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Since 1976, travelers Bill and Joan Keller have directed their passion for the road into a one-stop travel shop that offers anything a traveler might desire: Eagle Creek and Swiss Army luggage and backpacks, an array of packing organizers and travel accessories, and a good assortment of maps and guidebooks.

Children are fascinated by the 30 million plastic bricks fashioned into famous landmarks, life-sized African animals, and landscapes. In Fun Town, kids can drive real electric cars or pilot a helicopter; at the Imagination Zone, they can build race cars and robots. Magicians, ventriloquists, and puppeteers add to the fun.

This theme park is devoted to the plastic brick. Little ones enjoy the hands-on activities, rides, and models (see Legoland).

Rooms are named and decorated after famous artists, such as the tropical Gauguin room, the French-country Monet, and the rustic Mexican look inspired by muralist Diego Rivera. The Japanese-style Furo room has sliding Shoji screens and a soaking tub.

San Diego’s gay community hits the streets in celebration of diversity. The parade begins at Fifth Avenue and Laurel in Hillcrest and moves to Balboa Park, where live bands, food booths, and a party atmosphere prevail. Outrageous costumes are the rule of the day.

Named after the character in Anne Rice’s best-selling vampire novels, this café serves excellent coffee and pastries 24 hours a day. In the heart of increasingly hip Normal Heights, local bands entertain in the evening. Bring your laptop to enjoy a free wireless Internet connection.

The 21st century hasn’t yet hit this sleepy little town. Sidewalk-less roads haven’t changed in decades.

San Diego International Airport (see San Diego International Airport) is popularly called after Charles Lindbergh (see Charles Lindbergh (1853–1926)), who began the first leg of his trans-Atlantic crossing from here in 1927. The US Army Air Corps drained the surrounding marshland, took over the small airport, and enlarged the runways to accommodate the heavy bomber aircraft manufactured in San Diego during World War II.

One of the more recent neighborhoods to undergo revitalization is also one of San Diego’s oldest. Genoese fishing families were the first Italians to settle along the waterfront in the 1860s. Along with Portuguese immigrants, they founded San Diego’s prosperous tuna industry. Little Italy, sometimes also known as Middletown, has now become a fashionable address. While retaining its Bohemian character, Italian restaurants, antique and design stores, and hip cafés distinguish its streets.

If you’re looking for a place to use your laptop, try this hip coffeehouse in upscale La Jolla. Grab a back table to enjoy that million-dollar view.