Having taken two planes and changed in Atlanta, GA we finally landed (late) at the warm and pleasant San Diego airport last Thursday. Valentin (pronounced Valenteen), our host was there to meet us and we drove to get some Mexican food before heading to his. We had tacos and burritos from a hole-in-the-wall restaurant and ate outside.
On Friday I woke up early to take Val to work so that we could use his car during the day. We went to Pacific Beach, but I was too cold so we went to Balboa Park, which is a marvel of architectural feats. The terracotta mouldings spiral in all directions, working their way up the tiers of buildings. Fresh green palm trees contrast with sharp cacti which coil with a mind of their own, reaching out in an escape to the sky. It’s huge and filled with museums a plenty. When we’d had our fill we picked Val up from work and he informed us that we’d be driving to LA to pick up a marine, before which we had to pick up his friend Alexis who was arranging all of this. So we buckled up and went along. Alexis was astounded when she found out she was riding in a car with two Brits and we spent the rest of the journey comparing local slang. Grant was the marine and he was lovely – he bought us all dinner on the way back.
The third day of our stay was quite mellow, it was also a lot warmer, which I was extremely happy about despite Val and Fin not being too much. Another couch surfer arrived – Tamara the Austrian and after we picked her up we went to eat Vietnamese food. Then we went to get Ben & Jerry’s and I had ‘Dave Matthews Band’s Magic Brownies’ which is blackberry ice cream (although they call it black raspberry) and brownie chunks (huge chunks) and it is the most exquisite thing that has ever touched my tongue. Well…almost. I polished off half the pot and fell into a warm and fuzzy ice dream.
On Sunday morning we were supposed to drive out to Tucson, but we couldn’t get hold of a hire car until Monday, so we stayed another night and went to a Scrabble/Flight of the Conchords marathon, although only one game of Scrabble was played because there were six of us and it proved too testing. We also visited a Hindu temple earlier that day in Pacific Beach, but it was full of white tourists and had a gift store and it felt wholly contrived.
4 Comments
March 5, 2009 at 1:35 pm
You got to the west coast quicker than I expected. Probably too late but in the San Diego area I would recommend a ride on the roller coaster at Mission Bay – a lovely old creaky wooden one. On the coast south of Monterey is Hearst Castle, worth a visit to see how someone with lots of money and no taste can rob Europe of some of its riches and build what Americans view as a national monument. But still, newspaper magnates still have high opinions of themselves!
March 7, 2009 at 5:24 pm
Yep, I’m in Vegas now. But I’m heading to LA and San Fran next…. get your tips in early. Thank you though.
March 8, 2009 at 9:41 am
First of all, black raspberry is different than blackberry.
Second, you left your ice cream in my freezer. This was a poor choice. I have since thrust their empty husks onto pikes outside my house as a warning to other couchsurfers.
Third, I think you left your eye shadow in my car. Or maybe it’s mascara. Who knows. Regrettably, you can’t have that back either. I, uh… used it all.
Fourth, everything is funny in your article out of context. “We’d be driving to LA to pick up a marine.” Hahahaha. Indeed!
Fifth, great photos. You’ll be a goddamned photojournalist yet.
March 9, 2009 at 3:17 am
Ok smart guy, what’s the difference between blackberries and black raspberries?
I couldn’t really take the ice cream with me on a five hour drive through the desert now could I? Ha. I was sad to leave it behind though, I must admit.
I don’t really wear make up and I have my mascara and eyeliner with me. Perhaps it was Tamara’s?
RE: 5 – thaaaaaaaaanks