I have to admit, the main reason I booked to go to San Diego is because of the film Anchorman. I doubt many of you have travelled somewhere because of a film (please let me know if you have). Having planned to go to San Francisco and Los Angeles and with San Diego on the California coast I thought why not swing by here for a few days.

After arriving at the Amtrak station, I got a taxi to the hotel and relaxed in my room for a few hours. I noticed the same thing about this hotel as I did with the Dallas hotel; it wasn’t as nice as it looked in the pictures when I booked it.  It was a bit of a shithole but at least the location was good. I don’t know what the requirements for most people would be as far as hotels are concerned, but for me as long as the location is good and the room is an ensuite with free Wi-Fi that’s enough for me.

The evening consisted of going around the San Diego’s popular Gas Lamp area. The hotel was very close so it was a nice easy stroll into what was a vibrant area with many options to eat and drink. After dinner I went for some drinks in a couple of bars to familiarise myself with the area, and the popular spots.

I booked a tour bus to look around the city for two days, it included entry into some tourist attractions. Usually I like to wake up early so I have more time on the tour bus; it gives me more options and flexibility on where I can go and for how long. If you’re going to book a tour bus you may as well spend as much time as you can going around, and get your money’s worth.

Whenever a group of people boarded the bus, the driver did the usual ask them where they’re from etc, and after asking me I get a tap on the shoulder from a guy, Sunny and his mate Manson who live in London. We do the usual small talk before taking some photos as we go along the tour route.

On route we go through a tiny place called Coronado Island, I never knew of the Coronado’s existence until the tour. It’s actually a city with a population between 20,000–25,000. It even has its own Police force, Mayor and City Council, and the houses are apparently the most expensive in the area (this includes house prices in San Diego). Apart from what looked like a nice beach I don’t know why anyone would want to live in Coronado. There isn’t much to do; I’d describe it as a much nicer sunnier version of Eastbourne.

The first place I get off at is Balboa Park (the driver told us the park wasn’t named after Rocky) and go to this café a lady I met in San Francisco while we were on Angel Island recommended (she was from San Diego). As I start walking off Sunny shouts my name, he and Manson want to join me. I was pretty reluctant at first, I was more than happy to listen to my iPod and be in my own company but I thought there was no harm in hanging out with them for a bit (if you’re both reading this, don’t take it personally).

We walked through Balboa Park and end up at zoo, I quite liked it. I didn’t expect much, it was a lot bigger than I thought. Sunny and Manson got bored after a while and left; I stayed as I wanted to see the Panda. We exchanged numbers and arranged to meet for drinks in the evening.

I get back on the tour trolley and stop at San Diego Old Town. I was told by locals Mexican food is to die for around here and they weren’t lying, Old Town Mexican Café and Guadalajara were the places to eat at. Seeing as I had an extra day on the tour bus I went to Old Town Mexican Café first, I love cooking Mexican food but the food here is so much better than anything I could cook. I guess eating Mexican food in San Diego is as close to authentic as you’ll get without being in Mexico because you can get to Tijuana from San Diego in roughly 40 minutes on the trolley (San Diego’s version of the tram).

I went back to the hotel to get showered and changed, and relax for a bit before heading to the Gas Lamp area. I can’t remember the name of the bar I went to but the staff were really nice, the outside area was nice so I sat there chatting to the lady trying to get people into the bar. Did the usual small talk. She asked what hotel I was staying at, after I told her the name of the hotel she said something I didn’t expect to hear:

“Oh they found the body of a woman stuffed in a suitcase outside your hotel last week.”

What a great thing to hear! That made me feel good about going to sleep later (said no one ever). I was in no rush to go back, I was more than happy to keep drinking and swiftly changed the subject.

We were joined by two guys who worked in the army or the navy; one of them trained dogs which at first thought seemed interesting. He showed me his scars from the job, he said he’d been bitten so many times he barely notices the pain.

After a while Sunny messages me saying he’s got a booth reserved in a club with free alcohol all night, and he’s put my name down on the door which was really nice of him considering I’d only met him a few hours earlier. Needless to say I made good use of the free vodka and cranberry on offer.

It was no surprise that the rest of the night flew by (I guess that’s what having access to free alcohol does). It ended with me helping a Brazilian student, Carol and her friend get their sick friend in an Uber. I have no idea how I ended up in this situation.

Every time an Uber driver rang Carol passed me her phone because she thought my English was better, I didn’t think her English was that bad. There were times she’d leave her phone with me to go check on her friend, now consider this. I’d met them during the evening and considering Carol didn’t know me she took a risk leaving her phone with someone she didn’t know, and in another situation with a different person it could’ve been stolen. I don’t know why she thought I was trustworthy enough but I’ll take it as a compliment. I don’t know about anyone else but I definitely wouldn’t trust anyone I’d just met with my phone. I can call that my good deed of the day.

Three or four Uber drivers couldn’t find the pickup point which was quite worrying as you’d expect them to know their way around. Another driver refused to take Carol, her friend, and the sick friend home despite being offered extra cash on top of the fair. To be quite frank the guy was a prick. About an hour after requesting the first Uber there was finally one that turned up at the right place and took them all home. I then got lost on my way back to the hotel before someone kindly pointed me in the right direction. This is despite me walking the same route the night before.

I was happy when I woke up with no hangover. I took the tour bus to the USS Midway Museum which is on a huge ship. The audio tour can take up to 4 hours so I opted to look around myself before going on short tour in the captain’s area of the ship. What I liked about the place was the staff they hired were those who served on the ship, what better tour guides, and people to ask questions to than those who lived on the ship.

While queuing for the short tour in the captain’s area of the ship, I got talking to someone who was travelling.  She told me she was Israeli and of course I spoke about my Lebanese heritage. For those who aren’t aware, to tell a long story short, Israel and Lebanon don’t exactly see eye to eye.

“Ah we’re neighbours!” she says with a bit of excitement.

“Not very good ones” as I attempt to make light of the previous conflict between Lebanon and Israel.

I went back to Old Town after the tour; I walked around the area for a bit before going for some food at Guadalajara. At this point I’d gone over 24 hours without eating and I just about finished the food. You could easily survive off one meal a day in America with the portions they serve.

With no tour bus booked for the last day I took the trolley. It’s pretty easy to navigate your way around and I think it was only $2 for a day pass. I went to seaworld which was nothing special although the Shamu show was entertaining. I tried to get into seaworld the day before but it turned out I needed a three day tour bus pass whereas I bought a two day pass, and ended up having to buy a ticket to get in (I decided to buy a ticket online and return the day after instead of getting one there and then). It was annoying because I usually pride myself on my preparation but this was one occasion where I didn’t research properly.

Having visited the zoo and seaworld, I felt sorry for the animals/mammals. I know they’re are pros and cons for zoos but logically I can’t imagine anyone, human or animal enjoying being kept in a enclosed space regardless of the size. I’ve heard of zoos where visitors ride in a caged vehicle while the animals roam free in the wild. Given the chance I’d love to visit one of those and compare it to a zoo.

My personal favourite thing I did in San Diego was go to the Cabrillo National Monument at the Point Loma Peninsula. It was on top of a huge hill which even I wouldn’t dare attempt to walk (those who know me well, know I will happily walk rather than take public transport). I was there for an hour, in that time I went in the lighthouse and took photos of the views which were some of the best I’ve seen. You could see Tijuana, the harbour and the skyline. If you’re planning to visit San Diego this is a must.

I spent the last few hours going around Balboa Park; I walked there as it wasn’t far from my hotel. On the way up I asked someone for directions and he shrugged and said he didn’t speak English. A few seconds later he’s asked me in perfect English if I’ve got money and naturally I said no. He had the nerve to ask me to show him my wallet! As if anyone would be stupid enough to do that, what was he expecting me to say? “Oh ok mate here’s my wallet, have a look but please don’t take anything”. If I had to guess how old he was I’d say 18-20. Of course I said no and gave him a death stare before he awkwardly tried to laugh off the situation and walks off.

As I walk the other way I look around to see the guy following me, I stop and give him another death stare. He’s turned around and began walking the other way. I decide to cross over the road and by the time I get to the other side, I see the guy preparing to cross over. He’s clocked me looking at him and he’s walks the opposite way. I noticed him texting on his phone so I decided it was time to up the walking pace and get to Balboa Park as quickly as possible. For all I know this guy could’ve been messaging his friends or planning something bad for me. I might sound paranoid but you can never be too careful, at this point I’d been in San Diego for a few days. I bet the guy knew the area a lot better than I did.

That was the end of the California leg of my trip. California is the best state I’ve been to, it’s got everything you could possibly wish for. If I ever live in America I’d chose to live in California. Next time I come back to California I’m hiring a car so I can drive along the coast.