part 1: san diego

hi. how are you? i know, it's been awhile.

i didn't forget. i just couldn't.

i went on a really big trip and instead of trying to cram it all into one epic post that will read like kafka, i'm gonna break it down for you with some pictures and just a few words.

first, i went to san diego for two weeks. i celebrated my 30th birthday and got to spend ample time with my mom, my dad, my pup, and my sweetie who had been out there performing a play for the previous two months.

i didn't grow up in san diego, but i've been out there several times since my parents packed up the toyota  previa minivan and drove from cleveland, ohio to la jolla, california in the summer of 2001. i've always liked san diego; i mean, what's not to like? there's beaches, lots of fro yo joints, plenty of smoothie shops, and um, beaches. this time i went i started to like like san diego. yes, it's more than freeways leading to strip malls, and it's more than just the beaches (which turns out, aren't anything to turn your nose up at). i had time to see a different, better side of san diego that included awesome places to eat breakfast, the wild animal park, some pretty cool bars, an amazing farmers market, beautiful flora, and just a generally wonderful place to get some sun on your face and feel good about life. this time i breathed the honeysuckle air in deeply and let myself get a sunburn. the days were warm, the nights were cool. i stopped walking like a new yorker. i met good people and i was surrounded by the ones i love.