In the past few years, my vacations have mirrored a typical weekend schedule: staying at home, sleeping in, taking numerous coffee excursions, and simply relaxing. This year, I decided to exemplify the true meaning of the word by literally vacating all premises associated with my everyday routine. And what better place to travel to in the beginning of Annapolis’s winter than southern California? My objectives? Soak in the coveted warm weather, reconnect with old friends, and experience as much of southern California as I could in 1 week.
San Clemente (pronounced Clementee), Orange County
After an unusual scare where a loaded handgun was found in an elderly couple’s bag during standard airport security checks at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport (the couple was swiftly taken into custody and the matter was dealt with very privately), I was on my way to the OC and I was declared comatose for most of the flight. By 1 p.m., I arrived in the John Wayne Santa Ana airport, where I was greeted by 70º weather and surrounded by towering palm trees and California license plates.
My friend Meaghan picked me up and we dropped off my luggage at her condo. Then we immediately did what anyone else would do after arriving from the East Coast in December—headed straight for the San Clemente beach, home to the San Clemente Pier. Extending 1296 feet from the mainland, it hosts an indoor-outdoor restaurant and an adorably tiny espresso bar and serves as a popular fishing spot for the locals.
That evening we went to San Clemente’s Puttin’ on the Glitz Festival, a December family event something like Annapolis’s Midnight Madness, where the main strip to downtown San Clemente is closed off and families have access to Santa, train rides, and late-night eats and shopping. Lined with cute novelty shops and restaurants, the town is reminiscent of Annapolis’s charm but it has more of a family focus, lacking a young adult nightlife scene.
While staying in San Clemente, I made a few observations.
Observation #1: Young families make up a large part of the community. I lost count of how many parents looked as young as Meaghan and me yet had two to three kids in tow.
Observation #2: Avocados are an option at nearly every restaurant and can be incorporated into your meal or requested as a side dish—this was reason enough for me to move there.
Observation #3: Surfer boys. Enough said.
San Diego
Midweek I breakfasted with my friend Melissa at the Mission in Pacific Beach, or, as everyone refers to it, PB, which sits adjacent to Mission Bay and is close to the University of San Diego, University of California—San Diego, and San Diego State University.
We decided we needed a dose of sightseeing and culture so we opted for Balboa Park—a must-see cultural hotspot, host to fifteen museums, the San Diego Zoo, various performing arts venues, recreation centers, restaurants, and gardens. If you visit these museums, expect to pay an admission of $2–11 per person or invest in a park passport that runs $19–59. Other park highlights include the Spanish Village Art Center, a quaint historic site modeled after a traditional Spanish town. Its thirty-five art studios are home to more than fifty artists, who specialize in painting, sculpture, pottery, photography, jewelry, wood carving, and glass blowing. The How the Grinch Stole Christmas Whoville display is at The Old Globe Theatre, a historic theater modeled after Shakespeare’s Old Globe theater in London that showcases classic Shakespeare and world premiere productions. And a sidewalk display of photographer Annie Leibovitz’s photographs set in 6-foot panels outside the San Diego Museum of Art previewed her exhibition premiering there this month.
LA
Observation #4: Transportation in California is not as savvy as it is on the East Coast. I thought it would be a simple taxi commute to the San Clemente train station for my train to LA’s Union Station, but this proved to be more difficult than I had imagined. After a huge transportation mishap where I ended up missing my scheduled train due to an endearingly inept taxi driver, I finally made it to the train station with a discounted fare, rescheduled my departure on the next train, and felt a renewed appreciation for reliable public transportation back home. So if you’re planning to do some extensive ground traveling, you might opt for a rental car and a good map to help you navigate to your destination on time.
When I arrived at LA’s Union Station, my friend Matt picked me up and we headed to his office in West Hollywood, where he gave me a thorough tour of his boss’s claymation studio, home to a TV show that currently airs on the Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. After fulfilling my role as a shameless tourist on Hollywood Boulevard, we decided on Italian food for dinner, at C&O Trattoria in Marina Del Rey, right on the Pacific Coast. If you like Italian food and traditional Italian music, this is the place to enjoy both—and even participate. At 7 p.m., each table is handed a song sheet and the entire restaurant sings, in unison, a traditional Italian song (on this night, it was “That’s Amore”) while waiters and waitresses circulate to each table, clinking wine glasses with patrons while exclaiming, “Salud!” And no worries if you miss the first sing-along—they feature a different song on the hour until closing. The evening was capped off with a show at the LA Improv in Hollywood, where we witnessed a hilarious 45-minute impromptu musical performed by four aspiring comedians.
After a whirlwind week, California proved to be more than I had expected. My visits to Balboa Park, Hollywood Boulevard, and San Clemente were mere specks within the grandeur of southern California. There is so much to see and explore that it’s helpful to narrow down what sights are most important to you and from there, jump in, whether it’s a cultural event, a historic landmark, an authentic restaurant, or even the Pacific Ocean itself.
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