By Brian E. Clark
Special To Channel 3000

I like my travel on the wild side.

But not every vacation can be as exciting as a scuba diving trip to South Pacific, whitewater rafting in Idaho, skiing in the Alps or cycling in the Rockies. Especially when you have youngsters ages 6 and 8 and you want to maintain family harmony.

So a trip to my old stomping grounds in San Diego, family included, was just what the doctor ordered. Not that I couldn’t have gone hang gliding or dived on a sunken ship on a visit to SD, but this one was for the kids.

And there is plenty -- all year round -- for youngsters to do in this neck of the woods. When temperatures are below freezing here, as they will be in several months, it’s still plenty warm in Southern California, often in the low 70s.

There were more than a few times in the late 1990s and the first few years of this decade that my wife and I made midwinter calls to relatives in the Midwest, not just to check in on family, but also gloat about the balmy weather in San Diego.

Alas, those days are gone and now, come January, we shiver, too.

But you can go home, at least to play and visit old friends.

Our family adventure began with a flight from Madison to Dallas (it’s warm there, too) and then on to San Diego. With the customary delay -- we pretty much figured that into our schedule -- we arrived late at night.

When morning rolled around, we visited one of our favorite beaches, La Jolla Shores, and also explored the tide pools at the La Jolla Cove and in rocky sections of the shore further to the south.

Though I never really learned to surf proficiently during my years in San Diego, the waves made me wish I still owned a surfboard. And one day, I’ll take the kids back for a multi-day surf camp. But that’s another story.

While La Jolla is officially part of San Diego, it has its own feel and personality. It’s also one of the wealthiest enclaves in the city, has some of the best beaches, great (read expensive) stores and plenty of good restaurants.

But we were on a family vacation, so high-end shopping was not in our itinerary. One night of upscale dining was, however, so we met with friends early that evening and headed for the Four Seasons Aviara north of San Diego for the delicious seafood buffet.

The next day we visited LEGOLAND, where our 6-year-old son, Anders, was in absolute heaven. A certified LEGO and Bionicle nutcase, he’d been dreaming of visiting this theme park for more than a year.

It didn’t let him down. In addition to a batch of fun rides, he (and his sister, Maddie) enjoyed Dino Island, Safari Trek, which included life-sized giraffes, zebras, lions, tigers and more all made of LEGO bricks; plus Playtown Theater, where they got to be part of a musical production.

But the best part, Anders told me recently, was the section of the theme park that featured Bionicles, robotic creatures made by LEGO that have intricate parts, weapons and distinct features.  After he found them, it was hard to pry him away.

That night, he slept in LEGO dreamland at the Sheraton Carlsbad Resort and Spa. Situated on the northeast border of the theme park – with its own walk-in gate –  we could see  LEGOLAND flags waving from the lobby.

The next day, we drove east of Escondido to the 1,800-acre San Diego Wild Animal Park, which has a huge array of wild and endangered animals from all over the globe. We especially like the Journey Into Africa Tram, which got us up close and personal with expansive, free-range exhibits that featured such animals as cheetas, antelopes, lions, giraffes, okapis, elephants, zebras, rhinos, bonobos and Przewalski's horses.

That afternoon, we retired to the Grand Del Mar, a lovely and expansive hotel nestled into the hills just a few miles from the Pacific. The resort, which includes a Tom Fazio golf course and a luxurious spa, looked like an Italian villa from centuries past.

Best of all, we practically had the place to ourselves. And when the kids and I picked the pool in which we wanted to swim (there were at least five at the resort), we only had to share it with several other people.

We chose Sea World for the final outing of our visit.  After dining with Shamu -- one of theme park's impressive orcas -- we were thoroughly soaked in Shipwreck Rapids and got to pet bat rays at the Forbidden Reef.

We only wished we could have stuck around for the Shamu rock 'n roll show in Shamu Stadium. We'll just have to save that for the next trip.

If You Go:

For details on LEGOLAND, go to:  http://www.legoland.com/

The San Diego Wild Animal Park web site is: http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wap/index.html

Sea World's web site is: http://www.seaworldsandiego.com/sandiego/default.aspx

The Grand Del Mar's web site is: http://www.thegranddelmar.com/resort/index.html

The Aviara web site is: http://www.fourseasons.com/aviara/

The Sheraton Carlsbad Resort and Spa web site is: http://www.sheratoncarlsbad.com/index.aspx

For more information on activities, lodging and dining in San Diego and surrounding communities, go to: http://www.sandiego.org/nav/Visitors