Yesterday, when we were in San Bernardino, Eric started to freak out a little. He didn’t like San Bernardino at all. There was a lot of litter on the streets, the neighborhoods we saw (while only a small part of the city) were not that great, and it was very flat and “desert like” – very few trees, small shrubs, and lots of dirt and sand.
He also expressed his fear that mountain biking in San Diego will be unfulfilling compared to New York, where there were beautiful parks and forests to ride through. He loves the mountains and trees – think Upstate New York. The truth is, Eric really moved more for me than for him. He could have stayed in New York and dealt with the cold much better than me. He doesn’t like the ice and snow, but he doesn’t mind the cold like I do. I HATE the cold. I was the one who really wanted to get away from the cold and San Diego seemed like the perfect place for us. He's happy about the climate, and likes the fact that it's pretty mountainous. I’m hoping that he will see that the mountain biking in San Diego can be just as great, even though the terrain is a little different.
He said he was afraid that San Diego would be the same as the parts of San Bernardino we visited. I assured him that San Diego was FABULOUS. That it was a paradise. That he would LOVE it. But, he wanted to see for himself. So, we decided to head there today. We were only a few hours away. It was a fast drive.
We got here around 2:00pm and drove into HILLCREST, (Metro San Diego’s hippest community). a lovely area with lots of great restaurants and stores. It’s also the residential and commercial hub of San Diego’s gay and lesbian community (no wonder it’s such a hip neighborhood!).
We went into a sushi restaurant, but they were closed. Turns out, they close at 2:30pm and reopen at 5:00pm. Weird, huh? We went across the street to a Thai restaurant, called TASTE OF THAI. Turns out they close at 3:00pm, but they were willing to serve us. What is UP with that? In New York, restaurants may not open for lunch, but if they DO they usually stay open through dinner. Does anyone know of a restaurant in New York that closes between lunch and dinner? I told Eric we have VERY bad luck with that, because we have gone into a few restaurants on our trip that closed just as we entered!
Anyway, our lunch specials at TASTE OF THAI were delicious. I had the Shrimp in Chili Sauce (very spicy). Eric had the Chicken with Peanut Sauce (spinach and cabbage with coconut milk peanut sauce). Both meals came with soup, tossed green salad, spring roll and fried wontons. They were very nice and didn’t rush us at all, although we are very fast eaters!
After lunch we walked around town, looking in the windows of some stores, and shopping in others. BLUESTOCKING BOOKS is a fantastic bookstore with so many great cards, postcards, magnets and, of course, books! The woman behind the counter was so friendly and we all ended up talking for about a half hour. We told her we were soon settling in San Diego and she told us we would be very happy. I was so happy she said that, because I know Eric is nervous about it all.
This is the fabulous logo for WEAR IT AGAIN SAM:
I bought a few things in the bookstore, and then wandered into a place called WEAR IT AGAIN SAM, a classic vintage clothing store. It’s a good thing I didn’t have time to try things on, because they had FABULOUS vintage dresses. Eric promised me we’d go back soon.
A few doors down there was a STARBUCKS and after getting an iced latte, we headed back to the car and I turned on the computer to find a campground. We found a place just 8 miles away called CAMPLAND ON THE BAY, which was voted 2006 Best Campground in San Diego. Considering there are over 40 campgrounds in San Diego, I guess that’s saying a lot.
Turns out, it’s really fabulous and we’re about 50 feet away from Mission Bay. They rent boats, quads, skates and bikes and have all kinds of activities like yoga, aerobics, and horseshoes. If we were staying longer, I would try to catch a class or two!
After registering and checking out our site, we left to go into the GASLAMP QUARTER, which is a really hot spot in San Diego. It’s kind of like the French Quarter in New Orleans, or Beale Street in Memphis, but much more refined (although I’m sure not as colorful or as much fun). We couldn’t find a spot for over a half hour, and they wouldn’t let us park in the outdoor parking lot, so we didn’t get to eat in one of the many, many restaurants, or window shop at all the art galleries. I’m sure it was very expensive and I told Eric this was definitely a place to bring friends when they come to visit us!
We left the GASLAMP QUARTER frustrated, but happy that at least we had seen it. We headed back towards the campground and found a fabulous SUSHI restaurant that was still open on a Monday night at 8:30pm and had a delicious meal. HAIKU JAPANESE RESTAURANT was hopping and they had a big-screen TV, so Eric could watch the football game. Sushi and football. It doesn’t get much better than that!
We were back at the campground in 5 minutes and Eric said he was going to go for a night ride along the bay. That was almost an hour ago and he’s been talking to our “neighbor” ever since! Turns out the guy just bought a mountain bike, so Eric’s been in his glory, showing him all the “armor” he uses, and giving him tips.
I’ve been watching HEROES and blogging. The blog is something I really enjoy. I enjoy working on the computer, and it’s also nice to go back through our day, remembering what we did, and documenting the places we visited. Sometimes I have lots of pictures, but I didn’t take any today.
I told my friend Katie, who is also my webmaster (she designed my website for PEPPY'S DREAM and my blog) that I am so grateful to have this record of our trip. I never kept a diary or a journal, so this is new to me, but already Eric and I are already forgetting places we’ve gone or things we’ve done and the blog is a great resource.
Katie is a multi-talented artist. She designs rugs and is also a jazz singer, amongst other things. She’s what I would call a Bohemian, who just happens to often work in the corporate world. We met when we both worked for Price Waterhouse, but the corporate world didn’t suit either one of us very well and it drew us to each other. I quit to open my shop, and she quit to go out on her own. I was so lucky to get Katie to design my website, because she usually works with big corporate clients, but loves to design websites for artists, photographers, designers, etc. She has her own blog and talked about our cross-country journey in today’s entry. I thought you might want to check it out, so here’s the link: (http://www.coloraddict.com.). You can also look at her rug designs (http://KatieUlanov.com), her communications and design website (http://NonlinearNYC.com), or her band (http://WEEPwithKatie.com). I told you she was multi-talented!
Eric seems to like what we've seen of San Diego so far. He enjoyed the trendy neighborhoods we visited, and was happy to see how clean and well-maintained it was. Although he is not completely won over yet, he says he feels better about our move. (I'm happy to hear that, as I'm not ready to go back to New York!)
Tomorrow we are heading to the San Diego Zoo. It’s kind of nice to be tourists here, before we actually move here. I’m sure when we get here in a few weeks we’ll be too busy finding an apartment, unpacking, and settling in to do much sightseeing, so this is our big chance!