Today is the grand finale of Christy’s (Little Miss Sunshine) 2026 California visit. First stop is the Whaley House in Old Town San Diego State Park. From the plaque Christy is so graciously pointing to:
Built by Thomas Whaley in 1856-57, this is the oldest brick structure in southern California. In addition to being the home of the Whaley family, it served variously as granary, store, court-house and school and as the town’s first theater. Whaley’s home was the cultural center of San Diego as well as its most luxurious residence.
All of that info is fantastic, but the marketing campaign focuses on one other piece of info painted directly on the side of the structure: “America’s most haunted house.” That doesn’t hurt the ticket sales.
How the house looked in 1874:
August 1962:
2019:
Our tour guide was very entertaining and gave us some fun facts as we walked around the perimeter and then parked inside the courthouse portion of the museum:
After his spiel, we were free to roam.
Christy enjoyed putting on a show upstairs in the small theater. It was a sold-out performance!
San Diego State University did an archaeological excavation of the grounds, the family well, and the family privy which unearthed more than 66,000 artifacts between 2007-2011. Below is a small sampling of what is on display at the museum:
A selfie, taken in hopes that maybe one of the spirits would appear in the background, but no such luck:
Christy did notice a higher heart rate while in the Whaley House that didn’t go back to normal until she had descended the stairs and exited the building. For real!
Down the street is the El Campo Cemetery. This sign on one of the graves is a bit ironic.
Some of the graves are inside the fenced area of the cemetery:
…and some got paved over OUTSIDE of the fence and are now part of the sidewalk. Yikes. Careful where you step.
Christy was ready for a guest role on “Little House on the Prairie” after exploring Old Town:
Truth be told, we were both ready for some food. The restaurant of choice was the festive Casa Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant:
First things first: Christy got out the Shark to help her cool down!
Then chips and salsa:
drinks:
…and the epic Pollo Fundido! Yum!
I just couldn’t keep this girl out of the fountains.
Back in the old days, we would have taken advantage of this special BIG TIME!
Instead, we paid a visit to the Mason Street Schoolhouse, built in 1865. It was the first publicly owned school in San Diego, used from 1865 to 1872:
Wonder what’s inside?
We played teacher and got this view from behind teacher’s desk:
Enough edutainment already; it was time to get to the good stuff. Christy had never been to a See’s Candy Store. It was time to rectify this tragic situation. Free samples abounded!
For dinner, we went to the classic Rudford’s Diner in North Park; Christy posed by the JFK mural showing his motorcade driving by the restaurant in 1963:
Before we dug into the meal:
Christy is still recovering from the glow of Rudford’s JFK shake; if nothing else, I know this will get her to come back soon!
My Buffalo Chicken salad was tasty!
And then, all too soon, it was time to head to the airport. The fantastic trip by my Indiana bestie had come to a close. Dropping her off at the airport, we took one more selfie until next time:
Back in Indiana, Christy’s mom has been enjoying the See’s Candies. Her first question after eating one, “Can you buy these online?”
Shirley, you jest! What a silly question…
See more Old Town, San Diego photos at my main website.
