17 Days of Pure Bliss

It all started with eight days in South Lake Tahoe, Nevada.  I spent that time with a lifelong friend from Auburn, a great friend from UVM and one of his girlfriends, who happened to be on a similar journey. Heavenly Mountain got 81” of snowfall over the course of that trip. That’s almost SEVEN FEET of snow. “Epic” was officially added to my vocabulary the day I fell down, on the mountain, and couldn't get up.  We were buried in powder, laughed 'til we cried, saw some live music, danced the night away, enjoyed aprés-ski in the jacuzzi, lost money, won money, met new friends and reminisced about the old ones.

On the eighth day we cleaned the house, packed the Subaru and the four of us started our decent back to San Diego (I had shotgun).  Road trips are always eventful, right?  Roadside pee breaks, insanely intense heebie-jeebies, junk food, good smells, bad smells and someone always loses something... inside the car. It was all of that and then some. Ten hours later we arrived, unpacked and said our good-byes. Thanks again guys, it was a BLAST.

Two hours later I headed out to meet a few other everlasting college friends for some uber strong beer and shuffleboard.

San Diego begins.

Couch surfing, successfully, is an art.  If you’re not prepared I imagine it can be quite uncomfortable.  When I packed for SD, 2 weeks prior, I was under the impression it would be beachy and hot.  When I arrived, and throughout my stay, the weather average was high 50’s, low 60’s.  I was limited with my prearranged wardrobe while the bottom half of my 45lb duffel bag went untouched.  I had chilly flip-flop feet for 9 days but then again I was in flip-flops and I was in Cali.  Life was good. 

I stayed in four different houses in three different parts of San Diego: Pacific Beach, Ocean Beach and South Park.  The kindness and generosity of my friends (new & old) was so much more than I ever could have imagined.  Open arms, open doors, homemade meals, spare keys, spare cars, vacation days, pick-ups, drop-offs and so much more.  "Thank You" just doesn’t cut it.

A few highlights: drinking Kava at Mystic Water in North Park, listening to my friend DJ JCEE at Thrusters, witnessing the renovation of Starbucks on 28^th and B while freelancing in South Park, watching an SU basketball game at Brewley's Pint in PB, rekindling my love for dogs (shout-outs to Vinny, Murray & Bernie!), enjoying the best oysters ever at South Beach, Sunday beers at La Heinas in Mission Beach, nursing a hangover at Tiny's in Ocean Beach and the moment I realized I hadn’t had a hot flash in months.  I must be doing something right.

I’m back in Bonita Springs, Florida where I will recharge, devise a plan and make my next move.  I’ll keep you posted.