On my way from Saratoga Springs to San Francisco, I made a pit stop above the city to see…GIANT TREES! Muir Woods was incredible. I’m always raving about the culture and history found in European cities, but rarely do I stop to think about the ancient, natural wonders we have right here in America. Wow! So beautiful!
Earlier I was raving about how the San Diego architecture resembles that of Spain. San Diego has nothing on Santa Barbara. The entire city is literally a mini version of a Spanish town! Beautiful architecture, palm trees everywhere…even the signs are Spanish-esque & beautiful.
East coast highways are better. California highways have no signs to tell you what is at each stop, making it very difficult to find the nearest In’N’Out burger (but don’t worry I got my fix)
So, settled once and for all:
Jersey highways > California highways
…is nothing like The O.C. I feel as though my favorite middle school show lied to me for years. NOTHING. No resemblance whatsoever. /end rant
Here are the fun things I DID do:
On the drive up from San Diego to Newport Beach, I stopped off at La Jolla cove for…SEA LIONS! Real live cuddling on the beach and being adorable sea lions. Not in a cage or a tank; literally nothing to separate you from the wildlife. I took some amazing photos because I was able to get so close up! It was such an incredible experience; there are so few places you can get that close to wildlife [outside a zoo or an aquarium] without scaring them away.
Sometimes, I’m self critical that I’m not spontaneous enough.
After this trip, I can say with 100% certainty that is not the case. Yesterday, with a tour group from my hostel, I walked to Tijuana. As in, we literally walked across the border into Mexico, which was an experience itself. We took the trolley car all the way down from central San Diego to the US/Mexican border (yup, it really is that simple) and after a surprisingly easy border crossing (only 4 out of 20 people in our group got held up by customs – not too bad considering how many different countries we all came from, and the fact that two Americans didn’t have their passports with them) we walked about 20 minutes until we hit downtown Tijuana. It was quite the experience, I’ve never crossed a major border without a boarding pass, car, train, etc. Nothing but a passport and my own two feet.
Some highlights from the trip:
SO much fun, but I don’t recommend trying this without someone who knows the area/knows their way around. The walk back from Tijuana to the U.S. would have been really scary without a guide.
…but the California sun does not love me.
Fell asleep on Mission beach under the clouds, woke up to brutal sunburn all over my backside.
Medicated aloe is my BFF right now. We’re inseparable.
When I travel Europe I like to wander. It’s this thing I do where I glance at a map, ballpark memorize the sights I want to see, and then wander the city until I find them.
Today, I learned a very important lesson: that doesn’t work in America. In America, we have these monstrosities called highways and sometimes something that looks like a highway bridge to the zoo is actually an off ramp to the San Diego freeway and then you end up accidentally walking for at least a mile along the freeway because YOU JUST WANTED TO SEE THE DAMN BEARS.
The good news:
For every major multi-destination trip I’ve taken thus far in my life, I’ve crafted a bucket list with major attractions, to-dos, etc. For my upcoming west coast trip, I’m keeping it short, sweet and light:
I’m certain this is all easily do-able, though, if I don’t meet a sea lion/otter in real person I might actually cry.
Edit: Adding one more item
7. To blast Phantom Planet’s “California” while driving up Route 1.
My Life as a World Traveler 