San Diego and Southern California

Introduction

San Diego and SoCal delivered on many of our expectations: insanely gorgeous weather, world-class surfing, and scenic beaches. What surprised us is that most of downtown San Diego is grimy, with trash and homeless encampments everywhere. Basically Philly with palm trees. While the city had some redeeming elements, the best parts of our trip came when we ventured to the surf towns that dotted the coast and to other Southern California attractions such as Palm Springs and Catalina Island. The plethora of outdoor activities tired us out so much we passed out around 9pm every night, which as sober travelers, is ideal.

Getting Around

Like everywhere in California, you need a car to get around. Since Tim went surfing every morning and I wanted to drive to Catalina Island and Palm Springs, we actually rented TWO cars, which is totally insane.

If you happen to stay near an Amtrak station (2 stops in San Diego as well as stops in Solano Beach, Oceanside and San Juan Capistrano), you can take the pleasant, efficient Pacific Surfliner up the coast–all the way to San Louis Obispo if you desire. I bought a ticket and walked to Santa Fe Depot from where we were staying at the Westin, and took a ride to Oceanside for the day.

On my trip to Catalina Island, I drove up to Long Beach to take the ferry to Avalon. A round-trip fare on the Catalina Express will set you back about $70.

Where to Stay

Don’t make the mistake we did by staying downtown. We spent a week at the Westin Gaslamp Quarter, which boasted close proximity to nightlife, restaurants, the baseball stadium and Balboa Park. In reality, the accommodations were super expensive ($50 per night for valet, plus a $28 “resort fee”, on top of the nightly rate) only to be surrounded by construction, trash and homeless encampments.

Unless you are in town for a business meeting or ComicCon, book a hotel or AirBnB in one of the surrounding towns, like Coronado, Pacific Beach or Oceanside. You’ll enjoy a more authentic California vacation without all of the traffic frustrations, expense and in-your-face socio-economic challenges an urban environment brings.

Fun Activities

Palm Springs

My favorite part of our vacation in SoCal was my road trip to Palm Springs. About 2.5 hours Northeast of San Diego, Palm Springs is a mid-century desert gem. The day I was there was boiling hot (106 degrees), which I didn’t even think was possible. And that was an average August afternoon. Every store and restaurant had misters outside of their doors, which didn’t do much for the surprising number of tourists who wandered down the main thoroughfare. There were interesting art installations around town, including the giant Marilyn Monroe statue and a basketball court full of giant crawling babies, which was a little creepy.

Instead of melting on the sidewalk the entire day, I took a cable car to Mount San Jacinto State Park, where I spent most of the hottest hours. A right turn about 10 minutes outside of Palm Springs, the park was at the summit of a mountain and a solid 30 degrees cooler than the valley. This was hands-down the highlight of my entire week. The sunshine and fresh smell of pine were delightful, and the hiking trails guided you to several unobstructed views of the valley.

Hiking

California is known for its state and national parks and superb hiking, and San Diego and Southern California feature dozens of seaside and mountain trails. I hiked Torrey Pines and Mission Trails Regional Park in one morning. Both are only a few minutes’ drive outside of downtown San Diego. Torrey Pines is a natural reserve with winding trails along chaparral-covered bluffs overlooking a long stretch of beach. Due to its protected status, you cannot bring any food, drinks, or furry friends with you. Mission Trails features rugged hills and valleys with little shade that offers different experience than Torrey Pines.

Catalina Island

With a bay full of yachts, a private club and pricey shops, the city of Avalon on Catalina Island is a playground for rich Angelinos to spend a weekend. It probably would have been more fun to book a zip line or safari adventure tour but after bleeding money all week I chose instead to rent a bike to putz around town and was finished in about 30 minutes. Avalon is pretty small and it gets extremely hilly when you venture outside of the city center. The island is absolutely stunning, however, and worth checking out if you are willing to spring for a tour.

Running

My first morning in San Diego, I ran the Balboa Park 8-Miler, a popular race that weaves through the city’s most famous green space. It was a fun way to kick off the vacation.

While Balboa Park has some decent trails, the downtown area wasn’t ideal for a long jog. Not much scenery and lots of congestion and people sleeping on the sidewalks.

Surfing

Being a surfer from New Jersey is a struggle. You need so many different wetsuits, it’s ridiculous. The surf is often flat and when there is swell, it’s usually short-lived, so you exist in a constant state of paranoia that you will miss the puny little window. That’s why I spend so much time daydreaming about Southern California. A crappy day on the West Coast is a good day on the East Coast. It offers a lifestyle where you can just go to the beach and surf, without obsessing over the forecast. 

This was my first surf trip to the West Coast, and I’d say it mostly lived up to the hype. There was fun surf every day, and the crowds weren’t quite as bad as I had prepared myself for. I made a point to hit all the big-name spots just for the experience. My session at Blacks Beach was a letdown; the swell wasn’t right and it was mostly closeouts. Windansea was a very fun wave, but not the most welcoming crowd. Upper and Lower Trestles were even more fun than I thought they would be. My goal was to get just one solid wave at Lowers, but I ended up getting 4 or 5, even with Mick Fanning in the lineup (I think he was injured but still). I spent the majority of the time around Oceanside Pier. I found myself comfortable with the crowd and was able to get plenty of waves. Overall a fun, but relatively expensive surf trip. 

—Tim

Food

Most of the meals we ate in San Diego were not memorable. However, I had some of the crispiest, most flavorful churros at Tacos El Cabron in the Gaslamp Quarter. I actually dragged Tim back the next night to get them again. The other Mexican fare offered–tacos, burritos, elote–was also very good.

Nado Republic on Coronado Island serves great Italian fare. The service was a little spotty, but they had delicious Caesar salad, brussels sprouts and margherita pizza.

My biggest disappointment was the sundae I ate from Moo Time Creamery. It had a line out the door and a “Nifty Fifties” vibe, but the actual product tasted like something a 5-year old concocted from store-bought brownies and Hershey’s syrup. I had starved myself all afternoon in preparation for eating this sundae and was super pissed that it was so terrible.

Recovery Meetings

California is known for their vibrant recovery communities, particularly in SoCal. In addition to AA, they have an extensive network of Smart Recovery and Dharma Recovery meetings.

San Diego and its metro sprawl offer hundreds of AA meetings every week, all with their own vibe. We hit quite a few during the time we were there, including a club house in Pacific Beach, a nooner at a church in downtown San Diego, and a long-timer meeting in Coronado on a Wednesday night. To find one, go to https://aasandiego.org/