An "Iconic" Family Adventure

As the first part of our 2-hotel tour on the west coast, we stayed at the U.S. Grant, located in downtown San Diego. To prep for this trip I once again purchased GoCity passes to save $ on attractions. SeaWorld and San Diego Zoo alone cost more than the passes, and we planned on doing more than that in the 2 days we were there.

Day 1: Breakfast stop after the flight, and with the hotel’s recommendation we ate at Breakfast Republic a few blocks away. The food was great, as was the service. On to our busy day…The San Diego Zoo was up first. There is so much to see at the Zoo, the kids loved it…Especially the tram ride above the zoo.

We came back downtown and went on a guided boat tour and got to see all the military ships and helicopters in the harbor, some even flying in formation, which was very cool for the kids. Then we got to see the sea lions doing their basking-thing which was also fun.

Day 2: We went off to the Maritime Museum of San Diego and USS Midway (located right next to each other within walking distance from the hotel) for some boat history. There was a lot to see and learn on these ships and it was very enjoyable to visit. The Midway even had helicopters and planes to get into, perfect for the kids. After those visits, off to Coronado to check out the beach (the ferry was included in the Go City Pass) and then Belmont Park in Mission Beach. Belmont Park was a fun amusement park on the beach and was located right next to Plunge, our next stop, an indoor pool obstacle course.

We closed the night out at SeaWorld for a fireworks show! We caught a few animals and a BMX bike show that was pretty great (with a live band and everything).

All in all we did A LOT in San Diego, and though we didn’t get to La Jolla, we got to see so many of the sights…Great stop and loved that the hotel had a lot of history right down in the lobby for you to take in from images to newspapers to original doorknobs.

Why is the U.S. Grant iconic?

• The U.S. Grant has hosted 14 U.S. Presidents, Albert Einstein, Charles Lindbergh and the first Fireside Chat delivered by President Franklin Roosevelt outside of Washington D.C. 
• Owns one of only two existing portraits of President Ulysses S. Grant
• Buck Grant planned was to build a grand hotel in memory of his father, Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th President of the United States and opened in 1910