More Catching Up: California May 2023

So let's add another trip to the blog - California! I'd never been to the west coast - I guess the farthest west I'd been was Iowa... well Id' been to Texas so guess that would be it. Eh, whatever - Dylan and I went to California! And the coolest part is we went to his hometown of San Diego!

He is always searching for cheap flights and found a great fare from Charleston, SC to LAX. Which meant we had to drive to Charleston in the middle of the night to catch this flight. I don't know why he puts up with me, I slept half the way to Charleston and he did all the driving. (Sorry Dylan, I'm a crappy travel buddy!) Neither of us like to fly, so that was fun. Almost missed our flight out of Charleston (only to fly back to Charlotte and then to LAX - why is it less expensive than flying out of Charlotte direct?! argh!). 

Got to LAX and did a bit of touring; saw the Hollywood sign, and a few other places. Realized the AC didn't work in the truck we'd rented, so back to the rental agency we go. Swapped that sucker out because I don't do no AC. Interestingly, we found a Southerner working and we found some folks that didn't speak English, so yay for Dylan for being bilingual! Hopped into our new rental and away we go to San Diego. And I slept the whole way there. (sorry again!!)

San Diego is incredibly beautiful! I loved it! The perfect weather, so easy and walkable. We hit his favorite Mexican restaurant, he got his favorite clam chowder, we found an outdoor food festival and enjoy Columbia empanadas! (so good!) and did some typical sight seeing. Drove to La Jolla and saw the uppity neighborhoods. Toured his old stompin' grounds of Chula Vista and his old schools, house, friends' homes, places that meant something to him. It was great! If housing wasn't totally out of sight I'd love to live there. The weather is incredible. (as I'm writing this, we just endured Hurricane Debby and the multiple inches of rain that caused flooding all over the upstate.) 

Because we happened to visit during Memorial Day, the military cemetary was very beautiful. We happened to park beside an elderly widow visiting her husband's grave. There were several events where veterans were wearing special tags and decor designating their military service and they were walking around the beach with us. It was so humbling to be with these people who - like the widow, lost her husband, or those that served. I'm sure some lost their friends in battle. It just touched me. 

After our whirlwind visit to San Diego, we headed back to Charleston and spend the next day just bumming around the east coast! Visiting Dylan's favorite seafood restaurant there, too! How he eats like he does and stays skinny is beyond me, but more power to him. 

I love these trips with him. Travelling with Dylan is so incredibly easy. We rarely get irritated at each other and are totally cool with doing whatever the other wants to do, so it's always a great trip when we are together. :) Glad to have this one added to my travel memories!