My Time in San Diego and Disneyland: San Diego

This past Wednesday I shared some childhood memories at Disney World and Disneyland. Now, I wanted to share my first visit to Disney as an adult. However, this post is about a little more than Disney.

What Sparked the Trip

I’d recently graduated college in 2018, my senior year being one of the best years in college. A couple months later, I got a job that I wasn’t…fond of. It paid the bills (and the recently due student loans) so I had to put up with it. It wasn’t long before I was in need of a break. I wanted to see my friends again.

At this point we were all scattered across the country, back to our hometowns or our new jobs. I’d fallen out of touch with my friends from high school over the college years so I was feeling lonely. That’s when I thought, why not take a trip for my birthday? One to see my friends and visit a new place.

I’d settled on visiting Celeste, one of the friends who joined me on my New Orleans cruise, in California. We talked about it and then tried to work through what we could do. She suggested that we could go to Disneyland since it was just under a two-hour drive. It was also a way we could see our other friend from college, Lawrence.

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sold on Disneyland initially. I thought it didn’t have as many thrilling rides as Disney World. Disneyland just felt like Magic Kingdom which was filled with kiddie rides.

I almost wanted to suggest going to Universal or Six Flags instead but Disneyland seemed to be what they both were excited about.

The Planning

Now that I knew what I was doing I had to figure out how long I’d be there. Because I would’ve only worked at my job for four months and I was still working on building a savings, I didn’t want to be gone for too long.

Let me rephrase; I would’ve loved being gone for a while but more nights at the hotel meant more money.

I originally thought of visiting San Diego first staying at a hotel there. Then, we could drive to Anaheim the next morning and stay two nights there to visit the theme park. However, those San Diego hotels were a little much for me.

The plan I came up with was for me to fly into San Diego, have Celeste show my around, then we’d drive up to Anaheim that same day to stay at a hotel there and go to Disneyland the next day. After that, I’d fly home from the airport near Anaheim. This way I’m paying for a two night stay instead of three.

Flight wise, I was still able to use my Dad’s benefit so I was able to fly for free. Celeste was able to get a discount on tickets. I found a hotel that was close to the park, decent, and best of all affordable. It ended up being a cost effective trip for me.

San Diego

I decided to do the trip the week after my birthday to coincide with Martin Luther King Jr. Day. I would already have that day off so I’d be requesting less vacation hours.

I flew out on MLK Day very early in the morning and landed in San Diego right before the afternoon. Celeste picked me up. We drove passed the World War II “Kissing Statue” and the USS Midway on the way from the airport. Celeste asked if I wanted to stop to get a picture so we did.

Then, we immediately went to a place I’d been wanting to try ever since she mention it to me: Jolibee.

Jolibee

Jolibee is a Filipino fast food chain that serves fried chicken. It reminds me of Popeye’s, a fast food restaurant found in New Orleans that also serves fried chicken.

I took a picture next the “Jolly Bee” and went inside to order. I remember getting fried chicken with a side of their spaghetti, and pineapple juice.

This was the only time I’ve had Jolibee but I still remember how good everything tasted. The chicken was perfectly crispy. Everything was actually on the sweet side. Not sickeningly sweet just a nice touch of sweetness on both the chicken and spaghetti. I got full rather quickly and took the leftovers with me (which ended up not being eaten just due to the day ahead).

Belmont Park

Celeste took me to Belmont Park an amusement park nearby. It’s not huge like Six Flags or Disneyland but it had quite a bit to do.

We rode the Giant Dipper Roller Coaster, The Beach Blaster, and the Octotron. I was excited to ride the roller coaster because I thought it would be the only thrilling roller coaster I’d be on for the trip.

The Beach Blaster was a thrill of its own as it took us up and turned us sideways before it spun. The Octotron was fun but the constant spinning and back and forth rocking made me nauseous so I had to close my eyes.

They had an arcade and bumper cars as wells as places to eat. I can’t remember if we did bumper cards but I’m sure it would’ve been a good time.

I did remember however, buying a woven blanket for my mother. She had one for years that I remember even as a child but our dog ruined it so when I saw similar blankets, I had to get it for her.

Old Town San Diego and La Jolla Cove

After our time at Belmont Park we went to Old Town San Diego with Celeste’s aunt. It is a historic state park so there were different exhibits to see and history to learn. I remember there being a lot of local art to buy as well.

We spent quite a bit of time there looking through before we went to La Jolla Cove. La Jolla Cove is beach but a beach that had sea lions. They’re just living life, sitting along the coast. When we were here, I realized that it could still be quite cold in California.

The sun was setting as we watched the sea lions on the rocky formations which only made fear it would get even colder. I wish I’d stayed longer but it was time for us to make our way to Anaheim.

I originally wanted to make this one post but it’ll have to be two to so you aren’t reading forever. Check back later in the week for how we spent our time in Anaheim and at Disneyland.