With a slight sunburn, bruises, and sore muscles I finish my fifth day in San Diego. I of course wear all of these things as a badge of honor earned from hard work and fun. Shoveling and hauling rocks on Sunday and Monday was definitely hard work, but nothing compares to the ocean kayaking that took place on Tuesday.
Ocean kayaking – I mean it seems simple enough right? Tide goes in, tide goes out and you just go in and out with it, right? One would think. Unless you’re me and you freak out at the first wave that hits you and tip your boat and roll right back onto shore within about a minute of being out at sea. Don’t worry, I managed to get back out on the water eventually. I must say, when I first found out we would be going ocean kayaking I was a little nervous. My first thought was, oh yeah, why make the sharks work for it? Let’s go directly to them. But it was not bad at all and our dashingly handsome guides Spencer and Grady assured us there were no Great White sharks in our area. I sure hope they were not lying to us, but I am okay with never finding out if they were. My fear of sharks aside, it was an amazing feeling to be out on the water floating around near the seals. Excuse me – sea lions, as Spencer and Grady informed us. We were even able to paddle almost right up to the rocks where the sea lions were resting. It was an absolutely surreal feeling to be that close to real sea lions and not have them be in a pit at the zoo. As an animal lover, it is a moment I will always hold near and dear to my heart. Perhaps the other most memorable thing that happened to me while out on the ocean was the taste testing. Yeah, I was surprised I did it too, but while floating about in the ocean I tasted real California kelp directly from the ocean water. Salty and slightly crunchy, it mostly tasted like old lettuce. I regret nothing about my adventures in the coean. When else will I get the opportunity? Plus, Grady did it, so…..
Moving on. Ocean kayaking and kelp tasting were just the beginning of our really fantastic California day. After getting soaked and tossed around on the waves, we took it to the beach to dry off and watch the waves roll in from afar. And if that wasn’t the perfect beach day, we followed it up by cooking salmon filets and s’mores on a fire near the bay. A fire on the beach! It was too perfect of an evening. It was the best reward I think we could have asked for after putting in two days of hard work digging and planting in the Tijuana River Estuary.
We all enjoyed our day off yesterday, but today it was back to work. We spent the day in the gorgeous Otay Lakes area installing a guide rope that will be part of a multi-sensory trail for the visually-impaired. The multi-sensory trail will be just one of about three in the entire country.
It was a physically exhausting day, as it required more digging, raking, carrying wood, and laying cement. But, it was a nice feeling to finish the day tired, knowing we all accomplished something piece by piece. The trail is not finished, but we were able to get the posts in place and cemented in and get them ready for the guide ropes to be installed. Through these experiences in the past few days I have definitely learned to appreciate teamwork more and to understand the importance of taking things step by step.
Now, back to our nighttime activities. For the most part, we have taken things pretty easy, but that has not been the case for the residents of San Diego who stroll past the windows of our hostel on a nightly basis. Now, as I said in previous entries, St. Patrick’s Day and the day leading up to St. Patrick ’s Day were a little cray-cray, but even on a regular night the Gaslamp Quarter – the district that our hostel is located – is pretty hoppin’. I don’t think I’ve ever heard so much big city activity just from sitting in my room and listening to what’s going on outside.
“Are you eating dinner out tonight?” asks a hostess at a restaurant trying to lure people passing by into her restaurant.
“She’s nothing like a girl I’ve ever seen before!” screams Akon from a bar down the street.
Meanwhile on the other end of the street a cover band plays its version of The Zac Brown Band’s “Chicken Fried.” So much diversity on one street. It may seem silly to some people, but growing up in Wyoming, the busiest street I have ever lived on was Grand Avenue while I lived in the residence halls. So, staying in the center of downtown San Diego has been a bit of a culture shock. The culture shock has been a good thing of course. I seriously did not know this much nightlife existed on a weeknight. The Buckhorn in Laramie on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights combined cannot even compare to what is taking place outside our window right now and to be completely honest…it is kind of awesome!
I will end tonight on one final note. As much as I have been enjoying the California lifestyle, I do tend to get a little homesick. While we sat on the beach with our fire and s’mores, I could not help but think how much my family and friends would have enjoyed it. Not that I was not enjoying my time with the other members of the group because I think we all know how to throw quite the beach party. The night just made me realize how much I do miss my family and friends when we are apart. On that note, I want you to know that no matter how homesick you get, you are never as far from home as you think you are. In the five days we have been in San Diego we have met two separate groups from Wyoming. As we were getting ready to go kayaking on Tuesday, we met a family from Laramie. Their son was even wearing a “Go Wyo!” t-shirt. Tonight, on my way back from the Ghirardelli ice cream shop while wearing my own Wyoming Cowboys shirt two women, one from Rock Springs and the other from Cheyenne, stopped me. It is amazing how small of a world it is, which in some ways makes it feel like one large community. As someone who is about to step out into this big bad world, it is slightly comforting to think of the world in that way. So just remember, no matter how far you go from home, home is never that far behind.
Photos: Bridget Wilson
