Well, I’ve been putting off writing once again. Somewhere inside I always thought that I could be writer of sorts, that my words could move people. For the longest time I used the excuse of not having anything exciting in my life to write about to explain why I wasn’t writing. I don’t have that excuse anymore. Now I’m just afraid that my words will move nobody, which is probably the truth, considering that I generally never even proofread. But I like writing too, so I don’t see why I should stop just because I’m not particularly good at it. I just hope somebody is actually reading.

 

I’ve been in California for about two weeks now. I must say, I’ve been doing quite a bit of exploring. I’m well over my gas budget, but I think I’ll make do.

 

Yesterday I took a drive down to San Diego. It was an overcast day, not the best kind of day to check out beaches and the sort. I work up with a headache. They’ve been plaguing me for over a month now. I was blaming my increasing caffeine intake, but I’m not so sure anymore. I can probably rule out aneurysm, as I’m still alive. That still leaves cancer, super AIDS, and most likely, an ever rotating sleep/wake cycle.

 

So, back to San Diego… The chronic headache coupled with just a general irritable feeling wasn’t a great way to start out my trip. I was planning on stopping along the way to grab a snack, but ended up pushing all the way into the city, heading towards “Luche Libre,” a supposedly delicious burrito spot. As I turned the corner, I could see the line out the door. Things were not off to a good start. Given my state of hunger and aloneness, I decided against standing in line and headed towards Old Town instead, figuring that they’d have some food.

 

Old Town was weird. It felt like a giant period amusement park, and it was packed with people. My irritability was increasing. So I checked yelp for some burrito reviews and headed into the city. I ended up having a lovely Carne Asada burrito (wet style) in a complete hole in the wall spot. The perfect locale for a burrito. Best of all, I was the only person there.

Not sure what to do next, I headed to Coronado Island with the intent of checking out a beach and maybe Hotel Del Coronado. A quick drive over a bridge and I was on the island. The neighborhoods had a pretty cool vibe, and I imagine that if I had enough money, that it would be a lovely place to live. The business section was hopping though and parking was not pleasant. I just didn’t have the patience to park and walk to the hotel, so I ended up leaving, heading towards La Jolla.

 

I’ve been to La Jolla before. One summer, when I went to UT, I dropped all my classes and quit my job and drove to California for the hell of it. I remember spending a day in La Jolla, checking out the seals and an art museum. Funny because what I remember in my head is quite a bit different that how it actually looks. Still feeling irritable, I decided to take a walk through the park. I ended up on a park bench overlooking the ocean as the sun was setting. I closed my eyes and just listened to the waves for a bit and finally started feeling a little bit better. With the sun finally set I yelped the closest Bahn Mi joint and set my GPS. The Vietnamese place was busy when I arrived, but I managed to snag a table pretty quickly. I ended up getting Pho instead of a sandwich and it was a pretty good choice. Stuffed to the brim, I headed back home.

This morning I awoke ready to take a drive that I had been planning for a few days. While playing around on google, I found what appeared to be an excellent driving road that would lead me eventually to Palm Springs. I was actually in Palm Springs last week, but I like the vibe of the place and thought that I’d head back in the direction. Maybe I could even get a haircut while I was there. I hopped in my car and headed off in that direction. When I started up the mountain, I knew immediately that this road was going to live up to my expectations and probably exceed them. In less than 30 minutes I had climbed probably 4000-5000 vertical feet. It was only a two lane road, but there were plenty of spots for slower cars to pull over, and people were good about doing so. I stopped a few times for pictures, but frankly the driving was so fun, pictures weren’t a priority. I saw tons of motorcycles, a pair of GT-R’s, and about 30 Cadillac’s of a body style I didn’t recognize. A press day I suspect. I spent about an hour and a half in the mountains before I dropped back into the desert on the Palm Springs side.

I stopped in a Cafe Europa, a restaurant that I had eaten at about a week earlier, and had an awesome mixed green, fig and goat cheese salad. I still had some time to burn before my haircut so I went off in search of something sweet. Alas, the only things I found were ice cream shops, and I just wasn’t in the mood for ice cream. Oh well.

 

I popped in for my haircut, which was a little expensive for my tastes, but was a good experience. The stylist was friendly and we had a good conversation. I figured that he would probably know where to get a little dessert and I was right. After my cut I headed to Sherman’s Deli to look at their dessert case. It was impressive. I was feeling hungry but not starving. Now I like a good sandwich and I thought about ordering one here before my dessert. I’m glad I didn’t because my piece of cake was huge. For some reason I had been craving coconut cream pie, but at the advice of the waitress I went with the cake. 3 hours later and I’m still stuffed!l of cake I headed back home. All in all, I’d have to say that it was a good day and I still have tomorrow off.

 

Full of cake I headed back home. All in all, I’d have to say that it was a good day and I still have tomorrow off.

 

What to do… what to do.