Things to Do in Chula Vista

The experienced staff at Seaforth Boat Rentals play host to watery adventures that were voted finalists for the KGTV San Diego A-List’s Best Water Activities in 2010 and 2011. Guided sailing adventures and WaveRunner tours shoot seafarers along the waterways for exceptional views of the coastline, splashing sea life, and dolphins circling on their own WaveRunners.

Consummate aquaphiles can haul various benefits⎯including reduced rates on the rentals of kayaks, canoes, and other seaworthy crafts, access to all five Seaforth locations, and free bicycle rentals in Mission Bay⎯with the Seaforth Sailing Club membership. Seaforth also offers sailing classes along with myriad sailing, yachting, and fishing charters for luxurious days on the water or early mornings spent serenading elusive sailfish.

Staff members at Rick's Rent-A-Boat outfit water-riders with the necessary safety equipment before sending them off for a ride on a professionally maintained jet ski, kayak, or boat. During excursions, riders safely glide over the ripples and spray of San Diego Bay's coastal waters atop a Kawasaki or Honda jet ski, kayak, or Triton ski boat. Sporting a provided life vest and drawing on operating instructions included with each rental, riders cruise atop their seafaring stallions, skimming over foamy waves and leading schools of local fish in a Hamlet lecture. Depending on Mother Nature's mood, guests can make waves 8 a.m.–8 p.m. every day of the week.

Lead kayaker Marie Humphrey and her team take patrons onto San Diego Bay and nearby waterways for lessons and sightseeing tours. With the skyline as the backdrop, the team leads lessons and tours that explore the region's natural attractions and run the gamut from moonlight tours to kayaking and camping trips. Locals and visitors can kayak El Capitan Reservoir and spot wild hogs and turkeys skulking through tall grasses as spotted sandpipers and willow flycatchers soar overhead. Meanwhile, whale watching sends paddlers out along the San Juan Islands where orcas and eagles challenge each other to yodeling contents, and San Diego Bay lets boaters get up-close views of sea lions and sea turtles.

Specialized tours even allow patrons to paddle under fireworks or on the bay with their dog as passenger. Additionally, kayak-based workout tours give guests a sun-soaked alternative to the gym and Humphrey's Concerts by the Bay lets families float to live music. To expand upon the adventure, Family Kayak Adventure Center also curates trips along the waters of Baja, Florida, the Northwest, and the Southwest.

Creative clients brush layers of vibrant, nontoxic paint onto a wide selection of pieces at Daydreams Ceramic Café. The wood- and earth-tone-accented shop, with a feel akin to a rustic winery, lines shelves with blank bowls, vases, mugs, and figurines. After a creative slathering, staff members glaze each piece and fire it in in the café's 2,000-degree kiln for up to two days, rendering it glossy and safe for food, microwaves, dishwashers, and teething pets. The café charges no studio fee for its visiting artists and allows them to return as many times as necessary to complete their masterworks—features which may have helped it to snag a 2011 Best Arts & Crafts award from CityVoter.

As he trains his eye on the target's innermost ring, the archer retrieves an arrow from his quiver. He exhales, crooking his fingers around the bowstring and pulling it back until the feathery fletches tickle his cheek. He will only have one shot to win the contest and finally earn his family's respect—but his elbow is off, and his aim will suffer. "Cut!" comes the call from the director, and the cameras stop rolling for a moment as an archery coach enters the scene. She tilts the actor's arm and adjusts his stance so that his form is truer to life, breathing accuracy into the portrayal. When "Action!" sounds, the archer is ready, and the tension achieves new heights.

Sending its nationally certified coaches to such television clients as CSI: Miami and The Discovery Channel is just one way that Archery House spreads an appreciation of the sport. Company leaders Lorinda Cohen and Tara “Robey” Folz—both of whom hold national titles—ally their combined 36 years of archery experience with marketing savvy to plan classes for all ages, promotional events, and athletic counseling. At multiple outdoor ranges, they outfit beginners with the equipment and know-how to pop a balloon at an impressive remove, and challenge advanced archers to do so with a balloon that’s farther away and filled with wasps.

In 1991, the eponymous founder of Losina Art Center, Olya Losina, moved to La Jolla from Moscow, where she was raised among a vibrant artistic community and served as the art director for the Soviet Union's largest multilingual publishing facility. Losina's fine-art methods, which she honed while obtaining her master's degree at Moscow University, focus on teaching art as a science. While helping her students at the center to work toward mastery of portraiture, the human form, landscapes, and still-life subjects, she performs exercises that aim to reach them on a subconscious level. Together with Losina, the students examine the conscious thoughts that often intrude upon creative expression. They approach the artistic consciousness as a surgeon would approach a brain when trying to dislodge catchy pop tunes from the frontal lobe. With obstructions cleared, pupils find themselves able to work freely and efficiently.