getting to the convention center (San Diego, Orange: house, live, cost of)

[mannyr]

Hi,

My daughter and I are going to ComicCon next Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and will be staying with a family who live near Otay Mesa where the 805 and 905 freeways meet.
I've heard that driving and parking near the convention is a bad idea because of the congestion (this may not be totally true - I just don't know).
I would appreciate suggestions on how to get there.
Right now I have a couple of possibilities but am open to anything that works.
I see that there is a trolley line (Blue line) that goes from Palm Ave to downtown. The downside is that you have to change to the Orange line and the trip takes about an hour.
The other possibility is to drive to a closer station, maybe Euclid on the Orange line and then take the trolley in. I don't know what traffic conditions are like in San Diego and we may end up wasting our time stuck in traffic.
Also, we probably won't be getting back to the house until 10 pm.
If you were in my shoes what would you do?
Thanks.
Manny

[kettlepot]

If you don't need to be at Comic Con at 9 a.m., but at some later time the traffic will have died down and the drive shouldn't be so bad. However, when you get into downtown the issue will be the cost of parking and whether that cost is worth it to you. If you are prepared to park in a lot on the outskirts of downtown and walk 10 blocks or whatever to the bay you can get a good deal on parking. There are also certain metered areas in downtown that are cheap and offer long term parking, however, if they will have spots by the time your get there will be iffy (Kettner, south of B'way is one location - you need a debit card). The trolley, on the otherhand, would put you off just across the street.

I'll let someone with more familiarity with the trolley offer you advice on what station would work best if you choose the trolley route.

[mannyr]

Thanks Kettlepot!
That definitely helps. Ideally we will just drive and park in a daily lot. That lets us be flexible about when we return to the house. Also, I've been reading some horror stories about commuting on the trolley - probably exaggerated a bit - but discouraging nevertheless.