... and is reasonably priced compared to Northeast counterparts. The first stop off the train? World-famous Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles, naturally! What's that you say? Never heard of this combination? Well... neither had I, to be honest. But man, it goes together like scrapple and eggs!
We visited the Venice Beach an Santa Monica farmer's markets, both funky scenes. I avoided Hollywood as much as possible (OK, we drove by...). The San Fernando Spanish Mission and Griffith Observatory/Planetarium were both cool and educational. The Mission had some very old maps of the west coast, some suggesting that the entirety of California was actually an island. Fascinating!
Back to San Diego and off to D.C. for a wild weekend with Rucas! I visited the Air and Space Museum and Smithsonian Natural History Museum, places I haven't been since I was a kid. I continue to be amazed. I joined my cousins at Comet Ping Pong, where they specialize in sustainable ingredients, novel pizzas (soft-shell crab, clam, eggplant...), and, um, ping pong? Nothing like losing to someone who's age is in the single digits... dang. My trip wasn't complete without a visit to Ben's Chili Bowl for artery-clogging goodness (the chili half-smoke is out of this world!). Mmm, I can feel my right arm getting numb just thinking about it.
I've had some very good friends from high school visit San Diego. We cruised up to Del Mar for horse racing and free live music (reggae legend Steel Pulse). They went to the zoo, SeaWorld, and San Diego's beautiful beaches. Of course before, they left, I had to take them to In-N-Out Burger for some serious West Coast eats.
In other news, I finally started some of my own field work in the late summer. I've got a small pilot study started, which is good because I'll be land-locked for 9-12 months. Lets hope for some good data. I'll be leaving for Davis early next week. Between traveling and showing friends around town, I'm starting to realize that I will miss San Diego. Davis should be very, very cool, but I think I'll be happy to come back in 2010.
