California gray whale

Each year from late December through early April of the next year, San Diego whale watching cruises are offered. One way to see them is through the Go San Diego pass, which includes a one day pass offering additional attractions to see. You can buy the pass for one day or even a week. But a cheaper way to see strictly the whales is the San Diego Harbor Excursion, which provides you a ticket for strictly whale watching, usually around or under $30 per person.

Another new offering that we thought was strictly a dinner cruise company is Hornblower. For just $2 more than the other company, you can take their weekend whale watching cruise. Leaving at 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., it is a good value for being out on the ocean 3.5 hours, which amounts to less than $10 per hour. That’s nearly a half day of entertainment.

Whale watch doesn’t normally provide stunning photos of California gray whales. Their rugged, bumpy skin surface looks crusted, and the whale’s color blends with the water quite well. But being on a boat up close and personal to a whale is an experience that include the moment. Looking for the whales, seeing their spouts of water coming to the surface like huge fountains, and then seeing them rise to the surface, all provide the excitement that also allows you to appreciate the massive size of these marvels of the sea. If you get a chance in San Diego to whale watch, by all means, do it!

San Diego Restaurant Week

San Diego Restaurant Week, an annual event that allows you to “dine around the town,” makes for one more reason to enjoy this bayside city with its view dining. 200 restaurants participated in the first restaurant week in 2010, which was held from Jan. 17-22.

If you crave gourmet foods at affordable prices, this is the perfect food event that allows you to dine well and pay less. An example of a meal that was offered at the first restaurant week of the year was hosted at 1500 Ocean at Hotel del Coronado. For $40, you get 3 courses. In the Choice of First/Appetizers Course you could select one of these: Burrata Cheese; Grilled escarole, persimmon, pistachio, saba; Hiramasa Crudo; Baby fennel, pomegranate, mint, citron, olio nuovo; Handmade Pappardelle; or Lamb sugo, castelvetrano olive, ricotta salata.

Choice of Second/Main Course options are: Proscuitto Wrapped Sturgeon; White bean puree, glazed squash, romesco sauce; Port & Balsamic Marinated CAB Hangar Steak; Celeriac puree, maitake, root vegetables, green peppercorn sauce Braised Veal Cheeks; or Tallegio polenta, black kale, fried sunchokes, natural jus. For dessert the Choice of Third/Dessert Course options were: Warm Chocolate Chipotle Cake; Caramel ice cream, banana, candied chilies; Butternut Squash Crème Brulee; Mexican wedding cookies, baby kiwi; Meyer Lemon Tart; or Black pepper meringue, pomegranate coulis, almonds.

Look for updates and upcoming events at (sandiegorestaurantweek.com).