Spring Break In California

It has been awhile since my last blog I know but there was a good reason for that. The reason was spring break! It is the break that splits the spring semester in two separate halves and it is known around the globe for great parties and the main destinations to go to are Florida and Mexico I guess. It´s a really big thing here! Half-semester classes were over before the break and there was quite a bit of final work due before being able to go on vacation and it always feels better if you earned it, doesn´t it?!

I was actually planning to go on a road trip with the Mustang and some friends to some of the most remarkable national parks in the west of the country, but I spontaneously changed my mind and started looking for a new destination to go to. I thought about New York City and already started planning my trip when suddenly San Diego came to my mind. I have never been there before and after doing a quick google research (1 minute) I was looking for flights to San Diego and booked my ticket a couple of minutes later. It seemed to be just the right decision to go there and what can I say: It was!

During my last stay in northern California about two years ago I was not really happy about what I saw and how people interacted with tourists. It always felt like they don´t really care about whether you leave as a happy customer and come back or not and so I was kind of excited to see what it is going to be like in the southern part of California. The flight to San Diego was just four hours and so I made my way there on Saturday and stayed for six nights in one of the best hostels I have ever seen in my life. After my arrival I found out that it actually received multiple awards for being the best hostel in North America. It was USA Hostels Ocean Beach, San Diego. I definitely recommend going there when staying in San Diego!

San Diego offers a lot! I stayed in Ocean Beach, a small, alternative and old school part of the city, located right at the beach as the name already tells. It is just as people imagine California before actually going there. Breathtaking coastlines, palms, warm climate, worn down and alternative shops, surfers and skaters everywhere you go, and everyone seems to be laid back. This is the kind of place you want to see when on vacation, right?

The city center itself was not particularly special. Just a downtown like a lot of other cities in the US but old town, which looks like a tiny Mexican village was pretty cool. One day I went to USS Midway, an old US airplane carrier which was on duty for about 50 years for the US Navy. This was one of the best museums I have ever seen. Balboa Park with a lot of museums and restaurants was cool as well but I am more the kind of action-seeking traveler and so I went out with the bicycle for one day to visit the other beaches close to Ocean Beach such as Pacific Beach and Mission Beach and I did some surfing on a longboard for one day which was quite exhausting but still really cool. My highlight was that I was able to rent a motorcycle for one day and so I could visit a lot of places I would not have been able to visit otherwise such as La Jolla, Mount Soledad and Mount Cowles. Mount Soledad was my favorite place because it gives you an overview over the whole city and all beaches. It was just fantastic up there! The neighborhood was quite wealthy, and I felt like I was in the Hollywood mountains. The weather was great as well and so I got a nice tan enjoying the California sun and I definitely changed my mind regarding the people in California. Everyone I had contact with was nice and friendly and it made my time even more enjoyable.

After six days in paradise I finally came back to real life in River Falls and that’s good just the way it is. I can´t believe my time in River Falls is about to come to an end. Just eight weeks left before graduation! The second half of this semester will be the toughest so far as I do have as many courses as never before, but I think it is going to be fine. Classes are still fun, and I still appreciate the topics and the way it is taught.

To be continued!