I realized that I made a surprising number of posts about travelling on this blog. Well, at least that means I’m actually fulfilling my wish of seeing more of the world. And as a bonus, this trip wasn’t a revisit; I’ve never been to California, or the US west coast in general. The furthest I’ve gone west in the US is Las Vegas, which is still quite far inland.
And due to political issues, I wasn’t originally planning to go travelling in the US for a while. But some good things happened and I found myself suddenly changing jobs. With about a month left until starting my new role, I thought I’d go travelling again.
Prologue: Hawaii
This visit to California was part of a bigger trip that originally started in Korea (I really need to go somewhere else). The route I took was: Korea → California → Calgary → Toronto. The flight to California had a layover in Honolulu, Hawaii.
I was stuck within the airport at Honolulu, but the airport does make you walk outside to move between gates. So I got to get a little breeze of the island air. Having spent two weeks in East Asian humid summer, the refreshing temperature was very surprising. Hawaii’s climate is remarkably stable due to being completely surrounded by open ocean and having consistent winds. But despite the ocean being everywhere, the air didn’t feel very humid.
I got an amazing window view of O’ahu (the island Honolulu is on) during takeoff. I could see the mountains and the clouds meeting, and the turquoise blue water forming foam at the beaches. With the extremely lush vegetation and bright Sun, the island almost looked like a dream spot to live in. Just a shame that cost of living in isolated areas is extremely expensive.
The last time I travelled to Hawaii (and actually explored it) was over 10 years ago. My short time stuck in the airport made me want to return one day for another proper visit. We’ll see how that goes.
San Diego
My flight leaving Hawaii was heading for Los Angeles, but my real destination was San Diego. It’s cheaper and easier to land in LA first and drive to SD, rather than flying there at once. I arrived at midnight, so all I did was get to my hotel room and sleep. With just 2 hours of sleep (yet feeling totally fine), I made my way down to San Diego under a beautiful sunny day.
The drive from LA to SD is quite epic and should be taken slowly, especially the first half (above the black dotted line). The first half is spent (mostly) driving on Highway 1, which runs right against the shore. You might get tired of all the beaches and coastal towns along the way. I stopped by Crystal Cove State Park, but there are tons of other beaches to see along the way. Laguna Beach (name of a town) also seems like a good place to stop by if you want more people. Below that is driving a little further from the coast on an interstate highway, so you don’t see much.
My stay in San Diego was short; I arrived late afternoon, spent two nights, then flew out early morning. As a result, I ended up visiting the most touristy areas.
- San Diego Harbour
- I would visit the USS Midway (aircraft carrier) if I had more time
- La Jolla Cove for sea lions and seals. Lots of big birds too
- Old Town
- Balboa Park
- I would definitely spend the most time here, there’s a lot to see
- Torrey Pines Beach
I was really surprised with the weather and temperature. I was expecting a crushing hot summer and Sun. The Sun was definitely nasty, but the temperature was surprisingly cool, and almost chilly at night. My guess is that the Pacific Ocean is bringing a cool current, moist air, and constant sea breeze.
San Diego was a nice city to visit, despite my short stay. It feels safe, is moderately sized, and has incredible climate and geography. Out of all the US cities I’ve been to, San Diego was by far the least “American” feeling one. The Spanish/Mexican influence on architecture and culture is pretty strong, especially in Balboa Park. Cost of living is definitely expensive though, even without accounting the exchange rate.
San Francisco
I flew out from San Diego to San Francisco. I initially considered driving there, but a 10 hour drive didn’t make sense with my time constraints. Most of my time in SF was actually spent on exploring the surrounding Bay Area, with core SF only taking a day. Just comparing geography and landscape, San Francisco felt quite different from San Diego:
- The weather is cooler
- Much more mountainous
- The beaches down south are much nicer
- Microclimates everywhere. You’ll see abrupt transitions of forests, mountains, and desert
- Fog (locals call him Karl)
SF felt like a typical big North American city; high density downtown area with suburban sprawl surrounding it, car usage that has clearly outstripped what the city’s roads can support, high cost of living, and gentrification. Notable features would be the steep elevation differences even between just a few blocks, a lot of white buildings, and having to not leave any posessions in a car, or watching out for poop on the sidewalks 😄. Personally, I thought the actual city itself wasn’t too special; it’s the geography that makes SF interesting. The meeting point of a small bay, open ocean, and mountains gives rise to a really unique environment and weather system.
I guess the most interesting part was getting to ride in a Waymo. If cars of the future were all self-driving and functioned more like a taxi transit system, I think they can be pretty good.
Bay Area
Once the SF tour was done, I moved on to the surrounding Bay Area.
The picture above was taken from the Santa Cruz Boardwalk about just 1.5 hours apart in the morning. While fog is very common, the Sun’s heat is able to beat it back quickly. Apparently clam chowder in a bread bowl is a popular food in this area. I tried some and enjoyed it while watching the calm ocean and hearing birds.
The designers of Highway 1 definitely knew what they were doing when planning the route. The drive to Big Sur is an experience that just can’t be captured by camera (at least, at my skill level anyways), even if there is heavy fog. It got pretty serious; I ended up discussing with a friend why humans find “beauty” in inanimate things such as environments. I think this is a scenic route that everyone should at least see once in their lifetime. The scenery is a perfect blend of rugged coastline, mountains and valleys, winding road, and empty beaches.
The last major site was Muir Woods, which contains the famous giant sequoia trees. The ones in Muir Woods don’t grow to the extreme sizes shown by online photos, but they’re still really big. There’s a trail that loops through the forest and probably increases in elevation by about 100 meters, but the tree canopy is still far above your head. From the peak, you can look down for tens of meters and find nothing but straight trunks stick up like rods. Interestingly, the bark of these trees is very different from any other tree that I have seen so far. The texture resembles fibres that are woven together, instead of sheets or scales.
Epilogue: Calgary
The final stop in this trip was a single night in Calgary, Canada. This was my first time in Calgary, which is an indication that I should do more domestic travelling. Calgary was a nice change of pace from SF, which is bigger, messier, and less safe. Calgary has a small downtown that I think is in a density sweetspot. The climate is also much different thanks to geography; it’s much drier and sunnier. Calgary also lies in a transition zone between the Canadian Rocky Mountains and the Prairies. Eastwards is nothing but flat farmland and grasslands, while a 1 hour drive to the west brings you to the mountains and boreal forests. I think a longer stay in Calgary and exploring the surroundings should a fun trip for the future.
Returning to Canada from the US was relieving because it’s cheaper and safer, which are two things I definitely felt from California. After a month-long trip, I was feeling tired by the end. This was perhaps the first time where I actively wanted to go home and lie down in my own bed after a vacation.
I think this is a lifestyle I would like to attempt; going on extended travels once a year or so. It’s good to be back in a stable routine again, but eventually I’ll get tired of work. Once that happens, I’d love to visit somewhere else. Maybe it’ll be Alberta or Hawaii. Or I finally set my destination to places I’ve always wanted to see, like South East Asia or Oceania.
Stay tuned, I guess.