January Weather in San Diego – Cold Nights & Warm Days
by TourGuideTim
January can bring warm sunny days…
Happy New Year! San Diego weather in January frequently offers warm days and cold nights. Although, I can tell you from first hand experience running a tour business serving guests from around the world, most travelers get a good laugh when we use the word ‘cold’ in San Diego.
To me, anytime it goes below freezing at 32 degrees Fahrenheit, it’s cold! Well, January is the only month of the year, historically, where temperatures tracked at the San Diego Airport, just a mile away from downtown’s tourist attractions, have gone below freezing. (Yes, woe is us in San Diego.) Officially, it’s only gone below freezing four times in our history, always in January. The coldest was back in 1913 when it hit 25 degrees.
The cold temperatures come during clear nights when there are no clouds to keep the previous day’s heat from escaping into the atmosphere. But, it’s those same clear skies that bring us warm days. We frequently see days with highs in the 70s and even 80s. The highest was back in 1953 when we reached a high temperature in San Diego during January of 88 degrees.
As for the average highs and lows in San Diego during January, they are 65 degrees and 50 degrees respectively. (For foreigners, that’s about 18 degrees Celsius and 10 degrees Celsius respectively.)
…but also cold nights & snow to our local mountains.
January is the wettest month of the year, with an average of 7 days of rain. However, on the bright side, it’s also the fourth sunniest month of the year in San Diego.
So, that’s what you can expect in San Diego for weather in January. Visitors who want to learn more about weather in San Diego throughout the year can visit my San Diego Travel Guide. For locals wanting to learn more about San Diego’s weather history, visit the NOAA web site. I also highly recommend subscribing to the Union Tribune newspaper where weatherman Robert Krier answers readers questions about weather in San Diego.
Watch out for Christmas Berries on San Diego Hiking Trails
by TourGuideTim
Have you seen bushes of these bright red berries in recent weeks while enjoying your favorite San Diego hiking trails?
I’ve seen quite a few, especially in the Los Penasquitos Canyon. With a little research, I’ve found they are appropriately called Christmas Berries. They are also called Toyons, which are evergreen shrubs with leathery leaves, small white flowers that bloom in the summer and the red berries seen in the adjacent photo that arrive by Christmas.
Christmas berries are native to the area and can be found throughout San Diego County from our coastal areas to our mountains. They’ve even been seen in the Anza-Borrego Desert. Christmas berries are found primarily only within the borders of California and are a popular source of food for birds.
Don’t be tempted to taste the berries as they are rated as having ‘Major’ toxicity. However, according the the UC Davis website, native Indians did eat them after boiling away their bitter taste. The native Indians also used the Toyon branches to create their arrows, harpoons, and fishing spears according to the Western National Parks Association website.
Enjoy the bright colors offered by the Christmas berries during our winter months while hiking in San Diego.
Watch the Visa and Calvin Klein TV ads filmed at La Jolla Home
by TourGuideTimThe Razor Residence, designed by famed architect Wallace Cunningham, finally sold…for $14.1 million. Many of the news accounts about the sale make note that TV commercials for Calvin Klein and Visa were filmed in the home but none of them that I’ve seen have provided links to video of the actual commercials.
Since I think it is cool to see commercials filmed in San Diego showing off our great city and beautiful landscape, I present them below for your pleasure. If you like seeing interesting tidbits about San Diego, be sure to follow this TourGuideTim Reveals San Diego blog, or follow my TourGuideTim page on Facebook or Twitter where I’ve posted the Visa Black Card Commercial filmed in La Jolla a few times in the past year.
For those who don’t know, the person who commissioned Wallace Cunningham to design this modern home on the cliffs overlooking Black’s Beach, went bankrupt after spending $34 million for construction. For a while, there were attempts to sell the home at various price points starting at $45 million. It was in the news lately because it got to the point where the home was going to be auctioned off. Now, the home in the La Jolla Farms neighborhood has been sold for $14.1 million, supposedly to a Florida investor who plans to live there.
Visa Black Card Commercial filmed in La Jolla
Here is the full 2-minute commercial.
Behind the Scenes Look at the Visa TV Ad
Here is the behind the scenes look on finding the model, the home, and the boat used in the TV ad.
Calvin Klein TV Ad filmed at the La Jolla Mansion
When advertisers create the dreamy world of wealth and elegance, they create it in San Diego!
Where to see the La Jolla house
The best way to see the Razor Residence with your own eyes is to visit the Torrey Pines Gliderport and look south into the adjacent canyon. Never been to the gliderport? You’ll find it and the architecturally signficant Salk Institute (designed by Louis Kahn) using my brand new La Jolla Map being used by hotels and visitor centers. (Check out special offers by the Birch Aquarium, Torrey Pines Golf Shop, and Hike Bike Kayak Tours.)
TourGuideTim Tip: If the style of the house looks vaguely familiar, it may be that you’ve seen Wallace Cunningham’s City House, a very thin house you see on your left as you drive into the Village of La Jolla on Prospect.
Bill Clinton Praises San Diego Biotech Industry as Model for Creating Jobs
by TourGuideTimI love it when San Diego gets praise at a national level. On the Sunday ABC News show ‘This Week with Christiane Amanpour‘, former President Bill Clinton cited San Diego as a model for the country, and in particular Washington, where cooperation among various groups leads to job creation and a strong economy.
Here’s a brief excerpt of what he said:
“There are places all over America, believe it or not, that have low unemployment, high growth, strong home prices, jobs being created, a shortage of skilled workers and in every one of those places they have networks of cooperation. San Diego’s got the largest concentration of Nobel Prize scientists in America. It has become the biotech center of the country.”
During my La Jolla Sightseeing Tour, we pass through Torrey Pines Mesa, which local boosters refer to as ‘Biotech Beach’. I make mention of the Nobel Prize winners and thousands of Ph.D’s that work at the research institutes and at UCSD. The area is also home to several research and development labs for major pharmaceutical companies and it is surrounded by hundreds of biotech companies.
You can get the ‘cliff notes’ description for several institutes on Torrey Pines Mesa from earlier blog posts, that have been among my most popular pages in recent years.
Actors from San Diego – Can you guess who I am?
by TourGuideTim
A lot of famous actors and actresses got their start in San Diego. I’ll provide a background description on some of the more famous actors from San Diego and let you guess who they are.
1. After graduating from Julliard, I came out to San Diego to start my career with a three year internship performing at The Old Globe in Balboa Park. I would eventually become the star of my own TV sitcoms. Who am I?
2. My father was an aerospace engineer who moved us to La Jolla when I was two years old. I would eventually become Miss La Jolla, which was my first step to stardom. In 2010, I released my auto-biography and philosophy for life. Who am I?
3. We recently interviewed on ABC’s TV show, The View, during which we began reminiscing about first meeting at the Comedy Store in La Jolla. We’ve gone on to great success as stand-up comics and performing in major films. One of us used to work as a dishwasher at a venerable San Diego restaurant and then eventually help start the San Diego Repertory Theatre. Who am I? Extra bonus: Who was the other person on The View who occasionally returns to San Diego to ride a bike in charity events?
4. While growing up as a kid in La Jolla and watching so many planes flying around the area, I was inspired to become a pilot. I was personally selected by John F. Kennedy to fill an important movie role. In 1968, I won an Oscar. In 2005, my beachfront home in La Jolla sold for $16.5 million. Who am I?
5. My dad owned a pharmacy in La Jolla, right at the corner of Girard and Prospect. I made my way to Broadway before I eventually ended up in Hollywood. I would eventually win an Academy Award in 1962. While in Hollywood I missed performing on stage in front of a live audience. So, I brought my fellow Hollywood stars to La Jolla for the summers, where we started our own theatre company. Who am I?
6. I too grew up in La Jolla. I starred in such films as Forrest Gump and Princess Bride. Until 2010, I was married to another famous actor. Who am I?
7. I was voted ‘most likely to succeed’ at Helix High School. I interned as a stagehand at the La Jolla Playhouse and performed with the San Diego Junior Theatre and Old Globe Theatre. I went on to become a well-known actor, writer, and director, earning two Academy Award nominations, including one for supporting actor in Hoosiers. Who am I?
8. I moved to San Diego when I was 7 years old, attended Patrick Henry High School and Mesa College, during which time I performed with the San Diego Junior Theatre and Old Globe Theatre. I went on to earn four Academy Award nominations. I’m currently married to a famous actor, who I starred with in a movie remake about two star crossed lovers who had agreed to meet at the top of the Empire State Building. Who am I?
So, go ahead and post your guesses below. I’ll be curious to see if anyone can name all eight actors (and actresses) from San Diego described above.
Update: Thank you to the Facebook fans of the San Diego Junior Theatre, who came up with 5 of the 8 answers. Below, you will see Shannon correctly guessed all eight Hollywood Actors from San Diego. However, I’m still looking to see if anyone can answer the bonus question on #3. I reveal another hint in the comments below.
Visiting Secluded Black’s Beach in San Diego
by TourGuideTim
Black's Beach on 4th of July Weekend
Are you looking for one of California’s most quiet beaches this holiday weekend? Do you want to avoid the beach crowds? If your answer is yes, head to Black’s Beach in San Diego.
Cool ocean breezes attract lots of visitors from the desert cities of Phoenix and Las Vegas to the beaches in San Diego, particularly on holiday weekends. As a result, up until recently, I tended to avoid the San Diego beaches on weekends from Independence Day through Labor Day. Not only were the beaches crowded, but sitting in traffic heading to the beaches wasn’t my cup of tea.
Then, the light bulb finally turned on for me. After a year of giving Sightseeing Tours to La Jolla, which includes a stop at the Torrey Pines Gliderportand a mention that the adjoining Black’s Beach is one of the most secluded beaches in sunny Southern California, it finally hit me over the last 4th of July weekend that’s where I should go for some rest and relaxation on the beach.
See lifeguard stand on cliff
My wife, who also prefers quiet beaches, thought I was crazy when I suggested we head to the beach, especially considering this past Independence Day weekend was particularly warm for San Diego with beach temperatures getting into the 80s. I wasn’t sure what to expect but being the curious person I am, I had to check it out.
Well, it met all my expectations and then some. There was no traffic heading to the Torrey Pines Gliderport parking lot. From there, we headed to the beach, which was even emptier than I was expecting. Check out the picture I took of a desolate stretch of beach I took on a 4th of July weekend!
The other surprise was the lack of nude bathers. Considering the online travel review web site TripAdvisor rates Black’s Beach as the #1 Nude Beach in America, it was a relief to only see a few (3 or 4) exhibitionists on the beach. They were (surprise, surprise) strategically positioned near the main entrance to the beach but once you got past them, it was a nice, quiet beach all to ourselves.
So, you may wonder, why is Black’s Beach so quiet, even on a summer holiday weekend? Or more importantly, why is TourGuideTim revealing this little known secret of a quiet place to spend a San Diego beach weekend?
Stairway to Black’s Beach
Well, to enjoy this quiet beach, people have to be willing to descend 300 feet down the side of the Torrey Pines Cliffs to access the beach…which means you have to climb those 300 feet back up to your car after an afternoon of soaking up the sun, running sand through your toes, and listening to the ocean waves crash on the beach.
There is an old stairway built into the cliffs that take you to the beach. Despite the fact signs encourage you to stay away because of the eroding sandstone, it’s not too difficult to use for those in decent shape and it’s much better than following some surfers who have their own, more direct path down the side of the cliffs. Don’t follow these surfers who shun the stairwell unless you want to be featured on the local news because you were rescued by helicopter off a precarious perch half way down the cliff.
For most, including my wife, it’s not worth the climb to enjoy the secluded beach. But, for me, it’s the beach beach in San Diego.
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