FREE: Some Things to Do in San Diego

For as long as the United States has been known as the home of free enterprise, consumers have known that the emphasis is on enterprise rather than free .

The standard of living in our country is one of the highest in the world, but so is the cost of living. That’s painfully obvious here in Southern California.

Looked into real estate prices lately? For $136,400--the average cost of a previously occupied, three-bedroom, two-bathroom house in San Diego County--you could buy a mansion in, say, South Dakota or Oklahoma.

Consumer prices here rose 2.9% in the last 12 months, well above the national average of 1.6%. Our gas and electricity rates are among the highest in the country. And last year, the overall cost of living in San Diego was 16.5% higher than it was for the nation as a whole.

But you wanted to read some good news, right?

Here’s some: Even if your paycheck does seem as if it’s shrinking rapidly, you can still enjoy a mind-boggling array of entertainment, food, services and instruction in San Diego--free.

We’re not talking about entering contests here--they’re too much of a gamble. And we’re definitely not talking about declaring bankruptcy and heading down to one of the local relief agencies for a meal or a place to sleep.

No, the truth is that you can freeload and still pass as a “normal,” productive member of society.

It often takes a little creativity and some digging through the phone book to obtain, for example, a three-course meal, an eye test or an evening with the San Diego Symphony for zilch. But it’s a task that can be spiritually rewarding as well as easy on your pocketbook. Think of yourself as a modern hunter-gatherer living off the cityscape.

Instead of shelling out $5 or more for a first-run movie, for instance, you can watch classic movies free every Monday at 7 p.m. at the San Diego Public Library downtown, and every Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Coronado Library. Or you can mosey out to Cabrillo National Monument on Point Loma and catch films on gray whales, tide pools and other naturalistic topics every hour on the hour from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (1 to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays).

Perhaps you’re more of a music fan. At the Book Works in Del Mar, you can attend a free jazz concert every Friday at 8 p.m. Words and Music bookstore in Hillcrest features classical, folk and jazz musicians every Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.

Throughout the summer you can hear a variety of military, college, and Dixieland bands every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 6 p.m. in the parking lot behind the Federal Building in Balboa Park. And the San Diego Symphony will be giving free concerts at Seaport Village on Aug. 17 and Sept. 7 at 7:30 p.m.

Also in the realm of free entertainment is people watching. It’s impossible to beat the Mission Beach boardwalk for this activity, but try La Jolla Cove or lines of people waiting to get into movie theaters.

Most city parks are still free; along 6th Avenue in Balboa Park it doesn’t cost anything to lawn bowl, play shuffleboard or throw horseshoes. Or join the people who watch planes landing and taking off at Lindbergh Field. The best observation point is a parking lot on the north side of Laurel Street, near Pacific Highway--but bring your ear plugs.

Tuesday is a particularly good day for spongers who like museums. Any Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. you can get into the La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art free of charge. And the first Tuesday of every month the following museums in Balboa Park have free admission: the Museum for Photographic Arts, the Museum of Man, the Museum of Natural History, the Aerospace Museum and the San Diego Museum of Art (permanent collection only). In addition, you can stroll into the Timken Gallery for free any day except Monday, when it’s closed.

Even if you don’t own a phone, you could use a friend’s to call the Rare Bird Alert at 435-6761. There is no charge to listen to the taped message telling you what the latest unusual avian visitors to San Diego are, and where to find them. Recent arrivals included an oven bird in Coronado and a rose-breasted grosbeak that was spotted in Olivenhain.

The Better Business Bureau also has a 24-hour consumer information service that you can tap into by dialing 233-4636. It has a wealth of tape-recorded information on 138 different topics, from how to care for automobile tires to how to avoid phone calls from collection agencies (legally, they can’t call you before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.).

When you’re in need of more esoteric information, call the library reference desk at the San Diego Public Library. There is no charge for asking the staff there to look up obscure claptrap; as proof, they recently fielded a request for the address of a new-wave group called The Dead Kennedys (for the curious, the group’s two members, Klaus Fluoride and Jello Biafra, record for the Cherry Red label, whose address is listed in the Billboard International Buyer’s Guide).

You can get free fly-fishing instructions at the casting pond near Morley Field in Balboa Park every Sunday between 9 a.m. and noon. Members of the San Diego Fly Fisherman’s Club hang out there during those hours, practicing and offering advice. “They’ll help you with any problems you have, but you have to ask them,” a spokesman for the group noted.

Later that same day you could head up to La Jolla to obtain instruction in the fine art of Frisbee-throwing. Members of the International Flying Disc Assn. dispense tips freely at La Jolla Cove every Sunday at 4 p.m.

For more serious learning, you can sign up for classes offered at one of the San Diego Community College’s Continuing Education Centers. The summer class schedule lists dozens of free classes on everything from music appreciation and reading development to sign language and sewing.

The D.G. Wills bookstore in La Jolla offers a free poetry workshop every Monday evening from 6-7. But if you’d rather read than write, you can pick up a number of publications around town without spending a penny. These range from The Reader, still one of San Diego’s best non-buys with its hash of news, reviews, and entertainment listings, to The Pennysaver, whose classified ads (TAKE YOUR CHOICE! ESTATES SALE! EARN EXTRA $$$!) make for tiresome reading but include some good bargains.

The San Diego Gas & Electric Company isn’t exactly known for its largess, but you can hit them up for a free energy audit by calling their energy and conservation office. They’ll send out an expert who’ll examine your heating, lighting, cooking and refrigeration equipment and explain how you can actually save money on your gas and electric bill.

By checking with local hospitals, you can often get a variety of medical services free of charge, too. Paradise Valley Hospital in National City offers free blood pressure checks in its emergency room, and the Diabetes Treatment Center in Alvarado Hospital plays host to free blood sugar screenings every weekday, except Wednesday, from 11 a.m. to noon (call for an appointment). Contact the public affairs office of any major hospital hospital to find out when and where other free tests are offered.

Caffeine is said to have some adverse health effects, but if you’re among the millions of people who drink it anyway, you can get a free cup of coffee at a number of places around town. The best by far is at the Pannikin, which offers a small cup of rich, strong “coffee of the day” at its retail stores downtown and in Loma Portal. The Great American First Savings Bank branches in Mission Hills and at Park and University in North Park are also good places to pick up a complimentary slug of java.

It’s relatively easy to obtain plenty of food and wine without paying for them, too. But on the way out for some no-cost dining and/or drinking, women might want to stop at a local shopping mall to pick up one of the free samples of perfume that are frequently offered in the cosmetics departments of major department stores. It doesn’t cost a thing to smell nice, and those tiny bottles fit handily into almost any purse.

Then you can start off with an aperitif at one of the local wineries. The San Pascual Winery in Escondido (11 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and the Bernardo Winery in Poway (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) offer free wine tastings every day of the week, while the Ferrara Winery in Escondido is open every day but Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Next, drop in for happy hour at one of the many bars around town that serves free hors d’oeuvres. You can make a meal out of the chicken wings, potato skins, nachos, chili, spare ribs, make-your-own taco bars and various other specialties that these places feature Monday through Friday. Among the host of establishments to choose from are Papagayo in Seaport Village; Humphrey’s on Shelter Island; the Salmon House in Quivira Basin; El Torito in Mission Valley; and Shooter’s and the Elephant Bar in La Jolla.

Free dessert is harder to find. Confetti in Mission Valley offers a happy-hour buffet that includes dessert; in addition, many of the cookie shops springing up at shopping malls around the county offer free bite-size samples in a dish on the counter. A couple of these makes a nice, light dessert. Or, you could stroll into one of San Diego’s many ice-cream shops and act as if you can’t make up your mind about one of the flavors. You’re almost certain to be offered a free taste, but keep in mind that shop owners frown on people who simply say, “That’s delicious!” and then walk out.

Serious freeloaders might want to pursue a couple of more advanced strategies. Putting your name on the guest or mailing lists of local art galleries will occasionally net you an invitation to the opening night of an art show. Most of these affairs include free wine and cheese.

Or, go out to dinner with a large group, and when the waiter or waitress asks you what you’ll have, just say, “I’m not hungry, thanks.” Unless you’re told there is a minimum charge, you can obtain a host of modest freebies this way, including salsa and chips at most Mexican restaurants, rice, tea and fortune cookies at many Chinese restaurants, matches, mints, toothpicks, etc. The Garden Room at the U.S. Grant Hotel graciously offers its diners complimentary cigars, and with a dinner from Saffron Thai on India Street you’ll receive a free moist towelette, which comes in handy any time you’re eating in your car.

So take heart. There are plenty of things you can get or do in San Diego without big bucks--in fact, without bucks at all. You can even call the consumer price index 24-hour hotline at 293-6538 and find out how much prices have gone up in the last 12 months.

It’s free.