BudgetTravel

Ericka Chickowski: Hi folks. This is Ericka Chickowski, author of Moon San Diego and today's Trip Coach. I can't wait to answer your questions about San Diego, so let's get started!

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Logansport, Ind.: What is the temperature in San Diego in the first part of January?

Ericka Chickowski: According to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), January is usually San Diego's coldest month. But temperature is all relative and you are likely going to be in heaven coming from Logansport. The mean temperature here is 57.8 degrees, more than 30 degrees higher than Logansport's mean temperature that time of year. Best of all, the sun shines 72 percent of the time in January and there are often times where the thermometer brushes up into the 70s during the day.

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Onset, Mass.: We are meeting our son, a Marine who'll be on leave at the end of August in San Diego before shipping out to Iraq. What would be an inexpensive hotel with a good pool, hopefully close to the beach and some nightlife?

Thanks,
Liza

Ericka Chickowski: Hey, Liza. Glad to hear that you'll get some quality time with your son before he's deployed. I thank him and your entire family for his sacrifice!

I'm not sure if you are aware of this, but the Navy and the Marines run a number of nice lodges and inns in San Diego that are significantly cheaper than just about any hotel you'll find. It is one of the benefits of being Navy town. You just need to have your son book the room and have him present at check-in to qualify.

The trick is that you might have to compromise on one of your qualifications if you want to take advantage of this. On Coronado Island, the Navy Lodge North Island is right near the beach and within walking distance of Orange Avenue (including the Coronado Brewing company), but there is no pool. Up near Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, the Marines rent out some beach cottages plunked down right off the sand. There's no pool and it is little bit of a drive to Oceanside or San Clemente bars, but you will have a lot of privacy and you can't beat the beachside location. If you're dead-set on the pool, the Marines also run the Inn of the Corps Ward Lodging on Camp Pendleton. This does have a pool, but it isn't as close to the beach and you'll need to drive to get your groove on at night.

Finally, if you are a family of golfers don't forget to look up some of the military golf courses in town. San Diego is known to have some of the finest military links on the planet, so get out there and take advantage of them!

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