I finally made it to the lower part of SoCal where I've been meaning to go for over three years. There's been a "thing" (not that thing like in the doo wop song) set in my mind that San Diego would put an instant smile on my face, but for some reason I never found the right excuse to take a day or weekend trip. Like geez, maybe shut up and go Jo?
Luckily, I moved to Los Angeles where I don't need much of an excuse to head down South for a break, and to top it off, one of my dearest friends moved there for grad school last year. To add to the party, my other best friend from New York came in for the weekend making it an ultimate girls' trip of splurging and purging... on the latest of the late college gossip.
the-girls
I first had this impression that the Amtrak train down South would be a super cheap, until I saw $37 each way... oh hawwlllll nawww.
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After a bit of research: "dirt cheap way to get to San Diego from LA without a car," I found a round trip bus ticket for $30 bucks and booked within the minute.
A quick bus trip from Union Station got me towards downtown San Diego and just like that we were all in the middle of town hugging it out in a somewhat sketchy bus station. Travel tip: the cheaper the fare, the sketchier the stations will most likely be, unless you got a flash deal or something.
The thing about my friends is that as soon as we finish our cozy hello moment, we all think about the next best indulgent part of life: food. Like maybe a classic burritto from Lucha Libre. To give you some context, this is the kind of burrito shop that makes people wait in line for two hours to get their perfectly seasoned burritos with fries
inside. I didn't capture the moment with my camera, but honestly, that Californian chicken burritto soooooooo bomb that it will permanenty live in my taste bud's Hall of Fame. Plus, they had unlimited chips and a bangin' selection of salsas so I was sold before even arriving. After a night of lounging and laughing, we slept and woke up to start official day 1 by heading the the beach. road-trip roadtrip The visiting New Yorker who never touches a steering wheel managed to drive us all out to Coronada Island's beach to catch some waves on the boogie board. The sand felt softer than a bag of flour under my feet, the waves were perfect and glassy, and despite the clouds covering the blue skies, it was a recipe for a perfect beach day. But knowing my friends who haven't been bit with the beach bug yet, we couldn't make it an entire day, so I settled for a short hour and then we headed back to the grad-chelor pad and got ready for lunch. Sidenote: everytime I'm with my best girlfriends, it reminds me of how not-girly I am. Like, why do I take 3 minutes to get ready and you all take at least an hour? After the mid-morning pitstop, we decided to try our luck at Phil's BBQ which we heard was all the rage for both pork and non-pork eaters. Brazilians, you know we have a thing against admiting that someone else's BBQ could come compete with our churrasco, but this came pretty damn close. I put my pride in my pocket and a piece of chicken and rib on my plate to chow down. phils-bbq Phils-bbq-2 Phil, you got it goin' on. Never have I ever tasted such amazing macaroni salad with tender ribs and marinated chicken, YES! The bloated stomachs set the tone for the our next stop: digesting at one of San Diego's finest viewpoints: Sunset Cliffs. Somehow we photobombed a wedding proposal video and got free mariachi music for our own photoshoot. All worth the $0 spent to see this panorama. sunset-cliffs-3 sunset-cliffs-4 When things had finally settled in the stomach, we hustled back to the car and drove up to our last stop, Mount Helix to let the sunset marinate in our souls before calling it a night. mount-helix-4 mount-helix mount-helix-1 mount-helix-3 Comment below if there are any gems I missed from San Diego!
And then go to the bathroom, damn, the tabasco, just want a simple good time
Panera Bread’s atmosphere is enjoyable. The employees and the managers keep the restaurant clean at all times. When I walked into the restaurant for the first time there were visible employees wiping off the table and sweeping. Panera Bread has almost no trash visible around the entire restaurant. Looking around, there were no trash cans in sight; they were hidden by doors and cabinets. Panera Bread receives ample amount of customers a day keeping the restaurant clean is important, but the workers keep everything running smoothly as well. While waiting in a moderately long line, the employees immediately noticed the incoming rush and started working as a team to get the customers and myself in and out. Along with the workers helping to make the line move faster, the customers in line around me are keeping conversation. We are entertaining each other making the wait time appear shorter. With the great customers and keeping the restaurant clean, Panera Bread workers and managers keep the restaurant well managed. The noise level is separated by the location of dining. In front of me a group a friends decided to have lunch at a table laughing and enjoying themselves and a woman behind me chose to eat alone while reading a book, sitting in a quiet corner. More importantly the manager was always walking around making sure tables were clean, and trash was not i...
Most students look forward to fall and spring break. It’s a time of rest and relaxation and perhaps for a few, a chance to get ahead on assignments. These breaks are often something that I personally look forward too, furthermore assuming that this is the same for other students as well.
Many folks go their whole lives without having to move. For them it is easy; they know the same people, have loads of friends, and never have to move away from their families. As with me, I was in a different situation. I grew up my entire life, all eighteen years of it, in a small town called Yorktown, Virginia. In my attempt to reach out for a better life style, my girlfriend and I decided we were going to move to Shreveport, Louisiana. Through this course of action, I realized that not two places in this country are exactly alike. I struggled with things at first, but I found some comforts of home here as well.
After an eventful night of dancing at nightclubs, I never expected to have the most flavorful tacos reach my mouth. At four in the morning we found ourselves at a small, local hole-in-the-wall where most tourists would not be caught dead at. Even though they were the greatest tacos I have ever had, what I ate most while I was there was tortilla soup. Topped with melted cheese and strips of fried tortillas I devoured a bowl from a place our friend Oscar worked at, Margarita Grille. I am not a soup person but this is something I still crave weekly, as well as the salsa they served. Fresh roasted tomatoes were crushed at our table and mixed with garlic, onions, jalapenos, cilantro and juices of a lime. A scoop of the colorful vegetables on a warm, salted tortilla chip will satisfy your taste buds and keep you going for more. Because Margarita Grille was only a couple blocks from our hotel in the “old town” of Puerto Vallarta, we ate there five or six times. Being an outdoor restaurant, there were always stray cats meandering around for scraps of dropped food. People were told not to feed them, but I think they were a pleasant reminder of being away from
Between study group, debate, and chess tournaments there wasn’t much of a social scene around Winchester University in Omaha, Nebraska. The school year at this college was year round, but the students were given a 30 day summer vacation in July. The majority of the students went back home to visit their families during this time. But as juniors at the University Charles, Fredrick, and Stanley, all childhood buddies, decided it was time for a change and that they needed a little more spice in their life. Realizing that they were almost twenty-one and had never breached their comfort zone, they knew a road trip was in store.
... enjoy a night full of fun, excitement and adventure. One can bump into Almaden Expressway, Santa Clara Street, Coleman Avenue, West San Salvador Street, Gateway Place, Matrix Boulevard and places around these areas to experience the lively and captivating lifestyle natives of San Jose live.
Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. It’s surprising just how far some people are prepared to travel for a free lunch. It’s a good job the groom didn't choose the menu, otherwise we would have had penut-butter sandwiches washed down with beer.
I was so ashamed of my physical appearance and nostalgic of my senior year of high school, that I isolated myself from the majority of the people I’d met. I started binge watching Netflix in my dorm room, making frequent trips to a nearby dermatologist and crying to my mom and friends from home about how I hated school and wanted to transfer ASAP. I was cold, lonely and ugly. I couldn’t wait for winter break so I could forget about my sucky dorm and lack of college friends for a while.
You can stop at Lorenzo Park for a relaxing picnic or you can take a side trip to downtown shopping on Pacific ave.
My ancestors moved from Canada to America, they started living in the northern areas and worked very hard to earn food. When I was small the life was very good, all the kids of the community used to play and enjoy the time, but as I started growing up I realized that life is not just about playing around. Most of the people in my community do not know the actual meaning of life and they have spent their whole life inside a specific area and with limited knowledge. I started to find opportunities to study and learn more things that no one knows. In my quest for knowledge and curiosity to know the unknown I learned many things.
Growing up in England by the Peak District my Dad would often take us on short walks through the heather to look at the rolling hills; I fondly remember falling into the heather on an autumn day or seeing mounds of snow over the embankments on the sides of the roads. My Mum lived across from a wooded area that sprawled for miles, it started as a slope leading to trees and the small stream that I would walk along in my Wellies, during the winter my brother and I would trek out there for hours of sledding and fun to return to hot chocolate made for us. Since moving to America, I have witnessed nature but never to the raw extent that I did as a child. This past summer I found myself backpacking, the type where you put a third of your body weight
I’ve lived in Palestine the first eleven years of my life. I stayed there and went to school
Everything seems like it’s falling out of place, it’s going too fast, and my mind is out of control. I think these thoughts as I lay on my new bed, in my new room, in this new house, in this new city, wondering how I got to this place. “My life was fine,” I say to myself, “I didn’t want to go.” Thinking back I wonder how my father felt as he came home to the house in Stockton, knowing his wife and kids left to San Diego to live a new life. Every time that thought comes to my mind, it feels as if I’m carrying a ten ton boulder around my heart; weighing me down with guilt. The thought is blocked out as I close my eyes, picturing my old room; I see the light brown walls again and the vacation pictures of the Florida and camping trip stapled to them. I can see the photo of me on the ice rink with my friends and the desk that I built with my own hands. I see my bed; it still has my checkered blue and green blanket on it! Across from the room stands my bulky gray television with its back facing the black curtain covered closet. My emotions run deep, sadness rages through my body with a wave of regret. As I open my eyes I see this new place in San Diego, one large black covered bed and a small wooden nightstand that sits next to a similar closet like in my old room. When I was told we would be moving to San Diego, I was silenced from the decision.
It is quite expensive if you just use public transport now and again but if you use it regularly there are savings to be made. Season tickets and buying weekly tickets can save you quite a bit of money and also add to the convenience as you don’t need to make sure you have the correct change on you all the time.