Vacation Day 1 - Balboa Park

We flew into San Diego Tuesday night and settled into our hotel, the Park Manor Suites. It is a quaint old building, built in 1926, and I'm pretty sure the suites were converted from small efficiency apartments.

Our hotel was just a block away from Balboa Park, which houses walking trails, museums and the San Diego Zoo (more on that later). Many of the buildings in the park are Spanish Colonial style, but I later learned they were built in the 1920's for an expo exhibit. Original colonial or not, they really are quite lovely.


One of my favorites was the lattice roof of this Botanical Building.

And speaking of lattice, I just love the unique growth pattern of this tree. The trees and plants in California are truly remarkable - it is like being in another country!

The most amazing part of the park is the incredible size. Not only does the park house the HUGE San Diego Zoo, but there is acre after acre of walking trails, dog parks and other landscaped goodness. It feels to be on the same scale as New York's Central Park but it has a very different feel and character. Stay tuned for our trip through the zoo.