9/29-9/29 2024 SD Trip
Thursday 9/26
This was the night before we flew out. The plan was for Matthew to train up from Monterey, and we would have dinner with Justin. Unfortunately, Matthew’s train was very delayed, so it was just Justin and I dining on noodles. Afterwards, Justin drove us all to my apartment to all hang out. I had told him I wanted to learn how to sing better, so he was coaching me through singing some Taylor Swift. As expected, I was wildly off key (which I could not notice), but apparently did ok on the songs that didn’t fluctuate in tone too much. When we got to my apartment, it was basically just Justin catching Matthew up on some drama and gossip, while I finished up homework.
Selfie with bad lighting and a rubber sqauwking chicken
Friday 9/27
After five hours of sleep, Matthew and I woke up bright and early to go catch our flight. We arrived to our chauffeur Brian waiting for us in his newly bought 2012 Honda Accord with spoiler attachment! We made a quick stop for pho and then left for Balboa park to go museum hopping. Our first stop: the San Diego Air & Space Museum. Nothing especially amazing stood out here for me, but it was a neat experience nonetheless. I enjoyed their space exhibit the most because of how interactive it was. Next was a walk around the park. Matthew foraged some fruits off a palm tree called Pindo Palm fruit, and they were actually soooo delicious. I’m not exactly sure how to describe it was like an intense explosion of flavor when I ate it. Last on our stop was the Museum of Us, an anthropology museum. I have no idea what they had here. I sat down on a chair and just knocked out for 20-30 minutes. I did, however, get to go to the Cannibalism exhibit. Surprisingly very fascinating. Cannibalism seemed to be something that occurred globally (albeit very small in most societies). We also drew lots to see who would get eaten if we were stranded on a boat, and I was chosen :(.
They are about to uncomfortably blast off!
We finally ended the day with pizza/pasta in Little Italy and gelato for dessert. I got lemon dragon fruit that turned out to be wayyy too sour and not enjoyable at all. Brian then dropped us off at our Airbnb, just one room in a house shared with other Airbnbers. The bathroom was shared with one other room, but it was very worth it for the price. By 10PM, we were knocked out in bed to recover from the lack of sleep in our previous night.
Saturday 9/28
After a very solid 10 hours of sleep, the three of us were off to meet up with Patty for some brunch. I got a short rib crepe cake, which was actually incredibly delectable. The only issue was that it was too little to fill me up, so I ended up having to get myself a burrito to supplement. Overall, it was a great joy to chat with everyone together again and hear what they were up to now. It really reminded me of my undergrad days when we would just hang out and have fun. It was here that Brian named his car Rhonda the Honda, inspired by Patty’s car name Sani (because of the san in Nissan).
Very delcious short rib crepe cake but way too small
Afterwards, Brian, Matthew, and I ventured off to the Maritime Museum of San Diego. I’d actually already gone here with a Boy Scouts friend when I visited him in SD a year ago, yet I still found it so cool seeing everything again. It’s remarkable seeing these feats of human engineering from so many centuries ago. Technology was so limited, yet they were capable of building such huge ships and then navigating them in the vast vast expanse of the ocean.
Waging war against random boat
Next up was Old Town: the site of the first permaneant Spanish settlement in California. It was a very small quaint historical town retroffited with exhbits and shops for tourism, yet the facades of the buildings remained accurate to the old times. I found it fascinating to get a glimpse of what life was like back then: an era with no internet in a town of only 650 people. I imagined myself living here and wondered how much simpler life was when my whole world was contained in just a small town.
Last up for our day was a friend collab: my Boy Scouts friend joined up with us for dinner at Phil’s BBQ! I was actually a bit nervous with how the conversations were going to go and there being lots of awkward silences. But it turned out pretty good! He started off his greetings to Matthew and Brian with a sincere apology that they had to be friends with me and the conversation blossomed from there. Finally, we ended our night all walking along the beach next to La Jolla cove. As per usual, a night time stroll with the sounds of the waves washing on the beach meant the most immaculate relaxing vibes. By 11PM that night, we were in bed ready to sleep. I realized that I loved traveling like a not young person (I am under pressure by an older friend to not say old person).
Sunday 9/29
My day started off with church. My current home church is part of a family of churches with one in San Diego too: Kairos Christian Church. It's always cool for me to visit the other churches and see what's different there. I got there a bit early to sit and relax in the service room before the worship/sermon but ended up walking in on the pre-service prayer they were doing, which was a bit awkward. They glanced akwardly at me too before I realized and backed out of there.
The sermon was very nice; it was a basic fundamental rundown of the gospel message (we are all sinners and God sent Jesus to die for our sins. However, He defeated death and resurrected 3 days later.) I always appreciate revisiting these fundamentals because all of Christianity is built on this one message. Afterwards, I got to small talk with some people around me and the pastor who gave the sermon as well. He even inisted I get their newcomers free coffee gift, even though I'd probably never go back.
I then met up with Brian and Matthew for lunch. We went to a Chinese Perusian fusion restaurant which is a very interesting-sounding combination of cultures. I ended up getting Tallarin Verde: chicken mialnesa, springy noodles, pesto, spinach, and parmesan. Pretty tasty and filling!
Our final destination of the trip was the Cabrillo National Monument at Point Loma. It's a statue commemorating Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo located at the very end of a peninsula, so it offered a wide view of the San Diego bay. We first started off with a documentary on the man himself. Born in Spain, he set off to sea and led the first expedition from Mexico all the way to Monterey. However, he met a tragic end when he fell, broke his leg, and died of Gangrene. He is most known for all the maps that he made which paved the way for other explorers of North America. Amazingly, I did not fall asleep at all during the whole video.
Like Old Town, it was so fascinating to get a glimpse of life back then. It was a big deal to commit your life to being a sailor. The risks were so high that families back home expected to never see them again. The voyages would take weeks to sail up the coast of Californa in the cold harsh winds, whereas today, I can cross California within two hours. I still have to deal with cold harsh air conditioning, so things aren't too different I guess. Jokes aside, I have so much respect for all those that made the journey across seas to connect the whole world. I would never be able to survive in such hostile environments.
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