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Why are San Diegans so laid-back? Blame the always-sunny weather. But America’s Finest City also does adventure. Just served with a side of sol.

By Kirsten Hubbard

If you answered mostly A, you are a:

Wild Thing

The San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park are unforgettable any way you visit them. But observing rhinos from afar can’t compare to actually getting slimed by one.

The Zoo’s Ultimate Encounter offers, as the name suggests, close encounters of the zoological kind, featuring an amiable cast of characters selected from the park’s 4,000-animal menagerie. Meet cheetah and canine BFFs during a lunchtime animal handler show. Pet a kangaroo. Learn from my unfortunate rhino-feeding experience: The farther back in line you are, the more copious the slime when you hold out your hand.

Spend another day at the 1,800-acre Wild Animal Park, and get adrenaline-drunk zooming down the park’s Flightline, a cable suspended 160 feet above the African exhibit. Two-thirds of a mile long, the Wild Animal Park’s Flightline is the longest in the 48 contiguous states.

Then hop aboard a Photo Caravan Safari, which traverses the free-range enclosures of the African or Asian exhibits for an hour and 45 minutes. There’s nothing quite like being surrounded by long-lashed giraffes, wrapping their purple tongues around your hands in search of leaves. Humorous moments occasionally alternate with those more sobering, like viewing the last male Northern White Rhino in existence. When you book a backstage tour, your money keeps creatures like him on the planet—true animal appreciation.

Natural Highs

Strap yourself to a paraglider and soar over San Diego cable-free at the Torrey Pines Gliderport in La Jolla.

Giggle at the aquatic antics of dolphins, sharks, and the famously interchangeable orca, Shamu, at SeaWorld in Mission Bay.

Peruse the tide pools at Point Loma’s Cabrillo National Monument, which boasts the best view in San Diego. Keep an eye out for migrating gray whales.

If you answered mostly B, you are a:

Night Lifer

In the last five years, downtown San Diego’s Gaslamp District has undergone a nocturnal renaissance. I hit up nightlife expert Michelle Guerin, an entertainment correspondent with NBC San Diego and editor of discoversd.com, for a tour of the most glamtastic downtown destinations.

First stop: Stingaree, a nightclub that harnesses yesteryear’s hedonistic spirit in an ultra-modern setting. “Stingaree is the original Gaslamp superclub, and still the best,” Guerin says. Perks include sinuous furnishings and an exclusive mezzanine level overlooking the dance floor.

Next, we head to Hard Rock Hotel’s revamped twin nightclubs: 207 and Float. While many clubs feel a little too exclusive, 207 and Float both possess that perfect Hard Rock vibe: pretension-free glamour laced with good music. “Not much beats bottle service in fire pit VIP booths atop Float, overlooking the harbor ablaze with Gaslamp lights,” Guerin says.

Our final destination is Voyeur, a gothic-themed club where the creatures of the night come to play. Everything is dark, from the cackling skulls projected overhead to the wrought-iron details leading to the VIP Coffin Room. Special events include top DJs, burlesque dancers, and a circus straight out of a Tim Burton film.

Seen Scenes

Accelerate your vacation at the Gaslamp’s super-swanky Keating Hotel, designed by same company as the Ferrari. Rent one while you’re there.

Feast in the wee hours of the morning at the Broken Yolk Café, which stays open until 3 a.m. on weekends. Can you conquer the dozen-egg omelet?

Ignite la noche with Café Sevilla’s flamenco dinner shows and salsa dance lessons.

If you answered mostly C, you are a:

Laugh Factory

For many health fanatics, yoga is serious business. But let’s be honest, pretzeling yourself is actually pretty funny. And laughter is the best medicine, after all.

That’s the inspiration of Laughter Yoga, a movement that unites laughing with controlled yoga breathing to help blood flow and increase oxygen to the brain. “The goal of Laughter Yoga is to bring more joy, health, and peace to the world through laughter and fun,” says Michael Colemen, certified Laughter Yoga instructor. Today, more than 6,000 clubs in 60 countries crack up on a regular basis. San Diego’s Laughter Yoga club holds free meetups Saturdays at 9 a.m. in Balboa Park, as well as other locations during the rest of the week.

In Laughter Yoga, there’s more emphasis on laughing than striking a proper pose. In fact, even the most experienced yogis won’t recognize these karmic masquerades. Make barnyard noises and laugh. Fly like an airplane and laugh. Share your misfortunes and laugh like crazy, even if you have to force it. Here, all laughter is good laughter.

Though to be honest, bumping elbows with a stranger in a tie-dyed tee is actually pretty funny. And no matter how self-conscious you are at first, you’ll feel stress slipping away with every chuckle. Before you know it, you’ll be participating in the grand finale: lying on your back, gazing up at the trees, and laughing your way into nirvana.

Healthy Choices

Seek a more intense workout? Hike the Morley Field Gateway Trail and view a grove of Coastal Redwoods, California’s state tree.

Munch on unique organic comfort food at North Park’s Spread, such as savory French toast, sweet carpaccio and various homemade spreads.

Laugh yourself even sillier at the National Comedy Theatre’s side-splitting improv shows.

If you answered mostly D, you are a:

Sea Scout

San Diego’s coastal caves are beyond compare, but only the most intrepid travelers see them up close. Located south of La Jolla Shores beach, all but one of the seven La Jolla sea caves are accessible only by kayak. I opt for a kayaking tour with La Jolla Kayak, the original company to offer the 90-minute excursion ($50).

In my puffy life vest and oh-so-fashionable helmet, I feel like a true seafaring spelunker. Tip: The earlier you head out, the calmer the water. Our 9 a.m. tour meant a sea like sky-blue glass; my arm muscles thank me.

Once you veer away from the beach, San Diego’s secret scenery emerges: sea lions reclining on stone ledges, cormorants perching on narrow precipices. Make sure to peer into the water, where banners of seaweed from the offshore kelp forests drift in the current. You’ll have no trouble spotting tangerine-colored garibaldi, California’s official fish. Maybe you’ll spy the silhouettes of leopard sharks, who visit La Jolla yearly to spawn. The luckiest adventurers can spot seals and bottlenose dolphins carousing in the waves. Steer your kayak inside two of the caves, and gaze up at the architecture of stone.

Add a snorkeling excursion to your tour to observe the coastal critters even closer, or to navigate the caves’ swim-throughs. If the water’s too cold—this is California, not Florida—you can rent a wetsuit for $7 to $10.

Water Ways

Rent a surfboard and conquer the La Jolla crests, or try your luck on the artificial wave at Wave House in nearby Mission Beach.

Relax at the historic Grande Colonial Hotel in downtown La Jolla, within walking distance of pristine La Jolla Cove.

Dine at La Jolla’s Marine Room Restaurant, so close to the ocean that waves crash against the (super-reinforced) windows during high tides.

Lay of the Land

GET THERE

Fly In The San Diego International Airport is just a few minutes west of downtown.

Get Around The San Diego Trolley connects the metro area. Though routes aren’t too extensive, they do link downtown’s Gaslamp District and the southwest corner of Balboa Park.

Get Away To visit outlying attractions as well as beaches, it’s best to rent a car.

Do There

Late Feb.–Early March. Journey about 100 miles east to the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, and behold the famous wildflowers as winter turns to spring.

March 17. Unleash your inner Irishman at the Gaslamp District’s ShamROCK! celebration, featuring 40,000 square feet of bright green Astroturf.

March 21. Get dirty at the annual Mud Run, a grimy 10k and 5k obstacle course in San Diego’s east county.