San Diego Part One

I didn't want the day to end.

As I watched the morning emerge, driving on the 5 freeway south (for two hours), I knew today was the day for escaping pressures of life for a single 15 hours of pure freedom, with my closest guys. My longest childhood friends.

Of course, at SOME point we had to take a wrong turn, right? I got off the wrong exit, around mid-point, only to discover a mysterious place actually called "Pirate's Cove." Hmm. Strange. Quickly back on route again...

We reached our first destination: Old Town San Diego. It felt like we were on the set of a cheesy Mexican film, passing through old buildings that resemble the Texas frontier of early years. But the food... ohhhh, the amazing food. Old Town Mexican Cafe is perhaps my favorite Mexican restaurant of all time. Sure, we couldn't afford "the good stuff" (plates with mounds of carnitas and pollo, bowls of avocado, baskets of hand-made tortillas), but even the less-expensive burritos and tortas were filling and satisfying like no other restaurant near home.

We then drove to the Gas Lamp District. Compare it to Old Town Pasadena - but grittier, more blocks, and a nice 5-story, outdoor mall. With street longboards under our feet, we cruised the streets as our feet pushed us wherever we wanted to go. Even though Micah fell off a few times, we all made it out alive. Mmm, there is seriously nothing like having a white chocolate mocha in my hand, a longboard to get me around, and no feelings of time running out or places I have to be. Even getting lost was fun! We lost our sense of direction and had to circle a few blocks before reaching our parking street again.

An eight story parking lot is a longboarder's dream. Smooth ground. Empty spaces in secluded areas. Downhill slopes, smoothing out into flat land, repeating its self over and over again. I was in heaven.

Now, a good downhill slope can only be tackled by "carving" a longboard. Much like surfing waves on cement, it's no easy task. Daring myself, I rode down a two-way hill, leading into the busy streets of the District. The other guys chickened out half-way, from the board speeding too naturally fast. I found the courage to reach the bottom - without getting run over by a car or shooting out in the street at the end of the hill. Yes, I can proudly boast of that and feel good about it. As Micah would say, '"Skiiiillllz."

After skating around the streets, we found ourselves in need of a remedy: more skating. Sweating like professionals, we drove to Sea Port Village - a beautiful strip of land upon a harbor. Rolling past the walking crowds, we rode to the harbor's edge. Ships on our left, rolling ocean on our right. This was truly turning out to be a beautiful day.

Riding back, we hopped in my lovely red car and drove to Coronado Island - a highlight of our day. The only way to get to Coronado is over a massive bridge. Just one way there... one way back.

To be continued...