Observers Inn — Hotel in San Diego Country Estates

Before the Cedar Fire and before my husband and I were married, we stayed at the Observer's Inn in one of their two quaint cottages, and enjoyed the star tour. When we heard that the inn had fallen victim to the fire, we were appalled. Even though the fire did not reach the research grade telescopes that are instrumental to the sky tour, Mike and Carolynn lost their home and the cottages that were their basis of income. From time to time, I checked their website to monitor the progress of their rebuilding, and we spoke often of returning to one of our favorite destinations and experiences---stargazing at the Observer's Inn. This week, although we didn't stay at their new facility, we did get the opportunity to go enjoy the star tour. While we didn't have the best conditions (full moon), Mike worked his usual magic and found fascinating views and provided the most fascinating detailed information about what we saw. I can't impress upon you the thrill it is to view something that only a fraction of a percent of humanity ever see. Some of the light that was hitting our eyes originated from before the dinosaurs---a little photon travelling at a 186,000 miles per second took 30 million years to get to my eyeball. That is so difficult to grasp, but so true! We saw a star cluster with more than a billion stars in it! We saw a galaxy that was outside of our galaxy (The Milky Way is ours). Saturn was very dramatic with its beautiful rings. It was simply stunning. From the moment you approach the structure that houses the research grade telescopes and you see that there are tracks that allow the roof to slide off the building, you are awed. Mike uses an infinity laser pointer before you enter to point out constellations to you. Then, you walk indoors, and are surrounded by this fabulous equipment that is going to transport you to a world beyond imagination. I can't wait to go...

These are 2 hard working people who provide a lovely escape from the world. This is a B and B that has 2 rooms and include a common area. This is a large mini-home. This is a truly lovely place and the rooms are worth every penny. They are large, super clean and well decorated. Bathrooms are lovely with a lot of attention to detail. There is a fridge, hot and cold filtered water, coffee, energy bars etc.||||More importantly - this is an observatory. Mike the owner gives the night time lectures where you will learn more in one night than you likely remember from a year of schooling. Mike is very dedicated - you will first have constellations pointed out by laser - afterward you will be admitted to his special platform where there are approx 5 very large scopes. One it is said is larger than some smaller countries use. I saw Saturn for the first time - rings and all. He allows you to view amazing things that I really can't describe. If the moon is full he will take your smart phone and take a picture of the moon for you - see attached. If you go when the moon is not full you will be able to see - via laser more in the sky due to less light coming from the moon. This is a completely interesting trip. They do require a 2 night stay so that is something to keep in...

This was a pretty fun place to go. It's a little pricey, but when you see private observatory that this guy's got set up, you'll realize why. It's very impressive for something set up at someone's house. We got to see a few cool things, like some star clusters I had never heard of before. The best part was seeing the moon and I even got a pretty fantastic picture through the telescope eyepiece with my camera. There were quite a few clouds in the sky at the time we went out, so even though we got to see a few things, our viewing options were limited.

I get that when you want to go to a place like this, you want to book it earlier than later so you know you have the night you want, but the weather can make that unpredictable, and if you're going here to optimize your time and options actually looking through the scope, it would probably be better to book within just a few days out so you can hopefully foresee the weather and not get stuck with a...