My husband, 3 year old and I left bright and early at 4 am on Thursday morning for our trip to San Diego. Parked our car at a parking facility or as my 3 year old calls it a "car party" and took the shuttle to catch the Southwest flight. Other than the occasional turbulence from the children shrieking across the aisle, the flight went smoothly and we landed in sunny SD, looking forward to the vacation ahead. We used the day to lounge in downton SD, nap and wait for our friends from Seattle to arrive, as well. As i slowly worked on shifting gears from high-strung packing mommy mode to laid back unpacking mommy mode, i started to take notice of the environment around me.
The roads of downtown San diego are shared by cars, trolleys, buses and cyclists. Many of the red lights are due to trolleys crossing. The downtown is peppered with a myriad of restaurants and the historic Gaslamp quarters provides a nice place to hang out. Unlike many other downtowns, it is not disjointed but rather connected and felt easy to get around. Right near downtown is the zoo, Legoland and Seaworld, so downtown is a bit atypical in that sense. Another significant part of the downtown experience is the harbor and the presence of the navy fleet. The water makes you feel so calm and like you are on a vacation and then suddenly the image of navy frigates and apache helicopters brings you back to a sobering reality.
The first day taking in downtown, watching people, identifying who was a part of the landscape, who was just a visitor, taking in the smells of Little Italy, adapting to the sounds of airplanes taking off and arriving, and soaking in the feel of the California sun on my sheltered Seattle skin was just the right start for the next day!
No comments:
Post a Comment