Chances are when Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo sailed into San Diego Bay in 1542, he didn't say to his crew, "Gee, what a great place for a zoo and theme park."

But how could the explorer -- historians split on whether he was Portuguese or Spanish -- have known that more than 400 years later, a legendary climate and proximity to the mouse that soared would turn tourism into a major industry in this city tucked into California's southwestern most corner.

Indeed, Cabrillo himself has become a tourist draw. President Woodrow Wilson immortalized this point overlooking his landing spot in 1913 when he declared it Cabrillo National Monument, and the sea creatures that make the tidepools home are as much of an attraction as the man himself.

Following are ten places to take kids in San Diego with an emphasis on variety, where history and marine life is as entertaining as building a sand castle and driving a Lego-themed car. For starters, let's visit the site which honors the man who landed on San Diego's Point Loma over 450 years ago

1. Cabrillo National Monument

The crabs, not the conquistador, are the top draw for youngsters. The site contains one of the best protected rocky intertidal areas in southern California open to the public. Our seven and nine years olds spent two hearty hours romping from one tide pool to another and looking in the crevasses of the rocky walls by the shore. There are bat stars and sea anemones here, but we saw an abundance of crabs, including, according to seven-year-old Alexandra, "the biggest one I have ever seen!"

The Old Point Loma Lighthouse, also on the grounds, proved our children's second biggest enticement. The whitewashed stone building is decorated to look as it did in the late 1800s when lighthouse keeper Robert Israel and his family lived here. Generally, visitors can climb to the top of the lighthouse two days of the year: August 23 and November 15. We were lucky to be there on one August 23 and the climb was the greatest thrill for the kids. But Alexandra warns, "I looked down from the top and felt I was going to fall. It's good advice not to look down."

Oh, and Mr. Cabrillo, the first European to set foot on what is now the west coast of the United States? Kids can explore his life at the visitor center while earning a Junior Ranger badge.

2. The San Diego Zoo

From a visitor's point of view, this resident of famed Balboa Park is the Louvre of San Diego. For just as every visitor to Paris goes to the Louvre, just about every person who comes to this city spends a day at the San Diego Zoo.

To make the most of seeing your favorite animals, arrive as early as possible and make your top choices your first stops. "There are fewer crowds, and the animals are more active in the morning. When it's mid-day, especially in summer, it's often their nap time," a spokesperson says. The staff also recommends that folks take the zoo's open-air, double-deck bus. This 35-minute-long narrated excursion covers three quarters of the attractions. And when on foot with kids in tow, do not neglect to stop at the animal nurseries and petting paddock which are features of the aptly named Children's Zoo.

Want to supplement your animal experience? The zoo's sister attraction, San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park, a 2,200-acre wildlife preserve, is 35 miles away in Escondido.

3. The Rest of Balboa Park

If this is a mere park, then the palace at Versailles is a cottage. What is there to do here? What isn't there to do here? This park is the West Coast's Smithsonian. Kids can explore aircraft (San Diego Air & Space Museum, with a replica of the Wee Bee, the world's smallest aircraft flown by a person); science (Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, home to San Diego's only IMAX Dome Theater); the iron horse (San Diego Model Railroad Museum, with a toy train room where young visitors can control the play locomotives); cars (dozens of classics are displayed at the San Diego Automotive Museum) and sports (explore the careers of native San Diegans Ted Williams, Maureen Connolly and Greg Louganis at the San Diego Hall of Champions).

Not enough? Check out the carousel near the zoo entrance, a fixture here since 1922. To quell chants of "I'm hungrrry" visit hot dog and ice cream carts by the House of Hospitality or Cafe in the Park in the lobby of Casa de Balboa.

4. Legoland

The only Legoland in the western hemisphere is in Carlsbad, about 40 minutes north of downtown San Diego. (The others are in Denmark, England and Germany). Around 20 million Lego bricks in the forms of the White House, Central Park, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Las Vegas Strip, all in the context of intricately constructed city tableaux, separate this theme park from every other.

But to nine-year-old Trisha, the Lego landscapes paled next to driving a Lego-styled car through an area called Fun Town, on "real streets, not tracks, and in cars with gas pedals and breaks and real lights." Riding Lego-esque horses in a medieval joust and steering powered boats through canals and between buoys were further amusements, a few of the over 50 rides and attractions here. As for basic hands-on activities, there are plenty of areas set aside for children to build projects with Lego bricks the old fashioned way.

5. The Beach

About 70 miles of coastline stretch from Oceanside to the Mexican border. The best for families include Coronado Beach, in the shadow of the famed Hotel del Coronado, with its bleach-white sand. Silver Strand State Beach, close by, is popular for its shallow and calm waters. For an old-time Coney Island feel, head to busy Mission Beach, home of the Giant Dipper, one of two remaining, oceanfront, antique wooden roller coasters on the West Coast. Its boardwalk extends through adjacent Pacific Beach and begs for skateboarders and fleet feet.

For sheer aesthetics, consider spacious La Jolla Shores and Del Mar beaches, where wind-swept bluffs and flower-filled cliffs provide background scenery. Del Mar also has playground equipment.

Don't come to southern California looking for balmy waters. Water temperatures top out at about 72 degrees in August and early September. Human polar bears might brave the waters in the winter and spring.

6. Old Town by Day

Of the mission style architecture prevalent in Old Town State Historic Park, my daughter Alexandra said, "It was pretty that they made the buildings look like Taco Bell."

The shops, exhibits and adobe homes here recreate California, circa mid-19th century. The most famous of Old Town's buildings is the rambling La Casa De Estudillo, the social and political center of San Diego during California's Mexican period (1830-1846). Stops in other buildings allow visitors a peek at a newspaper's newsroom as it would have looked in 1868, and a live blacksmith at the ca. 1860s Black Hawk Livery. We took a break from history by going gem shopping at Racine and Laramie's store, then sampling a bottle of sarsaparilla.

7. Old Town after Dark

This place sparkles in the evening, it's safe and very kid friendly, and what better place to indulge in a plate of quesadillas or enchiladas than at one of the many Mexican restaurants? While you wait, and more than likely you will have to for a table, take in some live mariachis and dancers or browse through Bazaar del Mundo, with shops selling among other items, toys, pottery, nautical items and candles.

8. SeaWorld San Diego

Youngest SeaWorld guests appreciate Sesame Street Bay of Play, a two-acre play area with three kid-friendly rides and character appearances. Young hands can touch sea stars and sea urchins at the California Tide Pool. Only the most daring hop on Journey to Atlantis, a wet-and-wild roller coaster featuring a 60-foot plunge and heart-pounding negative G-force. The big star -- literally and figuratively -- is the famed Shamu; see the killer whale at Shamu: Close Up.

But what differentiates SeaWorld San Diego from the two other Sea Worlds in the United States is the Oiled Wildlife Care Center, viewable on a behind-the-scenes guided tour. At the center beached and other ill marine animals are nursed to health, then released into Mission Bay. Since this is the only SeaWorld located on the ocean, it's the only one where such an endeavor is possible.

9. Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

Unless you're a lizard, this is not the place to be in the heat of the summer. High temperatures in this park two hours east of San Diego average 110 in July. From October through May however, this is the place to introduce young ones to the mystical desert landscape which dominates much of southern California.

Consider the easy Wind Caves trail, just off Split Mountain Road, less than two miles in length and home to formations of sculpted sandstone. We walked the three-mile-long Borrego Palm Canyon Trail, where the destination is a virtual natural oasis with a native California palm grove and a year round flowing stream, unusual in any desert setting.

A ranger safety tip? Treat cactus plants with respect. "A little roughhousing will result in a very painful week," says a state park staffer. The best tool to bring with you for pulling cholla cactus from skin is an ordinary hair comb.

10. The New Children's Museum

The New Children's Museum, which opened in May 2008, is downtown San Diego's first public "green" project with environmentally friendly architecture, including the use of recycled building materials, water-saving devices and natural convection cooling. While here, the Dustin Hoffmans of the future can hone their acting skills on the street-theater stage. Or they might  create or design activities with materials such as paint, clay, paper, wood and found objects with the mentorship of a trained artist. Across the street is a pretty park for picnicking.