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Two of you sit in the front of a beautifully restored 1920s biplane and soar over beaches, golf courses, and houses, while the pilot flies behind. The Beech Belle, a restored World War II VIP biplane, is great for that special occasion. If you’re looking for an extra thrill, a pilot will put you through aerobatic loops and rolls, or you can take the controls in top dog air combat.

Coral reefs, seahorses, octopi, and undulating jellyfish have a high ooh-and-ah factor for kids. The aquarium (see Birch Aquarium at Scripps) presents special hands-on activities, scavenger hunts, craft workshops, and slumber parties throughout the year, among more than 30 tanks filled with brilliantly colored fish. Guided tide-pool adventures for tots, seasonal whale-watching and grunion runs take place off site.

This beach is notorious for its nude sunbathers. Access to the beach, which lies between Torrey Pines State Beach and La Jolla Shores, is either down an unstable 300-ft (91-m) cliff or via a 1-mile (1.6-km) walk along the beach from either the north or south during low tide. Surfers find the southern end of the beach ideal, as well as the hang-gliders who launch off from the cliffs above.

Devoted to the art of the dinner table, handmade and name brand and home accessories are beautifully displayed for inspiration.

Yachts and sailboats vie for the title of best decorated in Mission Bay and the San Diego Harbor. The best viewing areas for the Mission Bay parade are at Crown Point and Fiesta Island; for the San Diego Harbor Parade, head to the Embarcadero.

For nearly 50 years, the Loma Movie Theater presented Hollywood’s greatest epics. In 1990, the theater was transformed into a grand bookstore. Well-stocked shelves sit on various levels as the floor steps down toward the former screen; the original ceiling still exists; and the carpet was specially milled to match the original.

The Mexican-American War concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (see California Becomes a State (1850)) on February 2, 1848. A US and Mexican Boundary Commission then determined the new international border between the two countries, with California divided into Alta and Baja. A marker placed in 1851 on a bluff in this park (see Border Field State Park) marks the farthest western point of the new border.

As the endangered Western snowy plover seeks a place in which to lay her fragile eggs, the green-and-white vehicles of the US Border Patrol swoop down hillsides, lights blazing, in search of the illegal immigrant. An enormous, rusty, corrugated metal fence, which separates the US and Mexico, slices through the park before plunging into the sea. This southern part of the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve (see Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve) attracts nature lovers who come to hike, ride horses, picnic on the beach, and birdwatch. On the Mexican side of the fence is a lively Mexican community and bullring (see Border Field State Park).

A piano bar, a drag queen nun calling bingo, and outlandish karaoke.

Breads such as anise and black-olive loaf are baked and made into unusual sandwiches.