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Travel Article	Travel Article Archive

By Michael J. Darton

Wet boxers at Flicks We Have 259 Photos From San Diego! View Thumbnails View Slideshow

Click on the link for a handy PDF version of our December 2008 San Diego travel feature!

With its bays, beaches and nearly perfect year-round weather this sparkling city embodies the mystique of Southern California. Clubs abounding with sailors and Marines add to the verve.

San Diego's central gay district is the Hillcrest area -- but the fun is not limited to here: bars, shops and saunas can be seen all over the city. There are 70 miles of nearby beaches including some nudist spots for those who like to strip off on warmer days. Black's Beach is a world-famous nudist beach beneath the cliffs of Torrey Pines State Park in La Jolla, and Balboa Park has a cruisy tanning section along Sixth at Spruce. Morley Field in North Park and the Silver Strand in Coronado are also popular. Seaport Village (Seaportvillage.com) has a variety of shops, restaurants and live entertainment. To get oriented (and get wet) take the "Seal Tour" (Sealtours.com) -- it's a boat with wheels on which you'll explore the maritime and military history of San Diego.

Bars & clubs

Open daily 2 pm to 2 am, Flicks (1017 University Avenue; Sdflicks.com) is San Diego's premier gay music video bar with a friendly ambiance and something happening every night. Their website details the events and tantalizes with its "Boy Toy Gallery." Saturday nights get jammed here for their Wet Underwear Contest, with winners taking home $100 cash prizes. Wednesdays bring a cute crowd for "College Boy Nights," with $2 well drinks from 9 pm. Sundays and Mondays are karaoke. For 27 years Flicks has been at the heart of Hillcrest.

Bacchus House (3054 University; Bacchushouse.com), San Diego's hottest dance club, has live DJs, plus nightly drink specials, the latest music videos and one of the best beer and liquor selections in town. Sundays are busy with Fiesta Domingo -- with shows by Franceska at 9.30 pm, and DJ Ruben Casas at 11 pm. The city's biggest gay Latino night is here Wednesdays, starting with Franceska's "Musica y Pasion Latina" female impersonations, followed by a steamy Latin Dance Party. Club 80s every second and fourth Saturday is the best in new wave and '80s tunes. Saturday night dance party features visiting and resident DJs and after-hours dancing until 4 am with one of San Diego's best intelligent sound and light shows on their expanded dance floor. Those who light up will appreciate the indoor smoking room. For happy hour swing by from 4 to 8 pm, Tuesday through Sunday. See their website for a full weekly schedule, special parties and upcoming events such as porn star appearances, or for dates with San Diego's Imperial Court, who call this home.

Grab your Mardi Gras beads and head up to the big University Heights sign above Bourbon Street (4612 Park). A brick open-air courtyard bar lies behind the main enclosed bar (with live entertainment), and alongside the covered stable bar and games room, each with pool tables. Music videos and gay TV favorites play throughout the club and there's almost always a good crowd of handsome men here.

Other dance options include Rich's (1051 University), the gay place to be Friday nights with a crush on the big central dance floor and well-proportioned go-go dancers working up a sweat; Numbers (3811 Park), a local pub with a dance club in the rear; and Flame (3780 Park), just across the street.

Urban Mo's Bar and Grill (308 University) is a restaurant and bar with a big outdoor patio, a young and sociable crowd and big servings of food. Kickers, in back, is home to Detour, a long-popular Sunday t-dance after their champagne and bloody mary bar brunch. There are Thursday country-western nights, with other music dance nights alternating between Latin, hip-hop and high-energy. The same folks have a south-of-the-border restaurant at Baja Betty's (1421 University).

Number One Fifth Ave (3845 Fifth) has an "at home" atmosphere. Perch yourself at the bar and you're sure to be soon chatting to the locals while enjoying something from their large selection of beers and cocktails. For more elbow room, the sheltered open-air back patio is just the thing.

The Levi-leather scene thrives at two local men's bars: Eagle (3040 North Park Way) and Pecs (2046 University).

Other nightspots include Brass Rail (3796 Fifth), Caliph (3100 Fifth), Hole (2820 Lytton, Point Loma), Martini's (3940 Fourth) and Shooterz (3815 30th).

Dining and cafes

Gay-favorite restaurants include Cafe on Park (3831 Park), with unusual brunch variations on eggs benedict, plus bloody marys with a kick; Brian's American Eatery (1451 Washington), open 24 hours on weekends, with breakfast anytime; and Lips (3036 El Cajon), where drag goes with dinner.

Area coffeehouses include David's Coffee House (3766 Fifth), with wi-fi available for a small charge; Living Room (1417 University), with free wi-fi before 7 pm; and Lestat's (3343 Adams), with free wi-fi always, on Antique Row, in Normal Heights.

Bathhouses

A favorite Hillcrest meeting place for men anytime, Club San Diego (3955 Fourth) is a large multi-leveled complex. There are all the amenities: TV and porn lounges, private rooms, a huge jacuzzi, steam and sauna rooms and plenty of alleys and corners to cruise. A good-looking crowd packs in on weekends, so get there before midnight to get one of their 53 rooms. The partying here goes non-stop all night. There are great showers by the jacuzzi with jets strong enough to ease any tired muscles.

Downtown, right on the trolley line, is Vulcan Steam And Sauna (805 West Cedar, at Pacific Coast Highway), a superb facility with a popular patio sun deck that draws a crowd. There's a sauna, jacuzzi and private and community rooms (one is a bunkroom, with a student/military feel). They're open 24 hours every day, and have Monday and Wednesday bargain locker specials. Memberships are available for those passing through town.

Accommodations

Park Manor Suites (525 Spruce; 800-874-2649) is a large, all-suite hotel in gay Hillcrest, with reasonable rates and free wi-fi. A popular kick-off to the local gay weekend, the Friday night happy hour on their seventh-floor Top of the Park offers views of San Diego's skyline, the harbor and Balboa Park. Inn at the Park, the hotel restaurant at their 5th Avenue entrance, has continental cuisine and a fun piano bar.

Hillcrest B&B at Kasa Korbett (4050 Front Street; 619-291-3962 or 800-757-5272; Kasakorbett.com) is run by knowledgeable Bob Korbett, who makes you feel right at home and can orient you to town. This is a four-room B&B, each with private bath, with an outdoor deck and off-street parking, plus complimentary breakfast. The Gulf Coast Room offers a jacuzzi, with strong jets and a private balcony. This gay-owned home-away-from-home is an easy walk to the Hillcrest scene.

Hillcrest Inn (3754 Fifth; 800-258-2280) has 45 moderately priced units at the center of Hillcrest. They are pet-friendly and rooms have refrigerators and microwaves.

Resources & upcoming events

Gay papers such as the Gay and Lesbian Times (Gaylesbiantimes.com), and the San Diego edition of Bottom Line (Sdbottomline.com) can be found in local bars or at Obelisk (1029 University), a gay/lesbian bookstore. There's an online guide to Hillcrest at HillQuest.com, and see area photos at Sdpix.com. Diversionary Theatre (619-220-0097; Diversionary.org) has stage productions of gay interest. Scrooge in Rouge, a gay Christmas show, plays here through December 21.

Gay Men's Chorus (Gmcsd.com) will present a concert of "Holiday Toons" December 13 and 14. Film Out (Filmoutsandiego.com) will delight gay cinema buffs with their wide international selection. Also, see upcoming Golden State Gay Rodeo events.