Palm trees, happy hours, bike rides and jumping out of planes

Our flight from East to West was one of the stranger journeys I’ve had, with Cirque du Soleil 3D featured on tiny box screens in the aisles being the only source of entertainment on both our three hour flights across the country.  A changeover and delay in Dallas meant I got to meet some real Texans, and discovered the most likely reason for US obesity; a McDonalds buggy driving people between the FOUR stores inside the terminal we were in.  Even the dogs were riding it.  No, I’m not joking.

First impressions of San Diego were YAY WE’RE ON HOLIDAY!  Palm trees lined every street driving along the harbour into downtown, and upon arriving at our hostel in the Gaslamp District we realised we’d chosen a perfect location for us.  The surrounding streets were packed with open-fronted bars, dozens of tiny restaurants, underground clubs and enough happy hours to turn even poor, grumpy, jetlagged trolls into Larry on Prozac.  USA hostel only continued on the buzzing and friendly atmosphere of the streets, with people drinking, playing games and singing to music in all the stairways, corridors and little rooms.

Ravenous from the flight and getting used to time differences by now, we found Ryan and the boys, wandered round the district to explore then treated ourselves with some incredible $1.50 tacos for dinner.  America = cheap.  An impromptu night out ended up messy but SO much fun, involving Jenny being molested by pretty much anyone and everyone, being fed noodles via the infamous aeroplane method, making new best friends with some black weed dealers Big Kev and Lil’ Dom, and ending our 24 hour day at 5am.

Hungover as hell the next day but determined to enjoy the sunshine, we ventured to Balboa Park, which basically is this unbelievably huge beautiful park featuring the zoo, and once you’re right inside it’s fair to say you’re basically just in Spain.  Hangovers banished thanks to free pancake breakfasts and one too many hot dogs, the afternoon’s itinerary was to bus over to Coronado Island opposite San Diego to get views of the skyline and see some neighbourhoods outside the immediate city.  Before arriving at the West Coast I think we all envisioned baking heat and glorious sunshine 24/7, and were a little disappointed when we weren’t burnt on the first day as clouds covered the skies by late afternoon.  We’d each bought a Subway for dinner/lunch due to being paupers, and sat on a bench on the water’s edge overlooking the skyline and complained about how the clouds were ruining our photos, whilst Jenny attacked cute birds who came to play as we ate(wah).

Watching groups of people riding past on those ridiculous surreys, where four people pedal to power the cart forward, we thought we’d stop being grumpy and go hire one to explore.  The man took one look at us and decided there was no way we’d be able to get a reasonable distance on one, and persuaded us to hire bikes for an hour to get around the island for just $7.  It turns out that was one of the greatest decisions we’d made, as the ride around the island was simply stunning, and it turns out we were just a 10 minute trip from the clouds into a beautiful sunset.  We both had one of those moments where we realise just how lucky we are, and I can honestly say it’s one of the best days of my year abroad so far.  It also made me want to throttle the people who have houses there out of pure jealousy/made me re-evaluate my life plan to involve marrying a billionaire so I can ride bikes round that island all year long.

The next morning was spent sweating and running to the toilet more times than was necessary in any way.  I did not have food poisoning or anything of the like; instead we were on a tram heading toward Mexico to skydive at the border!  The tram seemed to take 1000000 years, not only because of what was coming in the next hour or two but because we were also running half an hour late as per.  A delay whilst the clouds cleared actually calmed my nerves, the guys running the company were extremely friendly, yet enjoyed making actually pretty believable jokes about equipment keeping on coming loose or being put on wrong.  Far too many times someone would look at me all confused, come over, fiddle with a strap and shout; ‘Paul!  How many God damn times do I have to tell you to keep the buckle tight?!  We can’t be losing our license again!’, or just look up at me and go ‘Why did you touch this?  Don’t you ever touch this… unless you want to die that is.’

The skydive had cost such a small amount that the company had created a ‘no frills’ look to it, including a tiny plane with just a battered leather cover over the floor, whilst the rest of the inside was corrugated iron and not much else at all.  Jenny and me with our instructors were the only people up in the plane, with me sat next to the door after deciding I would jump first.  I can honestly say I wasn’t nervous the whole way up, especially as he pointed out the beaches and gorgeous views over San Diego and Mexico.  The one thing was that every so often, he would open the door the WHOLE WAY whilst I wasn’t even strapped in, and literally lean me toward it.  I was scrambling to grab the sides of the plane but he kept pushing them off, honestly the most terrifying thing ever, obviously hilarious for everyone else.  

All of a sudden it was ‘GOGGLES ON’ and before I knew it I was dangling out the side and we were thrown from the plane… it was AMAZING yet indescribable but I’ll give it a shot.  I expected the sickening drop of your stomach you get from rollercoasters but felt nothing of the sort, just… like you’re weightless and everything is so fast and exhilarating.  One of the oddest parts was once the parachute was up and I was floating through cloud – which by the way is just like normal air, if a little cooler – and realised I could hear nothing at all.  It was like being in a vacuum, to which he responded ‘well what is there to make noise up here expect me and you?’.  Good point.  Anyway it was a fantastic experience I’m desperate to do again but obviously can’t afford (first world problems).

La Jolla beach and cove was on the menu and we feebly attempted to make it over before sunset, underestimating distances in America as per and letting the clouds catch up with us.  We did however see about 5874367934 sealions just lounging around on the beach, they are potentially the most comical animal ever and are close to knocking off penguins to become my new fave.  Steph had arrived when we finally made it home after exploring more of the coves and grabbing ice cream, so after a quick catch up which turned into hour long chats, an early night was much needed ahead of Seaworld the next morning!

I’m not going to lie, I had little expectations or knowledge of Seaworld before going but as I found out, it is seriously cool.  How the hell they train animals like that I’ll never know, I guess I’ll have to dig out some Animal Psychology research to try and learn properly.  

We were all so sad to leave San Diego, I feel like this feeling is one which happens far too often when travelling and it makes me glad that we booked properly in advance and weren’t totally free in our plans, otherwise we’d end up staying in places too long and not making it to everywhere we want to go.  The West coast is already appealing to me much more than the East, people seem so much more laid back and lovely, with so much time to chat to you and hear stories.  Everywhere you go there is an eclectic mix of skateboarders, families, businessmen and bohemian types all getting along together, and as I write this on a scenic sunset coach into LA, I hope this atmosphere is one that carries on across California.