It was my last week in San Diego, and I flew into Paris today. I'm absolutely exhausted from a combination of restless sleep and jet lag, so going to keep this update short and sweet. My overall impressions of San Diego were pretty positive, but like most California coastline cities, I'm just too deterred by the extreme cost of housing and homeless epidemic to consider moving there permanently. So while I do hope to visit the city again, I think I'll keep it as a nice vacation spot, rather than home.
A big highlight of my last week in San Diego was rounding up some of my friends and going to the iconic San Diego zoo. Here's one of the giant tortoises.This little dude was in some type of mood. I was cracking up at its sitting posture.The zoo doesn't have a panda anymore, but they do have red pandas!I have a running joke with my friend Mike about the crazy places I find myself working. He's really particular about his work environment, so I made sure to snap a photo of my temporary "office."To balance the scales, here's perhaps a more envious temporary office.Another shot of the sunset at La Jolla while I finished up my workday. Days like this really make me enjoy being a nomad! But for every great day, there's a bad one too.Finally, to cap off my San Diego experience, I went to get one last burrito. Little did I know that I was in for a freak of nature, baby-sized burrito. I couldn't believe the size of this thing!
September 25th, 2022
Less than a week and I'll be in Europe! I've gotten most of the boring logistics sorted out, with just a few weeks in Greece left to finalize. Now comes the fun part: planning all the activities! Aside from that, not a lot to report from this week. Still just exploring the city, hanging out with friends, etc.
I rode my bike and spent an afternoon in La Jolla, which was a beautiful little coastal city. I really enjoyed the vibe of this place. Farmers markets, cool art vendors, nice restaurants. Just a really chill little beach town. This is a photo of the cove, which is a popular snorkeling spot.Here's another photo of the cove, but this time looking back towards in from the side.Here you can see all the little art vendors and such that lined the walkway along the beach. It was a relaxing time, just wandering around window-shopping, people-watching and enjoying the sound of the ocean. There was also some sea lions hanging out nearby.Out to dinner with some friends - me, Dave, Mike, Erica and Kevin.On Saturday, me and some friends went to see the 28th Annual Pacific Islander festival. It ended up being kind of disappointing, as we spent most of our time just standing in a ridiculously long line waiting for food.Beach, BBQ and firepit day! Nothing much more to say - who doesn't like a firepit by the beach?After dark, the view of all the lights in the city was beautiful. Hard to capture these kind of moments in photos, but I felt like this picture did a pretty decent job.
September 18th, 2022
I can't believe we're already halfway through September! I'll be flying to Europe in just a couple weeks, and only have one full weekend left here in San Diego. Time really does fly by. Not a whole lot more to report from me this week, just been focusing on exercise, eating healthy and getting work done.
Hanging at the beach with Iva and Wesley.I cycled up the coast, and then to the top of Mount Soledad. There was a veteran's memorial at the top, and panoramic views of the coast and city. Really pretty, and it was also cool cycling through the neighborhoods and looking at the multi-million dollar mansions.Me, Erica and David went exploring Encinitas, which is a smaller coast town just north of San Diego. I really enjoyed the vibe there - much quieter and less touristy than the city. This was at Grandview Surf Beach, where big cliffs overlook a popular surf spot.There was a classic car show going on in Encinitas, and so there was a bunch of cars just cruising around the city. We came across this Shelby Daytona. I'm not a big fan of classic cars, but these (and older Corvettes) have always captured my attention. Beautiful!Some shots of food from the past week. Japanese BBQ on the left, but I can't remember the exact dish. And some infamous San Diego street tacos on the right.
September 11th, 2022
Lots of socializing this week - I couple of friends came into San Diego for the weekend, so most my free time was spent going to hang out with them. I've started another "dry month" and switching my focus back to personal growth, work goals, and fitness for the rest of the month. Aside from that, I realized I was so excited about the cabin last week that I forgot to share some other photos. So I've included those here, mostly just pictures from me being out and about through the downtown San Diego area.
A shot of the bay that I took while out on my bike.A really large, well maintained statue. The aircraft carrier in the background is a museum, and there was a lot of stuff in the area dedicated to US troops.While biking, I passed by this seagull who was in a scenic pose, and also surprisingly ambivalent to my existence.This is the new Rady Shell amphitheater. I went by it while the performers were warming up and getting ready for a show later that evening. They had gathered a small, but enthusiastic, crowd.I got a kick out of this! I followed him to a red light and asked if I could take a photo, which he happily posed for. I don't know anywhere besides California where you might see such a thing.Lastly, I always get a lot of questions on how I travel with my bike. So I filmed this video of me assembling the bike the case that I travel with it in.
September 4th, 2022
The big highlight of this week was heading to Arizona to see some old friends and spend a long weekend at a cabin in the mountains near Flagstaff. It wasn't just any run-of-the-mill cabin, though! My friend Wesley's father built it from the ground up back in the early 2000's. Everything from the foundation to the roof, and even designed it himself in some CAD software. I was really impressed by that, and it was fun getting to pick his brain and learn more about the process, and how some of the electric systems and plumbing worked. We spent the weekend playing board games, hiking, grilling, drinking and jamming. I'll probably have more photos to share next Sunday, but here's some of the early weekend!
A video is worth a thousand pictures, or something like that, anyways!Here's the whole crew that came out to the cabin. From top to bottom, left to right: Vassil, Wesley, Iva, David, Hailey, Erica, myself, Stephen, Andy, Bailee, Cody, Jeff.Drinking beer and grilling out - what more could you want?Here's a group photo of just the portion of the crew that met in Hawaii!This wasn't the cabin itself, but the home that Wesley's father lives in now. While he didn't construct it (to my knowledge), he did design the whole thing. Really amazing!Playing horseshoes and enjoying the sunset.Most the downtime was spent playing board games!
August 28th, 2022
Last Sunday I threw all my stuff in the back of a Toyota 4Runner and headed down the California coastline to San Diego! I went down the historic Highway 1 for most of the trip, and stopped in LA for dinner with a friend. All in all, it took me a whopping thirteen hours to get to San Diego! I was stopping a ton and exploring along the way, as it was a really cool and scenic drive. I've been really busy since arriving here, exploring the city and seeing some old friends I know.
This is Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge, on Highway 1.Another photo from the road trip down the coastline.Yet another photo from the trip down Highway 1.I stopped at this really cool spot called River Inn, on my way down to San Diego.I hung out at River Inn for a while. It was super scenic, this was one of the views. I've been experimenting with the "time lapse" mode, but not sure if I really enjoy it.Still at River Inn, I think this time lapse came out much better. The inn was really cool, with a big outdoor restaurant patio, a few shops, as well as live mustic.Oh, look! Yet another photo of the California coastline!On Wednesday I went out with Carmen and Mike, who are living here in San Diego. We went to a Killers concert. It was such a good night!While I'm familiar with a lot of their music, I'm not a huge Killers fan. However, they're a really popular band and so, as expected, the peformance was amazing. They spared no expense on lighting, pyrotechnics, etc.Instead of chanting for an encore at the end of the show, everyone put their phone flashlights on and up. It did the trick, as they came back out. Pretty spectacular to see, as well!This is San Salvador, a former ship and present museum. I just rode by it, but want to go back and visit the museum and interior later this week!Saturday I went out hiking with some friends. From left to right: Terrance, David, Erica, Mike and myself. This was on the hike to Penasquitos Canyon waterfall.A photo from the hike. This was Bailey, sniffing something in the road. Most likely horse poop!Some cool rocks at the canyon hike.While out hiking, we came across a tarantula! I had never seen one this close up before. Apparently it's their mating season right now, so they're not uncommon to see.Last, but certainly not least, some photos of food I had this week. The top was some delicious queso fundido, and then a filet mingon and heaping pile of mashed potatoes, and some tonkatsu ramen. All really good stuff! The Mexican food in particular is phenomenal out here.
