Things to Do in San Diego Country Estates

Enthusiastic instructors at OEX Mission Bay invite beginning and experienced adventurers into the cerulean waters of the Pacific. The outpost began as a kayak and freediving center, but has since branched out to include standup paddleboard, outrigger canoes, and poker tournaments with local sea bass. Staff members happily help sea student get fitted with the perfect-sized gear and train them in basic safety before their expedition over and under the blue bay waters.

The 10th annual San Diego Film Festival showcases a packed schedule of more than 70 full-length and short-film offerings, giving celluloid connoisseurs an advance peek at upcoming fiction and documentary movies. On Saturday at 5:30 p.m., HBO Documentary Films will screen Superheroes, a nonfiction meditation on real-life crime-fighters who take to the streets in costume. Catch TV stalwarts Michael C. Hall (Dexter) and Lucy Liu (Ally McBeal) in East Fifth Bliss, a dramedy centering around a mid-thirties slacker who dates the daughter of an old high-school classmate while struggling to overcome his addiction to drinking orange juice straight from the carton (Saturday, October 1 at 7 p.m.; Sunday, October 2 at 1 p.m.). Many showings boast the film's cast and crew in attendance, allowing guests the opportunity to get up-close glimpses of acclaimed actors and Oscar-winning dolly grips.

Perhaps with the exception of a high-school prom, The Gondola Company can put almost any romantic event on the water. Its vessels ferry passengers across the canals of the Coronado Cays on several types of cruises, all of which spark a romantic ambiance with Italian music and BYOB amenities. The classic 50-minute Pasaporto jaunts depart for relaxing voyages day and night. As an optional add-on, a live mandolin or violin player can tag along to strum charming, traditional melodies.

The gondoliers do not exclusively transport small groups; they also pilot Venetian caorlinas, larger boats that can accommodate up to 14 people during family-style celebrations. For even grander gatherings, a fleet cruise dispatches as many as six separate gondolas, which can smoothly support entire wedding parties atop the water. Other specialized cruises treat passengers to more than scenic views and the melancholy mating croons of wild sturgeons. On a wine-tasting cruise, a sommelier lectures on a flight of six libations. Alternatively, a Voga massage cruise lays two beds inside the boat, permitting massage therapists to coax tension from couples' torsos and limbs as they skim along the canal surface.

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.

When twin sisters Izzy and Coco Tihanyi decided to pursue a career that combined their passion for surfing and their love of the ocean, their calling came in the form of starting Surf Diva. Before long, they were on course to becoming a lauded school for coed surfers in California and Costa Rica. Augmenting the pair's teachings is their team of certified instructors, all graduates of their school's intensive training program and certified in CPR and first aid. Committed to their expertise in surfing, many of the instructors also hold down careers as firefighters, paramedics, and snowboarders, granting them the combined know-how to put out beach bonfires with a casual backflip.

The team's instruction ranges from coed group lessons and competitive coaching sessions to two- or five-day women’s weekend surf clinics. When they're not teaching surfing, crew members commit themselves to alternative teaching programs in yoga and standup paddleboarding, helping surfers to conquer the water with their bodies as well as with their very buoyant hearts. The twins' Costa Rica program also helps women and families hone boarding skills abroad while becoming fully immersed in the Costa Rican culture.