 |
| Downtown San Diego |
Leaving
Vegas was tough...Tough because it's such a crazy place, but mainly
because I was suffering like I was recovering from an autopsy. But
with Bec joining us for the trip to San Diego, we packed Rodge รก
la 'Sasquatch!' style and strapped in for the longest day of my life.
Anyway,
en-route we stopped off at In-N-Out Burger, possibly the most highly
anticipated fast food joint in America. Unfortunately after several
failed attempts of making myself feel better (most of you should know
how I tried to do this, for those that don't, it's probably better
off that way), I struggled through the world's best fast food burger.
We were even able to get a suitable meal for the glutard amongst us –
substitute the bread with lettuce leaves and you've got yourself a
winner!
Safe
to say I was off my game, in fact I felt like Homer when he
challenges Red to the 'Sir Loin-a-Lot' steak off, 'I don't know
what's happening to me...there's still food but I don't want to eat
it. I've become everything I've ever hated!'
Still
In-N-Out lived up to expectations (we have since gone back and it was
even better second time round) and we finally got into San Diego,
well almost…
With
about 30 minutes to go we hit peak hour California traffic – try
Australian peak hour traffic and triple it. After slightly cutting
off some jerk that wouldn't let Nic in, we were promptly rammed from
behind. With Rodge packed to the rafter we couldn't see out the back
window so we honestly thought this jerk had rammed us for cutting him
off.
So
we pulled off to the side and me, in my deathly state, got out to
check the damage. Thinking he had just deliberately rammed us I
didn't know what to expect. A confrontation? An apology?
Thinking
the back would be a little bit of a mess I was pleasantly surprised
to see only superficial damaged. After giving it a good once over,
making sure the boot still opened etc., it looked like we had got
away with one. All this was happening whilst old mate just sat
leaning against his bonnet, doing something on his phone. He didn't
say a word. No apology, no greeting, no nothing.
Eventually
he asked me, 'we all good here' and given it did in fact look all
good I agreed with him. This is when he offered his hand and a 'thank
you' and quickly got back in his car, back on his phone and back on
his way.
Yeah
no worries dickhead!
We
actually think he must have been on his phone and hadn't deliberately
rammed us but it did leave Nic a little rattled, so hungover Callum
drove the rest of the way home – rather sweaty palmed I might add.
Anyway
San Diego hadn't got off to the greatest of starts but it quickly
grew on us. Catching up with some friends, old and new, we checked
out a few beaches and got the old activities bag out for some good
times.
La
Jolla Cove was picturesque and well worth a visit if you have a
snorkel. Yeah I’ve got one! A quick paddle around the cove brings
you up close and personal with some of the resident sea lions and
some remarkably coloured fish. The sea lions seem to be at ease with
the human interaction but you wouldn't really want to get too close
to find out just how at ease they are!
 |
| La Jolla Cove |
We
later checked out Mission and Pacific beaches, both stereotypical
Californian beaches with long stretches of white sand with the iconic
piers jutting out into the waters. I was back in my element with room
to make the most of the activity bag and Nic was glad to have someone
else entertain me for once.
 |
| Pacific Beach |
The
next day we caught up with Bec and an old friend of hers who is now a
local of the city. And as usual, it so good to see the city through a
locals eyes. Matt took us to the Ocean Beach Street Fair, complete
with an all America 'Chili Cook Off' and local food stalls that had
us champing at the bit.
Ocean Beach Pier and Chili Cook Off
After
showing us some of the more secluded coastlines we got to sample the
best sandwiches in town. Rubicon Deli is next level. Labeled the best
gluten free sandwich Nic has ever tasted, and one I couldn't finish
in one sitting, it's definitely worth a stop if you're ever in the
Pacific Beach area.
Enjoying Rubicon Deli in the suburbs of Pacific Beach
That
afternoon we checked out Balboa Park, and given it was a Saturday it
was packed with wedding parties vying to get the best shot within the
picturesque setting. The park has a number of museums and of course
the world famous San Diego Zoo, but we bypassed these and just
strolled through the grounds in true pleb fashion.
Balboa Park
Sunday
we checked out the USS Midway Museum. Given it took us 4 hours it's
safe to say we enjoyed it. For those that don't know the USS Midway
was America's longest serving aircraft carrier of the 20th
century. It saw action in the majority of USA conflicts between 1945
and 1992 and has now been converted into a floating museum.
For
me the 'lectures' on the take off and landing procedures was the most
interesting. Given by veterans of the Navy it was fascinating to see
the technology behind these systems, and also how fricken crazy the
landings are! For Nic it was the self guided tour through the ships
underbelly, from the sleeping quarters, the galley, the pilots' ready
rooms, you get a pretty good idea of how life aboard the vessel was.
USS Midway
Later
that afternoon I walked around the Downtown waterfront taking in the
Bay as the sun set and then watching the skyline come to life as
darkness settled.
San
Diego is as picturesque a city as you could ask for. Settled on the
west coast you get sunsets reminiscent of Perth and WA's coastline, a
bay area nearly as good as Sydney's and beaches actually worth
getting out of bed for.
San Diego by night & day
No comments:
Post a Comment