I will be visiting SD from NC for a conf. end of Oct.-begginning of Nov. I'm going to beer fest 11/1-11/2. But also want to go to Alesmith, greenflash, and stone (which one?). Staying in gaslamp district of course. Realistically how much can I fit in with travel time? And which other suggestions does everyone have to visit. brewery or bar. tks for any advice!
Will you have a car readily available? Stone: Liberty Station will be closest. Keep checking sdbw.org for event updates.
www.sdmts.com is the website for the bus system here. I'm sure it's possible, but it would be a bit of a pain to get to Alesmith and Green Flash. But they are about 4 miles from each other so once you get to one, the other is close by. Gaslamp to Stone Liberty Station will be cheap, it's about a 10 min drive. Gaslamp has a lot of great places, there are a ton of threads with suggestions but Neighborhood is always mentioned and for bottles, Best Damn Beer Shop/Krisp. Monkeypaw is downtown too and close to the gaslamp district.
The 31, which ultimately would get you out Miramar Road to Alesmith, does not have weekend service. The 921, which would get you to Green Flash, runs on Saturday but not on Sunday. If you went during the week when express routes are running, you might be able to turn the trip in an hour and a half (one way). I cannot urge you how bad of an idea it is to use public transit to get anywhere outside of downtown or North/South Park. You'd need to use a cab, which will be quite pricey. It is remotely possible that somebody might be running buses as a promo that week, I guess. Realistically, your best option is to find a local buddy that would be willing to do a semi-designated driver thing.
Public transportation won't help you get to Alesmith or Greenflash. But you can get close to Stone liberty station by using light rail and a bus. The bus on Route 2 will take you from downtown to (or close to) Hamilton's Tavern, Toronado, Hess Brewing (North Park), Belching Beaver tasting room, Tiger Tiger and Blind Lady Ale. I ride bus #2 a lot when I'm in San Diego.
Though that generally good advice, you need to qualify that. If you are staying in the Gaslamp, you will pay a lot to park that rental car (few hotels there throw in free parking), and if you are at a conference there you won't be using it most of the time. The winning move is to rent a car the day you would like to use it.
