J o u r n e y s: San Diego

When I was 12, my family took a big trip to the Western US. We drove around for a month, seeing many of the famous American sights- Grand Canyon and Yellowstone, Hollywood and the Golden Gate Bridge, etc. It was a great trip. While we were in Southern California, I fell in love with San Diego. I decided that I was going to live there. I want to be a Marine Biologist, so I could work at Sea World. I came home committed to learning Spanish. I dreamed of Palm Trees.

Alas, that wasn't meant to be, but San Diego will always have a special place in my heart. I just never got back there, until now. What a shame, because my memories were correct- it is a really awesome place.

My friend Kim and I had four days to enjoy the San Diego sunshine. We started in the best possible way- breakfast at Breakfast Republic. They had pancake flights! Can't decide what kind of pancake you want, no problem- get sample of three different kinds. Though choosing just three was equally challenging... We then walked around the Liberty Square area for a while, seeing the High Tech High that my school keeps talking about, then meandered into Stone Brewing for a sample of their products.

In the afternoon we went to Old Town, which is a section of the city that keeps the California mission frontier feeling alive. You can visit a preserved hacienda, and walk to the blacksmith shop, the old church, and several other historical sites. It's also home to some amazing Mexican restaurants. We ate on the patio at Cafe Coyote, HUGE servings of tacos and enchiladas. It was DELICIOUS! We finished in the area in early evening, so we took a Lyft up to La Jolla, to see the Sea Lions and the sunset. There were so many people out walking around.

On day 2, we had another amazing breakfast, sharing the chicken and waffle tower at Hash House A Go Go. This town takes breakfast serious, and I love it! Then we walked to the Zoo, and spent the day with the animals! It had definitely expanded a lot from what I remembered! I loved the koalas, and even though we had to wait in a long line to see them, the pandas were adorable. We walked until we were exhausted, then rode the narrated bus around for a while. From the park, we walked down through the Artists Village at Balboa park and into the Gaslamp District for some beer tastings and dinner. It was a lot of walking but terrific day.

Our third day, we both agreed that less walking was the goal. We Ubered to Devil's Dozen donuts and ate on their awesome rooftop terrace. The view was great, but it was really cold and windy! Then we walked along the harbor checking out the old boats, submarine, and the huge air craft carriers that were in port. We shopped in the Seaport Village for a while and had a great lunch on the water. Sick of walking, we had a chill afternoon and then went to Ocean Beach for some brewery hopping. We met up with Kim's cousin for a late dinner in town.

Our last day together, it was all about Sea World. I'm well aware of the controversy about the treatment of animals there, but I am so appreciative of all that I've learned from the parks and their outreach work. I wanted to be one of those trainers when I was a kid, and I still marvel at the orcas every time I see them. It was a very relaxed day, but lots of fun. We ended up back at Pizza Port for dinner, and went to Modern Times brewery to finish out the night.

Kim had to leave early the next morning, and I picked up a rental car and drove over the huge bridge to Coronado. I walked around the famous Hotel grounds for a while, then hit the road to Temecula, where I was staying the next few nights. I had to do mundane things like buy new sneakers (mine totally wore out in these four days).

San Diego as an adult far surpassed San Diego as a kid. I couldn't have asked for more. We relied on Lyft and Uber exclusively to get around, which worked out great. The city had plenty to entertain, an amazing beer scene, and beautiful sunshine, just what was needed after the winter blahs at home.