Welk Resorts: A great San Diego destination

With gas prices and the economy being as they are these days, most of us are looking for ways to spend recreation time near home.

There’s certainly such a location that fits the bill within a one-hour drive of virtually anywhere in San Diego County.

The Welk Resorts San Diego, located in Escondido just off Interstate 15, allows you to enjoy a day or more of relaxation, rejuvenation and quality family time while staying within San Diego County.

If you want to make it a day trip, you can start with a round of golf on either of the two courses at Welk. You can then go to a buffet dinner, take in a show and finally retire for the night in a spacious accommodation.

And the best part of it all is that can all happen on the same premises without even needing to move your vehicle.

Staff members of the Welk Resort like to think of their location as the “best kept secret” in San Diego … but the word is getting out.

“When people come here, some don’t even know we exist,” said Sean Coogan, director of operations for Welk Resort. “They are blown away by the quality of the golf courses, food, theater, accommodations and staff.”

Welk Resorts San Diego now features two 18-hole executive golf courses named Fountains (par 62, 4,031 yards) and Oaks (par 54, 1,764 yards). Both courses are well-maintained and offer an opportunity to play a challenging round of golf without leaving the premises of where you are staying.

After a round of golf, hungry campers don’t have to go very far to enjoy dinner at the Canyon Grille, which is also open for breakfast and lunch. The restaurant features indoor/outdoor patio dining seating. Additional food options are available at Pizza Hut Express and the newly renovated Marketplace convenience store and deli.

“We rotate a seven-menu option at the Canyon Grille,” Coogan said. “We have a lot of people returning. We try to create more variety.”

The Welk Resorts also features a buffet dinner-theater option, whereby you can purchase dinner and a show ticket all in one package.

At the Welk Resorts Theater, “The King and I” is now playing through July 27. Remaining shows this year include “Altar Boyz” (July 31-Sept. 14), “An Irving Berlin Musical” (Sept. 18-Nov. 9) and “Plaid Tidings” (Nov. 13-Dec. 28).

All in all, it’s worth the short drive if you are looking for somewhere close to get away.

For more information, call (760) 749-3000 or visit http://www.welksandiego.com/

Aztecs trying to make friends

San Diego State is to be lauded for donating 4,000 tickets to firefighters, police, American Red Cross, military and others who protected San Diego County during last week’s fires.

The Aztecs are also selling field level tickets for $5 to this Saturday night’s home game against Wyoming.

All told, hopefully this means the Aztecs will have more than 20,000 people actually in the stands for the game.

As much as SDSU is reaching out to the community in some ways, it still isn’t winning football games. And that’s why people are not coming, no matter what the discount.

Chuck Long is just 5-14 in his first 1 ½ seasons on Montezuma Mesa. Since he’s in the second year of a five-year contract, SDSU isn’t going to buy him out anytime soon.

This team just isn’t making an impact in the community. The Aztecs haven’t had a winning season since 1998 … and it doesn’t appear one is on the horizon.

They will make some friends this weekend with the free and discounted tickets.

But to make friends in the long run, they will need to win more than once a month.

Prediction:

Wyoming 27, SDSU 17

Fire donations matched by 50 percent

Before we get to the Chargers, let’s start with the most important information.

If you are still looking to donate to the fire relief effort in San Diego County, here’s a suggestion where to give:

The North County Times and San Diego’s CW television station are matching 50 percent on all donations up to the first $500,000 received for fire relief efforts.

For information, please visit http://www.nctimes.com/ or http://www.sandiegocw.com/.

As for the Chargers, they certainly did what they needed to in Sunday’s 35-10 win over over-matched Houston.

It started with firefighters and first responders from last week’s fires proudly leading the team onto the field. Then, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger showed that he may not flip a coin properly … but he must be praised for his quick response to the fires.

The Chargers had the game wrapped up for all intents and purposes when Antonio Cromartie recovered a bad punt snap in the end zone to make the score 14-0 just 11:22 into the game.

The offense was efficient, if not overly effective. Philip Rivers threw only 11 passes and LaDainian Tomlinson rushed for 90 yards and didn’t even score a touchdown.

It all came down to special teams and the defense forcing Houston to commit five turnovers.

The Chargers should have little trouble when they travel to Minnesota this week. Then the schedule gets much tougher with Indianapolis here on a Sunday night, at Jacksonville, Baltimore here, then at Kansas City and at Tennessee.

That five-game stretch should define the team’s season.

Fire losses are devastating; not sports losses

When the Chargers lost to New England in last year’s NFL playoffs, some people termed it "devastating."

When Kansas City upset the Chargers earlier this season, some called it "devastating."

When San Diego State dominated New Mexico last Saturday but lost in the final few seconds, that was also called "devastating" by some.

Let’s get one thing straight: Losing a sporting event is not devastating. Losing your home is.

As the devastating fires continue throughout San Diego County, more than 500,000 people have been displaced from their homes. By the time it is all said and done, thousands will sadly have lost their homes.

That’s devastating.

Sports are only a diversion. The next time a San Diego team loses a key game (which happens far too often), think of it as being "too bad."

The devastation from losing homes and personal possessions far outweighs anything that ever happens in the sporting arena.

Be safe; and continue to hope and pray that the fire situation here gets better, before it gets worse.

Alpine Little League stars shine brightly

Take a trip east to the San Diego County village town of Alpine sometime and check out the sky at night.

There are stars by the hundreds to be counted … which is more than you can say about city life in San Diego.

Speaking of stars shining brightly in Alpine, have you heard about the Alpine American Little League All Stars?

This amazing team has won its District and Sectional championships as it awaits a first-round game against Tijeras Creek at noon Saturday at Chollas Lake Little League in the Southern California – South Sub-Divisional.

Tijeras Creek, out of Rancho Santa Margarita, can pound the ball. In its last four games the team has scored 14, 10, 15 and 16 runs.

This came after a 4-1 loss to Long Beach in the Sectional opener, and this is where Sam Pounds comes in for Alpine American.

In his previous game, he pitched a no-hitter in the Sectional finals as Alpine American beat South Bay, 12-0.

Ryan Tanksley sparks Alpine American from his leadoff position in the batting order. The team also has the son of a celebrity in Andrew Grant; whose father, Mark, is a baseball color analyst for Channel 4 San Diego and a former major league pitcher.

No matter what happens from here on out, the back country town of Alpine has plenty to be proud of in its Little League All Stars.