So you've read a city guide and you've done Balboa Park, the Zoo, the beaches, the Mission, Fashion Valley, Coronado, the whale watching, the harbor cruises, the Maritime Museum, Legoland, Sea World and La Jolla. What more could San Diego offer? I mean, other than Old Town, Mission Trails Regional Park, Cabrillo National Monument, the Del Mar Racetrack, the Gaslamp Quarter, the Quail Botanical Gardens, Belmont Park, the Carlsbad Flower Fields, Scripps Aquarium, Little Italy and Presidio Park? (Man, you Type A people sure are hard to please....)

How about canyons, ghosts, clotted cream, half-price tickets, and camping with African wildlife? Read on.

The absolute most secretive and original things I have seen in San Diego are the pedestrian footbridges. There are two just north of downtown, hovering between Banker's Hill and Hillcrest.

Why a footbridge? Most of coastal San Diego is hills shot through with deep, narrow canyons that are far too steep to build on. We have a tendency to leave these arroyos wild and run a nature trail through them, turning them into impromptu parks. (Beware the occasional coyote.)

One such canyon run cleaves Spruce Street in two, and in 1915 a 375-foot suspension footbridge was built to link the neighborhoods together. The bridge is high enough to top trees, and bounces and sways delightfully when you walk across it. (I'd sit this one out if you are afraid of heights. Seriously.) Bring your camera: Out in the middle of the bridge you'll get a pretty view of the higher downtown buildings.

There is a less spectacular though equally historic wooden footbridge just five blocks away on Quince Street. It's worth walking to, however, because the neighborhood is quintessential southern California, so much so that you will pass the Self-Realization Fellowship Temple of San Diego on First Avenue where you can wander around their beautiful grounds and take a meditation or energization class. If retail therapy and great food are more your thing, Hillcrest is right nearby. Park at the huge Rite Aid on Robinson between Fourth and Fifth Avenues (you'll have to pay to park: there is a machine that vends tickets and it takes credit/debit cards), and explore on foot from there.

To get there: From north of the 8, take 163 South and get off on the University Avenue exit in Hillcrest. Take a right on University, then a left on First Avenue. Follow that down and take a right onto Spruce Street for the suspension bridge and a left on Quince Street for the wooden bridge. From downtown, you can take a leisurely drive all the way up First.

Other things that are secrety and almost-but-not-quite-as cool:

- Ghosts! And not just run-of-the-mill "cold spots" and rumors. We have the Whaley House Museum, which some say is the most haunted house in the country. You can go to Whaley House during the day for a pedestrian tour, or you can get your creepy on and take The Old Town Ghost Tour. This is a walking tour that runs only at night, lead by a real ghost hunter. Aw yeah. (Note: the Ghost Tour includes a ticket to see the Whaley House by day.)

- Tea. Alhough we may be as far from Britain as we can be and not be an island, there are still some places scattered throughout San Diego that do a fantastic afternoon tea with full-on warm scones, clotted cream, triangle finger sandwiches, pastries and, of course, all the tea with which to happily caffeinate yourself. Prices range from $15-50 per person. Most of the major hotels, especially those downtown, have afternoon tea on the weekends. A good place to look for local teahouses in San Diego (or anywhere else) is on Teamap.

- Shows. San Diego has a thriving performing arts community, from tiny blackbox theaters downtown putting on local productions written by local talent, to stand-up comedians, to the usual Broadway suspects, to the Old Globe theater in Balboa Park (an outdoor wooden replica of London's Old Globe that runs three Shakespearean plays a year in the summer and fall). Find out what shows will be onstage when you are in town at the San Diego Performing Arts League. You can even buy half-price tickets from them for same-day or same-weekend shows. There is also a same-day, half-price ticket booth at Horton Plaza. It's tricky to find, as it's a small structure outside the mall building proper. Head toward the corner of Broadway and Fourth and you should see it.

- Animals. Oh, yes, yes, you are saying. You know about the animals. Because there is that that world-famous Zoo thing. And everyone goes to the Zoo when they come to San Diego. Well, you can be like the herd (pun so intended), or you can go see the animals without bars between them and you. The San Diego Wild Animal Park -- oh, you know about that too? About how you can get on the train and see the animals wandering through terrained habitats and not cages? Well, I bet you didn't know this: You can sleep with them! That's right. The Wild Animal Park has a ton of extracurricular activities that get you close to the animals in photo safaris, behind-the-scenes tours, and overnight excursions. All the tour programs are listed on the website.

This tidbit of real travel advice was contributed by San Diego native Kati Lusifee.

Headed to San Diego for ghosts, scones or shows (oh my!)? Find a rental before you go.