HOME SWEET HOME--As a former travel writer I get asked what is my favorite city? Tough question because there’s no real answer. Careers aside, San Diego wins because it’s like living on a trendy cul de sac. You have mountains to the east, a foreign country to the south, plus the ocean is on the west and to the north 30,000 U.S. Marines are based at Camp Pendleton to protect us from those sprawly Orange County-types.
Southern Californians don’t incur huge amounts of weather related expenses. Few of us own snow boots, tire chains, snow shovels or tanks for heating oil. Hurricanes, tornados, blizzards or bugs seldom cancel outdoor events. And, flying insects never spoil those balmy, romantic nights in San Diego—unless you call low flying Navy jets pests.
As the eighth largest city in America, it is easy to navigate by car because of the centralized freeways and the airport is located in the heart of the city. Admit it, we’ve been in worse rush hours in other cities. And, we don’t have gridlock to and fro to the airport: Hello, Houston, Denver and JFK.
Because, we live within engine roar distance of SD Int’l we can be at the airport in ten minutes. And, if I really wanted to be near snow, I can wait until the rainy season hits and travel 50 plus miles East to Julian to the 6,000 ft. tall Laguna or Cuyamaca mountains. And, snow, like routy inlaws is something you can leave when you’ve had enough.
Also, Mexico is 17 miles south of my door step. Don’t go there, you ask? If you have an ounce of adventure you will visit Tijuana if only for the marvelous cuisine. And, there are 70 miles of beaches along the Pacific Ocean from San Onefre to Imperial Beach. From my home, I can be pushing sands between my toes at Coronado Beach, next to the Hotel Del Coronado in 15 minutes.
San Diego is forever young. That’s there are so many major colleges in the area. And, speaking of co-eds, more bikinis are sold in San Diego than ear muffs, flannel underwear or ice scrapers for frozen windshields. And for you golf nuts, you can play one 18 hole golf course per day in San Diego and it will take four months to play them all.
Lastly, San Diego is the city you leave to go make it big elsewhere, then beat it back to live in. Yes, America’s largest small town has flaws but none of them so bad you can’t live with ‘em.
Fine Print:
--Based on an article I wrote for Old House Journal and readapted for this blog.
--Surf image: 1965 tandem couple, courtesy San Diego History Center, www.San DiegoHistory.org
Public can purchase old or historic photo reprints from History Center’s million image photo archives 619/696-0199.
--Also, if you enjoy reading snippets on San Diego history, please see my monthly column “Back Page”
In San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles magazine.
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