San Diego Booklet

s n i g

a d e o

On

Photography and layout by Amanda Esther Gani

the Sea Out on the sea we’d be forgiven Our bodies stopped the spirit living Wouldn’t you like to know how far you’ve got left to go Somebody’s child nobody made you It’s not what you stole it’s what they gave you In or out you go In your silence your soul Would you rather go unwilling Your heart is full and now it’s spilling Barreling down the steps Only a moment left In hind of sight no peace of mind

Where you begin and I’m defined Daughter of unconscious fate Time will tell in spite of me In hind of sight no peace of mind Where it begins and we’re defined Shadows bend and suddenly The world becomes and swallows me in Whistle to a friend gentle till the end Anyway in a name she takes shape just the same - On the Sea,

by Beach House

About two to three hours away from Los Angeles, San Diego is the perfect place to visit if you’ve only got two days to spare for a vacation. San Diego’s mild, balmy climate and lovely beaches offers one an occasion for refreshment.

My friends and I drove down for a short vacation over the Memorial Day weekend, for a much needed break from the

stress of college life.

Deciding not to go to the hottest of tourist hotspots (think the Zoo or Sea World) left our itinerary breezy and open to novelty.

Making spontaneous plans changes the pace and feel of a trip; avenues that are usually unavailable to the jaded tourist open up. I found myself having much more appreciation for the city I had visited so many

times before. This time, I really noticed the prettily saturated, sun-drenched hues, and the various textural details of the environment. The pastel shades and shadows were so fun and summery, and reminiscent of the dusty pale green Bobboi pistachio ice cream that I now still crave (it’s officially the best pistachio ice cream I’ve ever eaten).

We spent much of our time exploring different coastal areas. It was quite something to gradually notice the sun gently bleaching my hair, and tenderly tinting my skin a darker gradient of brown.

Everything moved slowly and pleasantly; the beach is always a welcome place.

La Jolla While waiting to be seated for brunch at “The Cottage�, we took a stroll down La Jolla beach. It first startles with its rancid air (salty, sour, offencingly fishy), but soon offers the visual pleasures of interestinglooking rock surfaces and best of all, the sight of sea lions!

Balancing on the jagged rocks proved exceedingly difficult, but we managed to manoeuvre ourselves around the weathered potholes and down the steep crags, to get as close as possible to the water where we looked out and observed some aquatic actvities and the sea lions in action.

“The

closest I’d ever been to a wild sea lion!”

There were a couple of sea lions treading water. The punget odors came from those that had come up to sunbathe on the rocks.

I was so excited; that was the closest I’d ever been to a wild sea lion! Some of them sneezed violently in their sleep, and some rudely clambered on top of others in an attempt to return to the water.

The area where the sea lions slept was filled with further visual interest. The porosity of the rocks had paved the way for the sea water to carve very eyecatching patterns.

The rocks had been heavily eroded by the waves and salt and inordinate periods of geologic time. On close inspection, the ground looked like a miniature alien landscape, pitted

irregularly with pockmarks and holes of all sizes.

Many of these weathered crevices were filled with tight, stubborn clusters of barnacles and tiny, peppercorn-like pebbles.

There were also irregularly shaped shallower pools, some coated in layers of pale mossy green and brown. Some of these pools were partially filled with water, and some held tiny

green crabs that quickly darted into a hole when spotted.

From a distance the ground looked like farmlands, lakes, trails, grasslands and mountains all distilled into microscopic form, as they are when seen from a plane window at immense altitudes. It was like looking out past the plane’s wing

during a long flight and observing the land from a bird’s eye perspective.

All this evoked a sense of otherwordliness, of being suspended in space.

Driving down the hugely elevated bridge to Coronado Island gives you a chance to admire the San Diego cityscape along the way. The Coronado setting is peaceful and idyllic. It’s very much the sort of place where you would have your retirement home (where your grandchildren can visit you on weekends.)

People Watching The beach environent typically presents an excellent opportunity for people watching. Sandcastle-building children are always amusing to watch, with their shiny plastic shovels and pails. Silently rooting for surfers from the shore is also fun to do. People frequently sunbathe too; some bring enormous tent-like structures to prevent themselves from dessicating in the sun like I do.

Sitting on the beach passively is ideal for the idle vacationer. With no plans made and with nothing to do, that’s what Megan and I spent a good half of our first day doing.

We found an umbrella in the car, bought the largest, cheapest beach towel we

could find, and secured these items to the sand with our bags and bottles.

Then she promptly fell asleep in our makeshift tent, and I proceeded to read and occasionally look up to watch the boys play volleyball. Doing nothing was a breath of fresh air.

Looking at Buildings San Diego architectural design is often pretty.

Many buildings had the most delightful ice cream color schemes, and some of them had their names printed on in sugar-colored retro font (a few were outlined with fairy lights).

It’s quite a visual treat.

Where are High on my bucket list is the opportunity to see a richly inhabited tide pool.

We ventured to Point Loma at low tide, hoping that it would present this opportunity.

While none of the technicolor tide pools I expected were visible that day (we later discovered the best time to see Point Loma tide pools is in winter), we still did see small populations of anemone, abalone and crab. Overall, I still found

Point Loma beautiful - the treasure was in the hunt itself. We had to wade through the waters, being careful not to slip on the algae-coated rocks that lined the shore.

Normally I would not have done this, but the lure of tide pools inspired me to remove my sandals and take the plunge (well, not quite). It was fascinating to feel with my feet the slimy floor, the occasional sharp pebble, the skinny tendril of reed, the sticky gummy...

whatever it was. And it was even more rewarding to successfully climb up onto tall rocks without falling, so I could watch the waves, and the seaweed swaying beneath the froth in the water under me.

Ben has tried, on numerous occasions, to hunt for tide pools. Here is a picture of him looking down from a ledge, scanning the rocks and water below for traces of the colorful sea life we were all hoping to see.

23 May 2015

Next time I will return in winter and hopefully then I will finally get to see some lively tide pools.