A home for my words.

I need travel like I need music; life isn’t the same without it. So, I booked a day trip to San Diego, flying out from Phoenix, AZ first thing in the morning on a 1-hour flight and booking my return on the last flight back that same night. Here’s what I got into:

Pacific Beach and Mission Beach

My first stop was the beach (duh)! While I love mountains and admire the desert, my soul also longs for the coast. I took two local buses from the airport and intentionally got off north of Grand Avenue so that I could enjoy a 2 mile walk south along the shore. This was January and it was still chilly enough to keep on one of the layers I’d worn for my plane ride. There were groups playing beach volleyball and exercising whilst others strolled the sand just as I was.

Café Tropics

There’s something about beaches that make me crave fried fish, but they also give me an appetite for healthier foods as well. Since it was still breakfast time, I decided to start the day off with the latter.

The açaí I had at Café Tropics was yummy, but I guess it wasn’t photogenic enough for me to save a picture of the bowl I savored. The view, service, and decor were great though.

The Giant Dipper Roller Coaster was just at the end of the same block as well.

More Public Transportation

I did some more gazing out of bus windows on my back back to downtown San Diego and experienced the San Diego tram. Next stop? More beach time! I spent time exploring the Coronado neighborhood and eventually had that obligatory fried fish meal at a seafood restaurant.

Imagine my disappointment when I found signage warning against going in the water at the beaches in North Island. I took heed and enjoyed time with a book on the beach instead, but I saw a few high-risk tolerant people still dive in :0

Sunset inched closer and I began slothing my way towards a bus stop. The temperature was also beginning to drop and I needed to put on the light jacket in my bag.

It started to feel like a bus would never come, so I decided to walk along the route admiring more of the neighborhood until one finally came.

This is when my otherwise calm day took a bit of a turn.

As I strolled through the energy of Little Italy, I was getting routine notifications of my return flight’s most recent delays. This continued even as I made it to the airport and sat at my gate. I’d seen things like this happened before and suspected I was actually going to have to spend the night in San Diego. I wondered what hotel the airline might put me in and if there was anything else I might be able to squeeze out of my time. Thankfully, we took off although a few hours later than planned.

Conclusion

San Diego was actually a good for a day trip from Phoenix, AZ. Especially since I was mostly in the mood for beach relaxation. With more time, I would’ve loved to experience the beaches further north, bike around Balboa Park, and hike in the Torrey Pines State Reserve. Perhaps next time 🙂