By BRIAN QUINES
SqueezeOC.com
When in San Diego, do as San Diegans do.
The only way to truly experience the lifestyle and charm of this good-sized city south of us is to hang out at hot spots that locals frequent on weekends.
Darlynne and Marc Menkin, owners of Where You Want To Be Tours, offer walking, biking and driving tours through San Diego for tourists who want to see offerings beyond big zoos and bigger aquariums.
The Menkins' tours highlight the hidden spots around San Diego that make the city charming – the little things that make San Diego special to its residents.
Some of the more quirky sights include an elaborate tree house with a spiral staircase and a urinal painted with the iconic Rolling Stones lips.
Marc, 44, quit his outside sales job and Darlynne, 43, left the anchor desk at a local television news station to pursue this lifelong dream to show off the city they call home.
Taking the tour is like meeting family in the city. The Menkins even offer rides in their red convertible Toyota Solara to cruise historical neighborhoods while the sound system blasts Pete Seeger's "Turn! Turn! Turn!" and "Aquarius" from the "Hair" soundtrack.
By the end of the tour, I wanted to call them Uncle Marc and Auntie Darlynne.
Here are some highlights of our three-hour tour. Of course, I can't tell you everything I saw or the locations of some spots, 'cause then the secrets wouldn't be secrets any more.
THE SUSPENSION BRIDGE
Location: Sorry, you'll have to take the tour to find this spot.
Built in 1912, this rickety bridge was used by residents of Bankers Hill to traverse a canyon to access a trolley near Balboa Park.
The bridge is made of wood and held together with rusted cables. You feel like you're walking on a trampoline as the bridge sways and flexes with every step.
About 100 feet below the bridge, bamboo gardens, palm trees and other foliage flourish.
Kate Sessions, a San Diego conservationist, planted many of the canyon's trees. Sessions made a deal with the city in the late 1800s to plant hundreds of trees every year throughout the city in exchange for a lease to start a small nursery in a park. That park is now Balboa Park.
HERITAGE PARK VICTORIA VILLAGE
Location: 2400 Heritage Park Row, 619-525-8213
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