San Diego Zoo Ritz gala

San Diego Zoo has many expenses and needs, plus many mouths to feed. That’s why the fund-raising efforts are so important to this valuable institution that helps all of us learn and grow in our understanding of our responsibility as citizens of the planet. R*I*T*Z: Rendezvous In The Zoo, billed as A Night in Paradise, invites you to help the zoo’s mission and its causes by attending the annual gala held at the zoo. Sure, it costs quite a bit ($450 general seating, $900 for preferred circle seats.)  It clearly is not for everyone, and certainly not an event you should attend if you can’t afford it. But for those who can, there’s no better cause and no better place to be on June 19, 2010 from 7 p.m. to midnight, than at the zoo.

The Zoo’s black-tie event, now in its 27th year,  will take place under the stars at the San Diego Zoo. Highlights include lavish hors d’oeuvres, hosted cocktails, a silent auction, a gourmet dinner, conservation ambassador Joan Embery and animal friends, and dancing to the music of Wayne Foster Entertainment.

More than 90 volunteers are planning a magical party where guests can escape to a relaxing, elegant, and colorful tropical paradise for the evening. A Night In Paradise will create an affair that will be an unforgettable evening of dining and dancing. To purchase tickets, please call R*I*T*Z reservation chair Marilyn Neumann at (619) 287-5435. See more about the zoo.

Hilton Hotel San Diego sailboats

Hilton San Diego Resort

Shown in the photo above are sailboats guests can rent. Are you looking for something to do in San Diego? The kid-friendly Mission Bay not only include a resort hotel that’s custom made for kids (Hilton Resort), but daytime activities such as the green park with lots of playground fun for youngsters. Families love to come on weekends and sit on the grassy hills that provide vantage points to watch your kids–and the bay where there’s ample recreation. Most any day you will notice  people exercising along the walk / jog / bike path. There are great restrooms, too. Mission Bay is a manmade oceanfront aquatic park with miles of sandy beaches, bike paths and playgrounds.

Just down the road is SeaWorld, well worth half a day t a full day’s entertainment. Shows, water rides, shopping, dining and simply watching are some of the more popular diversions perfect for all ages. For kid-themed vacations, you definitely won’t want to miss Legoland for the youngsters, or San Dieogo Zoo. Along with the exciting zoo and small train ride that circles on a track outside the park, be sure to check out Wild Animal Park.

• Legoland Tickets (buy one day, get one day free limited offer)

• Sea World Tickets

• San Diego Zoo

• Old Town Trolley

  - I recommend this one. The staff are are always nice.

Outdoor sports include surfing, bicycling if you rent a bike or bring your own and ride along the beach paths at Pacific Beach. Within the city limits is Torrey Pines State Reserve, with high bluffs overlooking the Pacific. The Glider Port is a launch pad based on those bluffs. Beginners can take the training course and get the breeze beneath their wings in a tandem ride provided on your first trip out.

Of course, the numero uno sports activities in San Diego are game watching. There are two ball parks hosting San Diego’s baseball and football teams. You can stay at the Hard Rock Hotel or over at the towering Hilton on the Bay and walk on over to Petco Park.

San Diego is a city on the run. There’s so much to see and do, you really can’t get board. From taking a guided tour cruise on the water, a city cruise on the Old Town Trolley, or exploring on foot, now’s a great time to get your feet wet, both figuratively speaking and in real time.

San Diego Zoo

San Diego Zoo Admission Price

San Diego Zoo, 2920 Zoo Drive, San Diego, CA 92101

San Diego Zoo is one of San Diego’s favorite attractions. Known for its treatment and care of its animals, birds and other creatures, the zoo is recognized nationally for its quality accommodations for the animals that reside and find permanent homes in San Diego. In addition to some unique exhibits that have received much press attention, such as the Giant Pandas from China, the zoo’s expansive grounds, great marketing and products, fantastic weather and enjoyable setting, make this a destination attraction you want to return to time and again.

Among the zoo’s many attributes are its animals and birds exhibits, its zoo bus and tramway rides, and the easy accessibility and unique location in one of California’s top two parks for attendance, Balboa Park.  There are several ways to get to the zoo but our favorite is the Old Town Trolley. Once at the Zoo, you can purchase the 3 in 1 ticket with admission to the Zoo, Wild Animal Park and Sea World with five days unlimited admission to all; or the San Diego Zoo pass with the tram ride and bus tour include.

San Diego Zoo flamingos

San Diego Zoo flamingos are brilliantly colored in shades of hot pink, salmon and peach. They maintain their brilliance thanks to the foods they are supplied.  Their pink or reddish color comes from the rich sources of carotenoid pigments like from carrots. Their primary sources of these carotenoid pigments are algae and small crustaceans. There are flamingos at both the San Diego Zoo and the Wild Animal Park (the sister zoo owned and operated by the same not-for-profit organization). At the Wild Animal Park on that bus tour I recall the guide saying that many zoos cut corners and don’t feed their flamingos the carotenoid diets which are more expensive, thus their flamingos may not seem as bright and rich in color as you’ll see at these two zoos.

When I visited San Diego and the zoo for the very first time, I was amazed by the flamingo display and when I returned to Kansas to finish up my college degree, I sat in class remembering those beautiful birds, and the tropical flavor of this great escape. While I don’t know if there are still flamingos living in the waters and on the grounds of the Marriott hotel on Coronado Island, the climate sure is ideal for the life of a flamingo cared for in San Diego.

The San Diego Zoo and the Wild Animal Park are among only a handful of zoos in the world that raise offspring from four of the six flamingo species. The social creatures that can be found in flocks of up to one million birds in East Africa are most comfortable standing on just one leg. Laying only one egg which takes around 30 days to hatch, the chick becomes a full size adult in 3 to 5 years. Flamingos fly by running a little bit to get up speed, and they eat by scooping the mud for food with their bill upside down.

The beautiful flamingo is an amazing creature to watch and San Diego’s zoos seem to treat them well.

Travel tip: One of the best ways to see the San Diego Zoo and the Wild Animal Park both is through the 3 in 1 pass, which also gains you admission to Sea World San Diego.  You get five days of unlimited admission to all three parks.

Get 5 Day Unlimited Admission to 3 Parks

San Diego Zoo Bus

When visiting the San Diego Zoo, in addition to just wandering around and looking at exhibits there are a lot of things to do at the zoo. First, there’s a guided bus tour that orients you to the set-up of the place.

If you want to get around the expansive zoo and return to the places you like the best, then here’s what you need:

Zoo package with the tour bus

While you will have great looks from the side of the bus you are on, you may miss some things. The good news is that you can always come back to your favorite exhibits and animals and spend more time there.

The tours run over half an hour (they say 35 minutes in their literature and my ride was around 4o minutes). Like everything else, people first in line go running up the steps to the top deck of the double decker bus. While you may not see everything, the tour bus covers most the territory. Some of the exhibits you have to see on foot.The polar bears are one example of an exhibit that allows you to get close and personal on eye level, looking through the tank where they swim.

You also get access to the express buses that are more like shuttles. They go between many stops at the zoo. There are also bus tours for groups of 20 or moe offered in other languages, mostly Spanish and French.

San Diego Zoo

Zoo Admission Prices

San Diego, Calif.–San Diego Zoo features many exciting exhibits. We sell theme park tickets to SeaWorld, San Diego Zoo, and the Wild Animal Park. In addtion to the very popular Giant Panda section of the zoo, the polar bears are especially fun to watch, and generally much more lively than the panda bears. The polar bears love diving into the water and swimming. They love sitting on big rock perches in the San Diego sunshine, and they like to chomp on huge bones.

When you go on vacation in San Diego, you definitely need to make this zoo one of your stops during your trip. There’s so much to see and do, it is an action-packed day when you go. In addition to the zoo bus tour, take the tram that goes way up in the sky above the zoo exhibits. From up high you can look over to beautiful Balboa Park, another must-see when you give yourself a couple days or week to explore.

San Diego Zoo is one of the reasons that this beach vacation becomes a learning experience, and delightful entertainment for all ages… and all seasons. San Diego is a year-round vacation playground.