Adventures in San Diego, California

I was fortunate enough to fly to San Diego, California for five days right before the outbreak of COVID-19 in the United States. Here's a summary of my trip.

Seaport, San Diego and Oceanside, California. Circa 2020.

Flying from Charlotte, North Carolina to Boston, Massachusetts and then back to Charlotte, North Carolina to San Diego, California was only momentarily concerning in the beginning of March. The COVID-19 outbreak had not exploded in the United States at this point, but I was being cautious because there was a small outbreak in Boston at a location I had nearly visited. I washed my hands frequently enough, but did not wear a mask or gloves in the airport. As a matter of fact, I saw another girl my age doing so, and I found myself perplexed because she was not sick and the mask would likely do nothing to stop her from contracting COVID-19.

When I arrived at San Diego International Airport, the lines usually causing the hustle and bustle of the 7th busiest airport in the United States had vanished. It was only about 7:45 pm, but it was eerily quiet aside from the couple of planes deboarding and reboarding. It turns out this was foretelling my following days in San Diego, Oceanside, and Los Angeles, California.

San Diego, California

People always tell me it never rains in California. Growing up on the east coast in Connecticut and North Carolina, it rains all the time. I always thought the lack of rain perfectly explained the drought I relentlessly heard about. But of course, the first time I go to California, it rains for four out of the five days I'm there.

Despite the rain, however, I did make sure to venture out for three of my days there. On the first day, I made my way to downtown San Diego and Seaport via Amtrak. I spent most of my day exploring the boardwalk and small shops in Seaport. My second day was a bit more interesting; I made a trip over the bridge to Coronado and visited the historical Hotel del Coronado where I made sure to capture the bulk of The Crown Room's beauty:

The Crown

After my pit-stop in Coronado, I made my way to Old Town just in time to swing by the shops before their closing time. I sampled chocolate, went to a fine gem shop, and admired traditional Mexican decor and trinkets.

I concluded the day with my first meal at the cult-classic In-and-Out burger. I'll give it a 4.6 star review on Yelp!

Later in the week, I was fortunate enough with the weather to go to Balboa Park and visit some museums. I didn't imagine Balboa Park to be as aesthetically pleasing as it is, but there's no doubt in my mind why it is such a local favorite! I visited the Museum of Fine Art and the Museum of Man during my afternoon trip there.

Los Angeles, California

I have a friend attending a university in Los Angeles, so I took a Greyhound bus to see her for a day! She gave me a tour of her university, took me to The Last Bookstore, which is easily the largest bookstore I've ever been to in my entire life, and brought me to a popular market in K-Town!

Oceanside, California

I spent my final day walking along the beaches of Oceanside, California. While it may not seem like an adventurous activity, it was great at relieving the secondhand stress I was acquiring from watching and reading the twenty-four-hour news updates on the spread of the Coronavirus in the United States. The chilly ocean waves across my ankles washed away the uncertainty of whether or not I would be able to get home without my flight being cancelled or catching COVID-19 in the airport. Although I've never been before, I became thankful that I didn't buy tickets to Disneyland because they had closed in the middle of my trip to California. Instead of happy pictures from Disney, here is the final collection of pictures from my time in California!

Have you had any adventures in California before? Comment and let me know!