San Diego was the trip we didn’t expect to take, but when Jenna was presented with the opportunity to go there for a conference I was more than pleased to tag along. We arrived on a Thursday and left on Sunday, and we tried to pack as much time in for sight seeing as we had.
While planning for the trip we looked up Cafe 222, a restaurant featured on “The Best Thing I Ever Ate“, which had a breakfast that I loved so much I recreated it at home. It turned out that Cafe 222 was in San Diego and for all of those times you watch the Food Network you think “Man, if I could eat that it would be great” we finally had the opportunity. The restaurant wasn’t close to where we were staying but we made a point of getting there.
Cafe 222 had incredibly high expectations in my mind and it may have been the atmosphere of being in the birth place of the peanut butter banana stuffed French Toast that made my breakfast taste better but something did taste better. It may not have been the best meal we ate in San Diego but to have something I saw on TV crossed an item off my bucket list that I never knew existed.
While Jenna occupied for eight hours with her conference I spent the afternoon at the San Diego Zoo. I was worried about how much fun I would have looking at animals alone but it was a great way to pass time and I found it entertaining and enjoyable, even while solo.
Our only full day together in San Diego wasn’t actually spent in the city. We took a ferry across the bay and spent the afternoon in Coronado. We walked along the path, enjoyed clear blue skies in +22 weather and finished it off with a delicious meal looking across the bay at San Diego as the sun set and the lights came alive.
With the exception of a cab to and from the airport our primary mode of transportation was relying on buses and light rail transit. We planned our trips through Google Maps, and it worked to a point, but there were a few incorrect recommended stop’s so we just walked to the nearby transit center and took the bus we needed there.
An all day travel pass was $5.00, and for days where multiple transfers and buses were taken it was a pretty cost effective way of getting around. After London, Paris and Marseille transit in San Diego was pretty simple to figure out but the frequency of some routes could have bee increased as some wait times for buses in rush hour exceeded 30 minutes.
Some random observations from the trip:
- Christmas without snow feels weird. Christmas music and decorations were everywhere but I just didn’t feel it. I dislike being buried under snow in freezing temperatures but there is something about the snow that puts you into the Christmas spirit.
- People wore scarves, toques and mittens like it was below zero. When the sun set and a wind blew I wished I had a thicker coat but people still wore clothes and brands I normally associated with cold Canadian winters.
- Fahrenheit, I don’t understand you. 74? 50? Those are just numbers.
We found San Diego to be a very beautiful and clean city, two things I didn’t expect. As the second largest city in California I had low expectations and was pleased when they were met and exceeded. The few people we interacted with were friendly and pleasant, one guy on the LRT even commented on the fact that I was “drinking the fuck out of [my] coffee”.
The atmosphere in San Diego was very relaxed and if California shares even a little bit of that attitude I would gladly live there.
All in all it was a fun trip and I’m glad we had the opportunity to go and experience a new part of the continent.
For those curious, you can view the rest of the San Diego photo gallery here.
Hi – Thanks for the great blog. We are headed to San Diego for Christmas and your comments and adventures where so informative ~ as well as the fact that your activities are on our ‘bucket list’ as well. Thanks for sharing. S&D