Last Day of Summer

I spent my last day in California packing at a leisurely pace. I made some final decisions, not to take my ski boots, and also to run out to the mall to get some Sketchers so I wouldn’t be hurting my feet in worn out shoes. I stocked up on some food for the road at Sprouts, and drove down to the beach for a last trip to the ocean. The sky was completely overcast and I wore my wide straw hat to make sure the sun’s rays bouncing around wouldn’t burn my face too terribly.

Great Expectations

Today I felt refreshed.

I began my day with a drive up Torrey Pines Rd to the coast along Highway 1 and stopped at a Starbucks/Brueggers Bagels hybrid on the corner of a quaint little street in Del Mar. I built up a little karma by tipping a dollar to the young man at the register who gave me a large to go cup filled with hot water at no charge. I decided to attend the yoga class at 24 Hour Fitness in Solana Beach and planned my morning around it.

Humble Beginnings

On Labor Day my adventures took an interesting twist, and the following day they took an even more exciting one!

I hadn’t made any plans to stay anywhere the last few nights because I wanted be on my own for a while, and see where my adventures would take me.

Day 21: Return to San Diego

This morning I spoke with Tom Tomp of the graduate department of Biological Sciences at UCSD. I explained my situation and discussed my proposal with him. I actually surprised myself even, as I spoke animatedly about the field of Tissue Engineering. I proposed that I could build from the research I conducted at RPI and write up a review of current work in the field and liaise these studies with work being done at UCSD.

Day 20: The Westminster Mall

Labor Day was not terribly exciting for me – in fact, I rather dislike shopping, especially in indoor malls. I take a day to shop, normally during the turn of the season, to find good deals about twice a year in shopping malls, and possibly a little more often when it comes to finding sporting equipment!

Day 19: Orange County Coast

This morning we drove down to the Corona Del Mar State Beach to see the tide pools. Waves crashed over the shallow rocks, home to hermit crabs, snails, urchins, and the carcasses of rock lobsters washed up with the seaweed! Crazy swirls in the sandstone and hanging flowered plants rested above the caves. Shells and rocks with interesting patterns of holes were evidence of a lively marine ecosystem. Pelicans perched on the rock arch in the ocean looked out over their territory regally.

Day 18: Crystal Cove

Today I went for a hike with my couchsurfing host, Tom, through the hills above the coastline of Orange County. Crystal Cove State Park houses a canyon with about a thousand foot rise above the sea level on its ridges. The park is just north of Laguna Beach and just south of Newport Beach. Our route through the park took us up No Dogs, down Pole, along the path through the center of the canyon, up the steep section called Elevator, then circled south and west along Moro Ridge with a view of the ocean and coastline. Our journey was somewhere between 7-8 miles and took just under four hours including a half hour stop for lunch.

The view behind us of the ocean after our ascent up No Dogs

Day 17: Huntington Beach

Today I went for a bike ride from Newport Beach up the Pacific Coast Highway through Huntington Beach all the way to Sunset Beach, about 12 miles up the coast.

Ride from Newport Beach to Sunset Beach Along Highway 1, Map charted on mapmyride.com

About a half an hour into the ride I reached the Main Street Pier in Huntington Beach. There was a small Farmers’ and Crafts Market on the beach side, and two large surf wear shops were having sidewalk sales on the town side of the highway. I passed by the markets for the moment and continued up the coast another half an hour to Sunset Beach. I left the highway and rode along the back road behind the beach houses and stopped a few times to look at the ocean and watch the kite boarders.

Day 16: Laguna Beach

A slide show of my travels on September 1st, from Vista up along the Orange County coast, concluding with an Evening Art Walk at Twilight!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Day 15: More of… the same?

Today I rode my bike down to the Buena Creek station and took the Sprinter, the train that runs between Escondido and Oceanside. It took just over 10 minutes to bike down from the house, and just over 30 minutes to reach the coast. A one way trip on the Sprinter is $2, and is included in the $5 all-day pass. The Sprinter is much smaller than the Coaster, with only a single level and fewer cars, but also has places to put bikes.