Cool Southern California
I recently had a chance to visit southern California. My expectations were low, based on my only other visit to San Diego at least 15 years ago for a conference. Looking back now, my memories of my previous visit might have been tainted, since I had just suffered a rib-cage injury that made every step I took a very painful experience. Still, I was not looking forward to making this trip, which was a consolation for a planned trip to Jamaica that fell through at the last minute.
Upon arrival, well into the night, we made our way up the dark highway to the coastal region north of San Diego and LaJolla. Taking a chance on a hotel in a city that I'd never even been through, it turned out to be a pleasant surprise to end up in Carlsbad. I'd never stayed on the Pacific coast, and for the first time was able to experience the very cold, kelp-populated, waters and rocky beaches. To say that it was nothing like the gulf coast or Caribbean beaches would be an understatement, but still, there was something about the feel of the smooth pebbles and those huge waves crashing all around. There were surfers everywhere. You really can't understand the passion the surfers bring until you see one riding a bicycle and carrying his surfboard precariously under one arm.
The sunsets were lovely, and entirely different from those in the warmer climes that I'd experienced before in say Key West. As the sun dips lower and lower, you can feel the temperatures drop correspondingly. You almost have to doubt the sanity of the surfers still out in the water at sunset, not only because of the water and air temperature drop, but the almost terrifying prospect of scrambling back up the cliffside in the dark to get to your car.
After a relaxing visit to the coastal areas, and sampling a few of the local sites, the drive back down into the city brought the urban sprawl into view. Staying in the downtown area, just a block from the harbor, the unexpected stunning view from the hotel room was wonderful. You could sit on the bed and watch the ships coming in and out of the harbour as they maneuvered around Coronado Island and passed under the high-spanning bridge to the island. The sound of the trains and trolleys were constantly ringing down the streets like some long-lost scene from a past century.
You couldn't mention this trip without some reference to the temperature difference between here and southern California. The high temperature on most of the days I was out there was only 72. There was always a breeze. Most of the people out there didn't seem to have to use their air conditioners at all. To leave these moderate temps and return home to eight straight days of 100+ degrees and heat indices in the 114 degree range, makes me wonder if I shouldn't have stayed out there, until Thanksgiving.
