{Hella} Sunny San Diego (Pt. 1)

A short backstory, my good friend and old roommate, Kelsey, lived in San Diego for 2 years before moving back to New Hampshire.  I never got out to visit her because my anxiety about flying that far was paralyzing.  I felt so much shame about not being able to visit her.  My friend Aliess, who I saw in Portland and also lived with Kelsey and I, offered to fly to Boston from Oregon to help me fly out to San Diego and I still couldn’t do it.  Making it to San Diego meant so much to me, even if Kelsey is no longer there. 

San Diego is a dream. The weather is so perfect it’s unbelievable.  How often do we bond, gripe, and commiserate (yes, I googled “All the Small Things” for the correct spelling of commiserate- if you know, you know) over the weather? Use it to identify when an experience took place? Check to make sure we dress in comfortable clothing? The level of perfection almost bordered on unsettling… almost.

I took advantage of all of the sunshine, especially with the amazing Airbnb I was in. The backyard had a hot tub, grilling area, gas fireplace, and massive avocado tree. I spent most nights in the hot tub and did all of my strength workouts outdoors. 

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I was still rehabbing my calf injury and could only walk or run/walk while I was there but I explored several places on my walks including Pacific Beach boardwalk, Ocean Beach, Sunset Cliffs, and Mission Bay.  I took my first ever dip in the Pacific Ocean after one of my run/walks. 

I tried to check off as many things on my itinerary including bouncing around the Gaslamp District while people pregamed before heading to watch the Padres play, walking around the harborside shops at Seaport Village, and trying as many taco places as I could including Mike’s Taco Club and La Playa. 

I explored Pacific Beach, which the locals call PB not to be confused with Ocean Beach which they call OB; I walked along the boardwalk at PB several times, swam in the ocean, and watched surfers and dolphins from the cliffs.  

One Saturday I went to the highly recommended Ironside Oyster Bar in Little Italy.  The space has a great vibe, funky decor with lots of plants and a massive black and white tile floor.  The bar seats are in pairs and swing out from a pole attached to the floor.  As soon as I sat down the two guys to my right struck up a conversation.  One looked like a puffy David Spade and the other was wearing several chunky skull rings and gave off an Ed Hardy vibe.  They were nice enough and explained the difference between PB and OB.  PB is young college kid vibes and OB is hippy drum circle vibes, good to know. 

A handsome guy sat down to my left in the chair that was connected to mine.  We made a joke about the chairs swinging (the guys to my right made a joke about how this new guy was probably from OB which I think they meant as a diss) and I shifted my attention to the new guy on my left.

We talked for a bit over craft yet somehow also kitschy cocktails (his came in a shark mug).  He went to law school at Northeastern in Boston and was originally from Texas.  We hit it off and he asked for my number and said we should hang out in La Jolla (pronounced La Hoy-ah) while I was in town.  As he was saying goodbye and leaning in for a hug I was repeating in my head don’t say it, don’t say it but out came “See you in La Holla,” *damnit* “I mean La Jolla”. 

Spoiler alert: he never called. 

My friend Kelsey connected me with a wonderful friend she made while living in San Diego, Jenna, and we made plans to explore OB which is where Kelsey lived when she was in San Diego.  

Jenna and I met up at Dog Beach and walked around where her and Kelsey’s dogs used to play and then walked down the alley to see Kelsey’s old beach bungalow.  It was really special to see these places even if I didn’t make it while she was still there. 

Jenna and I bounced around exploring some OB staples including Nova for delicious kombucha and Kilowatt Brewing for seltzer’s because, well, gluten.  Jenna then introduced me to the most fun pastime ever- electric scooters.  

We downloaded the app, she gave me a quick tutorial, and off we went to another part of OB to try Little Lion Cafe.  Unfortunately, they were closing so we didn’t get to stay but this just meant getting back on the marvelous scooters and heading to Sunset Cliffs. 

Sunset cliffs are the most epically beautiful oceanside cliffs I have ever seen.  We walked around, watched the surfers in the water, and she pointed out the cliff where Kelsey and her fiancé Ben got married the year before. 

We scooted back to town and went to Raglan, a New Zealand restaurant, for Moscow Mules and sliders.  We finished our Sunday Funday at Wonderland overlooking the pier and the ocean with palomas in hand. 

Hanging out with Jenna all day was the perfect antidote to the homesickness I didn’t even realize I was feeling.  It felt like hanging out with an old friend.

Jenna and I parted ways and made plans to hang out when she was back from her trip to New Hampshire, yes, New Hampshire.  Kelsey and Ben happened to be having the reception for their cancelled 2020 wedding during the exact time I was across the country in the city I could never visit them in.  I was across the country too anxious to book a flight to attend their wedding.  It was coincidental and felt a bit cruel on the universe’s part, regardless, I made a new friend who could tell me all the details when she returned. 

The next weekend I met up with Amber who I had originally met in Santa Barbara.  We met at her favorite wine bar in Little Italy, Vina Carta, and we sat outside enjoying a bottle.  A male friend from her gym stopped by and hung out with us.  

The three of us then went to Herb and Wood which had a cool evening bar crowd.  After that we went to Wolfies Carousel Bar which happened to be on my list of places to check out.  The vibe was much more Myrtle Beach nightclub with food than the fancy New Orleans Carousel Bar I was expecting.  We hadn’t been there 5 minutes before Amber and the gym friend were making out.  I was feeling every bit the third wheel so I excused myself to the bathroom and then made a gloriously successful Irish Exit.  I found the nearest scooter and laughed the whole time I was scooting home, hair whipping out behind me. 

I fell in love with a coffee place, Better Buzz, while in San Diego.  They have a cool beehive vibe in their cafes and their coffees and açaí bowls are amazing.  I couldn’t stop going and getting their Snickerdoodle Latte iced with half the sweetness, because I want it to taste like coffee.  I highly recommend checking them out. 

On one of my visits to Better Buzz a bubbly cashier asked me what I was doing the rest of the day and I told her I was debating going to the beach or watching the Patriots’ game. She said, “Why can’t you watch the game on your phone on the beach?” I laughed and told her that’s a great idea which she followed up with “I’m Gen Z,-so you know I think of these things.”  I immediately felt like an old lady and then I saw that it was also National Grandparents Day and I was apparently welcomed into that club as an Elder Millennial. 

I ended up going to Sunset Cliffs to enjoy my coffee in the sunshine before going home to grill some food for the game.  I walked by a man, Blair, in the back of his pickup truck listening to the Chargers game on the radio. We talked about sports for about 10 minutes which was fun. He used to play for the Raiders for a season. 

When I was walking back on the way out he was listening to the Dodgers/Padres and suggested I check out Dodgers stadium while in Southern California. I told him I wasn’t comfortable in a full stadium due to covid and he proceeded to tell me covid was a “hoax” caused by Bill Gates… and that 9/11 was a hoax, too (it was 9/12).  I told him my mom works in a nursing home where 19 people died in one weekend and she had to call their families so we weren’t going to agree on that covid being fake. He again told me to look up some Bill Gates video about the government planting the flu virus in nursing homes… sure, Blair, thanks (heavy eye roll).

When I got home I cooked fajitas on the grill but couldn’t get the Pats game because it was “blacked out.” I got in the hot tub instead and then went back to Sunset Cliffs for the actual sunset. 

Three sunsets in, I feel like a pattern has developed of people imposing on my sunset enjoyment.  Case in point: when in Oregon with Beth Ann and Robert, as soon as we settled on the beach with a clear view, a loud family of 10 with kids came and played in the water directly in front of us on a beach otherwise deserted (we rolled with it, no big deal), cut to: Santa Monica where I got settled on a relatively sparse beach to watch the sunset over the pier and a young couple came and sat directly in front of me and smoked a joint while barely paying attention to the sunset (I had to stand up and walk a few feet over to get all the pictures I took), and now in San Diego…. I got to Sunset Cliffs an hour before sunset and set up a blanket on a small outcrop about 3 feet wide.  I listened to a guided meditation and relaxed. At exactly sunset 5 teenage girls came onto my tiny outcrop and stood over me while taking no less than 50 pictures. I finally got up, packed up my things, and let them know how rude it was to take over such a small space for such a long period without even acknowledging my existence.  They were apologetic but I’m still waiting for that serene uninterrupted sunset.