San Diego Bay Fair: Celebrate the End of Summer

This weekend, September 18-20, Mission Bay will be hosting the largest annual family festival and sports competition  San Diego Bay Fair--San Diego boat racing and family beach festival celebrating the end of summer. The Bay Fair has been celebrating for over 40 years now and invites to over 23 individual racing classes and over 150 high competition teams. Due to the amazing weather and great race course conditions, visitors are able to see boats racing at speeds over 225 mph. The festival does not just have boat racing, there is a family festival, live entertainment, vendors, great food and beer gardens, fireworks, kid’s fun zone and other family activities. The San Day Bay Fair expects to see over 150,000 visitors over the 3 days.

For more information visit:

• San Diego Bay Fair website
• San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau

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Different Personalities of the San Diego Beaches

When wondering what beaches you should head to in San Diego, keep in mind each beach has a different personality and different things to offer. Below is a little guide to which of one of San Diego's best beaches will best suit your needs.

• Ocean Beach: Low key, eclectic, hippie, dog beach, "little town feel." OB is popular for its unique stores and laid back personality. Home to the famous Hodad's (see my earlier post). This beach is definitely more of a locals spot because it is a little but further travel for tourists. Many of the local surfers and residents at the nearby hostel makes it feel like everyone here knows each other. However, it is definitely not as clean as some of the other beaches in SD.
  
• Pacific Beach: The younger crowd's favorite hangout. PB has the most popular bar scene than any of the other San Diego beaches. It is a very popular party spot for many of the college students and young professionals. PB is also known to have great, and usually cheap, shopping. The beach is popular with the surfers. Parking is usually tough since PB is such a happening spot.
  
• Mission Bay: Perfect for a picnic or family gathering with beautiful sights. There are miles of sand and grass available to play and enjoy the Bay. This should not be the spot you choose to swim and surf. The water is definitely more stagnant than ocean water since it is the bay. You will find children splashing in the Bay, but if swimming is what you want to do, don't pick the Bay.
  
• Mission Beach: Definitely a tourist hot spot. There is a boardwalk to stroll along, miles of beach, tourist along with unique shops, and of course home to Belmont Park. Belmont Park is an amusement park with typical attractions and most famously their wooden roller coaster, the Giant Dipper. Mission Beach offers many things to do and a beautiful beach to enjoy. Some say this beach is the closet thing to something you would see on the East Coast.
  
• La Jolla: Probably one of the most gorgeous places in San Diego. This is a very upscale and affluent city but also home to the most beautiful beaches. Whether you go to the Cove, the Cliffs (see earlier post), or the Shores, the sights will be amazing. La Jolla Shores is known to be a romantic spot and the Cove has tidepools and caves to explore. Windansea is close by and known as one of the best surfing beaches in San Diego. And if you are in the mood for a nude beach, try out Black's.
  
• Coronado: Perfect for a weekend getaway. Coronado is a fantastic island full of restaurants, shops, and upscale hotels--like the Hotel Del. The beaches are perfect for everyone with their calm waves and clean sand. Coronado is known as one of America's finest beaches.  This is definitely a beach to make a day out of.
  

Links

• For more information on San Diego's Best Beaches
  

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San Diego's Alcohol Ban on Beaches: Was It Worth It?

With Labor Day Weekend in progress, the recently passed law of the alcohol ban is once again breaking news headlines. Locals and visitors alike are trying to find a way around the law permitting them to drink on the beaches.

The most recent attempt includes floating. That's right--floating. Many locals have tried floating in inner tubes a few feet from shore to pop open their ice cold beer. But is this legal? Sure is. San Diegans have found the loophole to the ban-- the right to have open containers of alcohol as long as your feet are not touching the sand. Police estimated large numbers exercising their "rights." The police are trying to crack down hard on the new policies but find it frustrating that many people are trying to go around the new ban, thus making it even harder to regulate.

An event called Floatopia brought quite a crowd. Floatopia was an organized effort in Mission Bay to party and drink off the sand. However, some people were not completely out of reach from the police--several arrests were made for being drunk in public and lifeguards did make some water rescues.

When San Diego residents passed this law in November, their hopes were to create a safer and more appealing environment for everyone. But now, the dangerous risks of drinking out in the water along with the issue of littering has become a bigger problem. Makes the San Diego voter think if their vote for the alcohol ban was the safest decision for San Diego...

Other Articles Discussing the Alcohol Ban on Beaches

• Revelers float right past city's beach alcohol ban
• Yelp Discussion on Floatopia
• Floatopia Video

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