday nights is quite tight. On any night the Padres are playing I recommend travelling downtown via taxi or trolley. The good news: It's easier to get into places like Chive or Lou & Mickey's, especially if you arrive around 7pm, when games start.
Other restaurant news: Jason Knibb, formerly of Utah's Sundance Resort, has taken over the kitchen at Nine-Ten (tel. 858/964-5402; www.nine-ten.com) in La Jolla. The restaurant's focus on regional, market-inspired cuisine remains in place. Chef Deborah Scott and partners David and Leslie Cohn have taken over Rueben's, a San Diego stalwart since 1969, with plans to transform it into a steakhouse with a "Ralph Lauren-meets-Tommy Bahamas décor." The venue is getting a complete overhaul, but the postcard-perfect panorama of San Diego Bay, downtown, Coronado and Point Loma will still be a drawing card. Watch for an early 2005 opening.
Exploring San Diego
In early 2005 the San Diego Trolley gets an important extension, and a third color, as a new 6-mile section opens to link San Diego State University to the network. Concert-goers headed to either of SDSU's venues will find this an easy transportation route. More info is available at www.sandiegotrolley.com.
San Diego Golf Reservations (tel. 800/905-0230 or 858/964-5980; www.sandiegogolf.com) can arrange tee times at 20 of San Diego's premiere courses. They will consult with you by phone on the courses you are interested in, or you can book 12 of the courses on-line at their web site. Good news: This service is now complimentary (though there is still a $10 booking fee for twilight reservations or to play Balboa Park Municipal). One of the courses they handle is the legendary Torrey Pines (tel. 858/570-1234; www.torreypinesgolfcourse.com), home of the Buick Invitational and the 2008 U.S. Open. Alas, greens fees at Torrey Pines have increased yet again: It's now $115 Monday-Friday on the South Course, $135 Saturday-Sunday; the North Course is $75 and $85 respectively.
Shopping
The original all-girls surf school Surf Diva (tel. 858/454-8273; www.surfdiva.com) has opened a boutique. Although the team has had an on-line store for several years, the storefront now sells Surf Diva's custom surfboards for women, and apparel designed by Coco Tihanyi with her sister Izzy (the duo that started Surf Diva). The boutique, located at 2160 Avenida de la Playa in La Jolla, caters to women, but note that the crew also teaches the guys.
After Dark
The San Diego Symphony was beneficiary of a giant bequest and new resident conductor, Jahja Ling, oversees his first full season in 2004-05. Winter performances are held at Symphony Hall, an elegantly restored 1929-era movie theatre, October-May, while a summer pops series runs late June-August under the stars on a grassy peninsula next door to downtown's Convention Center. Tickets and schedules: tel. 619/235-0804; www.sandiegosymphony.com.
San Diego's original (and almost only) lesbian owned bar, The Flame (tel. 619/295-4163) was sold in March 2004 and reopened in July under all-male ownership, the same team that runs the popular Numbers across the street. Both bars will continue to cater to a mixed gay and lesbian clientele, with theme nights like Friday's Bad Puppies (Numbers) and Bad Kitties (The Flame). But The Flame has received more than a facelift: The overhauled interior now features two dance floors, a lounge, and three bars, plus an outdoor smoking patio. Still intact is the bar's wonderfully art deco neon logo.
Side Trips
Almost all of 25,000-acre Cuyamaca Rancho State Park (tel. 760/765-3020; www.cuyamaca.us) was burned in the devastating October 2003 fires. But the backcountry mountain park located just south of Julian is on the mend, with a helping hand from an army of volunteers who have been clearing trails. More than half the park's hikes have reopened, including the ascent of Stonewall Peak, and the Green Valley Campground is back open. This is not to say Cuyamaca visitors won't see a lot of wildfire destruction, but green leaves and flowers are sprouting throughout the park, and eye-filling new vistas have been revealed where oak trees once canvassed the hills. Located less then 90 minutes from San Diego, the park is once again well-worth a day trip.
In Carlsbad, LEGOLAND (tel. 760/918-LEGO; www.legoland.com) celebrated its fifth anniversary in 2004 with the debut of 5 new attractions. Among them: The "Block of Fame," a three-dimensional gallery lined with busts made solely out of LEGO bricks. At Dino Island, the Coaster-Saurus is a pint-sized roller coaster with life-size animatronic dinos made from LEGOs. And "Dig Those Dinos" is a simulated archeological dig in a hunt for prehistoric bones.
Starting May 5, 2005, the "happiest place on earth" gets a little bit happier as Disneyland (tel. 714/781-4565; www.disneyland.com) celebrates its 50th anniversary. Expect a new ride based on Buzz Lightyear, an overhauled Space Mountain, and a grand new parade and expanded fireworks shows.