I really like to be in this early day rhythm. Waking up between 3am and 4am allows me to take it easy and have a bigger window of shared time with people back home. I take a shower and make myself breakfast. Another guest of the house is awake to get to work, but he’s not very talkative. I look on the map and see that there is a Starbucks about a mile away that opens at 5AM. I love that about America too, that there are coffee places open early in the day. In The Netherlands most coffee places don’t open before 8AM. The walk to Starbucks is very still and a bit cold, but I’m comfortable. Hillcrest is clearly a quieter area than downtown and I like it. The lights are already on at Starbucks and I get myself a cappuccino and post the blog of yesterday. I catch up with one of my friends back home and she reminds me that I better appreciate my freedom here, because things are not fun in The Netherlands. Realising that I left at the perfect time, just days before the full lockdown makes me really thankful.
After I finish my coffee I take the bus to the beach. It’s about an hour to get there and I use some of the time to listen to an audio book. It’s nice to be on vacation and have the time to do things in a relaxed way. The bus drops me off a in La Jolla, a few streets from the beach. There is a beautiful walkway along the shore. At the rocks by the ocean are sea lions lying and some more are playing in the water, it’s really fun to watch them. Even though it’s still early in the morning, there are already more people walking and running at the walkway. I see a nice restaurant with a view of the ocean and stop there for another cappuccino and to read a book. Then I catch the bus back again, because I still have to shopping to do. I want to get a sports mat, so I can do some workouts in the morning. Also I just like to visit a Walmart, because we don’t have such big stores at home.
The bus drive through La Jolla is very pretty. It’s a bit like a cheap tour ride. When we get into other neighborhoods though it gets a bit boring and for a moment I feel a bit like I’m wasting time being in a bus for an hour. I guess that not having a car in America can feel a bit like being handicapped. It just takes a lot more time to get around. Perhaps I’ll get myself a bike or an e-bike, because that would be a lot faster. I remind myself that it’s weekend and that I’m on vacation, so it’s okay to waste a bit of time. Besides, for now it’s the most affordable way to travel around the city anyway. I looked up this morning what the options are with Uber, but it would have costed about 25 dollars to get to the beach, so the bus which costs about 5 dollars was the cheaper option. It’s also an easy way to see more of the city. The audiobook I’m listening is interesting. It’s called ‘The Saint, the Surfer and the CEO’ by Robin Sharma. I just heard an interesting quote that jumped out for me: “Human beings are most alive when living in the unknown, for it is in this place where anything and everything is possible.” I think that’s true. Living in the unknown can be scary or unnerving, but there is also a lot of potential in it. Potential for adventure and opportunities.
Shopping at Walmart is fun as always. I find the essentials I’m looking for and get myself some food for lunch as well. I see on Google Maps that the bus back comes in about an hour, so I decide to go with an Uber this time. A friendly driver in a big BMW takes me where I want to go in about ten minutes instead of an hour with the bus. I like it and will probably use it again sometime while I’m here. It’s about halfway the afternoon when I go to the coffee place around the corner from my house. Normally I don’t work on Sunday’s, but I know a few people back home are waiting for work from me, so I decide to put in a few hours so they can continue their projects immediately at Monday morning. After work I go to the supermarket to buy food for dinner. I like doing groceries in America, because usually there is a lot of choice. Also I notice that there are more organic products than I can remember from last time. Maybe that’s because I’m in California and healthy food is getting more popular. In any case it’s easy to find the ingredients to create an Italian pasta. I cook myself a nice meal, watch some shows on Netflix and go to bed early again. Another great day in San Diego, I feel like I’m getting quite settled already and enjoy each day here so far.
