Here I am sitting in my couchsurfing host's Oceanside apartment getting caught up before I leave for a place near SDSU for a few nights. I am squeezing a little bit more out of San Diego County before heading eastward. I think I chose well. The weather will be changing as I drive to Tucson. Alas....
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| OCEANSIDE, CA - LONGEST WOODEN PIER ON THE WEST COAST |
California we had a nice run but it is time to say goodbye. I promise not to lose your number.
I arrived to the state at the end of October and I have covered a lot of territory from Mendocino country to San Diego. Certainly there is a lot more to see and do but this winter "recon" mission is finished and it is time for another "Discovery Journey Across the USA" again.
Did I find "my spot" in California to "settle into'? Well, I don't know. I will let things simmer for now. The journey is not over.
Anne returned from her trip and I relinquished the pups over to her. We had a great last day walking at the coast, drinking a bit of bubbly on the shore, Asian fusion ramen something in Sebastopol and viewing the new Sally Field "Hello my name is Doris"movie. It was a great way to finish up in Santa Rosa.
I had a long drive to get to Oceanside so I split it up into two driving days. I knew I would be grumpy by the time I hit San Luis Obispo County. I arranged for a night in the trailer again. I didn't even see my host Randy. We communicated by text. He was confident that I knew where everything was and how it worked. I brought in my coffee maker, heater and electric skillet and also a nice red lager. I needed it. The drive took longer than expected and at the five hour mark when I was in merging traffic I heard bad words come out of my mouth. I definitely needed that trailer chill spot. No being "on" with former or new hosts. No one needs my tired old grumpies. Good choice indeed.
The next morning I was up and driving to Oceanside with a side stop to Newport Beach to get the stylist that had chopped my locks five weeks earlier to do it again. The whole trip should have taken me 4.5 hours. Instead I got to Newport Beach, not even Oceanside, at the six hour mark. OUCH. Why anyone would want to live in Los Angeles and the surrounding areas I do not know. It took 2 hours to go 70 miles around LA at 1:30 pm. COME ON PEOPLE!!! Never doing that again on a Friday on the 405.
My host in Oceanside is one of THE BEST CS HOSTS EVAH. He was referred to me by an Argentine couple that had also volunteered at the Inn in Fort Bragg. Host Mike has traveled extensively on the cheap and knows what makes travelers happy. I was provided my own room and tours all weekend. Couchsurfing is not just about the free accommodation. It is about the human contact and local inside scoops.
Saturday I was invited to come along to an inland 50th birthday party in Santee. I met some great people and truly enjoyed the food and the music. It was a perfect weather day out there.Sunday we went to the SD Safari Park. Mike is a member. JOY JOY! I had always wanted to go. I remember when it was opened. I was working for the ad agency that handled both the Wild Animal Park and the Zoo. It took me over 30 years but I finally got there thanks to Mike. "YOU BELONG IN THE ZOO, THE SAN DIEGO ZOO!" I sang and smiled all day.
After the park we went to a Vietnamese place for awesome food and then to Encinitas to a meditation garden. It was so beautiful! What a great time.
Mike worked Monday and I explored Oceanside by foot on my own. Later we went out dutch for THE BEST SUSHI IN THE WORLD. My goodness it was a FULL few days. As I wrote at the top of the post I am moving over to San Diego in an hour or so. In a few more days I will say goodbye for now to California. What a lovely last couple of weeks. I don't think it will take another few decades to get back here. Thank you everyone.
Patty don't lose that number
You don't wanna call nobody else
Send it off in a letter to yourself
Enjoy this classic from 1974. It's plugged into my MP3 player in the car.
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