Enter: Balboa Park

For me, the quintessential free activity in San Diego has always been going to Balboa Park. In fact I used to have birthday parties there when I was little. This public space can offer you whatever your heart may desire: free concerts, free museums, picnic spaces, IMAX movies, wildlife, culture, plants, flowers and lavish restaurants.

The park is always good for an impromptu picnic (my favorite location is on the grass near the lily pond, right in front of the arboretum). When you're done eating you can look for the koi fish and baby turtles in the pond or walk through the gorgeous, free, arboretum with its offerings of every plant imaginable.

Right across from the arboretum is the Timken Museum of Art. This is a smaller gallery, with only a couple of rooms, but admission is always free. They will even have special exhibits that are also free.

Balboa Park offers a handful of other museums too, including the Museum of Man, the Air & Space Museum, the Museum of Photographic Arts and the Natural History Museum. If you happen to be a Southern California resident, different rotating museums are always free on Tuesdays. All you have to do is check out the schedule on the park's website.

And if a picnic isn't quite up your alley, The Prado has a beautiful outdoor patio, a diverse menu and nice atmosphere. If you're aiming to enjoy a mostly free day, you can order happy hour (Tues.-Thurs. from 4 to 6 p.m., and 8 to 10 p.m., Fri. from 4 to 6 p.m. and 8 to 11 p.m., and Sat. from 8 to 11 p.m.) appetizers in the bar and get all of the luxury on the cheap.

Yet another (not really cheap but so worth it) option would be to leave the park through the main bridge on Quince Dr., cross Sixth Ave. and head to Extraordinary Desserts at 2929 Fifth Ave. The cake is amazing, artfully arranged on your plate and a whole meal all in itself.

The coffee is really good and the restaurant itself is small, with a twinkle light decorated outdoor patio to eat on. But, if substantial food is what you're in the mood for, cruise down Fifth Ave. a couple of blocks to 3172 Fifth Ave. and try Jimmy Carter's. Very tasty carnitas.

All in all, Balboa Park has a lot of personality and endless activities. It's the home of The Old Globe, there are free Organ Pavilion concerts during the summer, you can visit the International Houses, watch a puppet show, and oh so much more. It's worth at least a quick stroll. I will never get tired of visiting my favorite place in the entire city.

A Free Concert Shouldn't Cost $40

I remember in high school always looking forward to the free concerts after the Del Mar races in summer. Seeing as I had even less money in high school than I do now, it was a very exciting prospect for a Friday or Saturday night. It's how I was able to see Billy Idol (amazing with a costume change every song and then downright near nakedness), Cake, The B-52s, The English Beat, The Violent Femmes, Flaming Lips...I could go on and on. Even parking was free if you got there late enough. And usually by that time all of the guards had abandoned their posts, opened up the gates and allowed the masses to just pour in.

It was the most amazing concert series. I haven't been in a couple of years though and assumed that nothing had changed. I tried to go to see Cake (who I'm not even really that into, but hey, a free concert is a free concert) and was met with a big surprise. Not only was parking between $10 (for the dirt lot across the street) and $25 (for the cush, paved lot), but the new rule is if you arrive too late, tickets are $20 to get in. Usually it's the price of a ticket to the races, which is $10. Or, as I said, for those of us in the know, just show up late and pay nothing. I'm a little disgusted and saddened that they're trying to turn a profit on the concerts now. Half of the appeal is that you can get in for practically no money. When it came down to it, we flipped a bitch and left because I don't like Cake enough to shell out $40 plus to see them in concert. Again. In fact, $40 is asking a lot to see most bands where you're standing on a dirt infield next to all the sweaty drunks spilling out from the Beerfest next door.