San Diego

I had a great time in San Diego! It was definitely the break I needed! I had a couple of things in mind to do, but not really anything I HAD to do, so I could take it easy and just wake up and decide what I was in the mood for. That's a vacation. Although it was the hottest/humidest two weeks of the summer in San Diego, it was bearable.

I went to 3 different beaches, Coronado, Mission, and Carlsbad and they were all amazing. I know I've been to beaches on both coasts, but I was very young and don't remember them in great detail. It was strange, then, that the sounds and smells were very familiar, the water, the washed up kelp, the breeze, the hot sand, etc. I didn't know that the air in the morning is foggy and thick, but then the sun comes up and burns off the fog and when the mist clears the sun is hot. The breeze coming off the ocean cools your skin and feels refreshing. It was wonderful. I went to Old Town, with the Mormon Battalion Museum (much cooler than I thought it would be) and the Gaslamp District - both were fun to walk around and see the various shops and restaurants. I especially enjoyed my dessert at Ghirardelli downtown. I also went to Balboa Park which has a lot of museums and cultural sights.

I also went to the San Diego Temple, which I've never been to before and it was amazing! Because it was mid-week and the middle of the day it wasn't busy so I got to walk around and see everything, as well as chat with some of the Temple workers and get some "insights" - so it was a great experience.

I spent the rest of my time attending a YSA-MSA conference which I don't have time to go into. I'll just say that I felt way to old to be there, but my host T. and her friends, who are all my age, made it much more fun! They were great and I enjoyed getting to know them. I appreciate that they were able to accept me into their "inner circle" so quickly - a testament to their ability to accept even the weirdest of people - i.e., me.

I have never driven by myself that far and it was fun. Okay, it was long too - about a 12 hour drive, but overall, I actually enjoyed it. I realized that I really can get around on my own, but my phone's GPS was a lifesaver!! Although being the son of a map lover, I miss the days where if you wanted to get somewhere you'd pull out a map and note which route to follow to get there. I suppose I still could have done that, but the GPS was much faster!

I'll be uploading some photos when I'm done editing them.