Good afternoon Steemians~!
Hope all is well with everyone! My brother is going through the painful process of medical school interviews...but there is always a silver lining, we get to visit some pretty neat places!
I was fortunate enough to have attended two Universities while studying for my bachelors degree; ultimately I completed my program at University of California San Diego(Let's go Tritons!).
The trip was fantastic, we had a great time driving down to San Diego and catching up. It is not often that you get to really catch up with people, even your own family, and it was a nice break from the stress and anxieties of everyday life.
In total it was a short three day trip, chronicled below with photos!
Day 1:
We drove down and went to a hole in the wall joint in Kearny Mesa called Chopstix. I know I know...with a name like that how authentic could it be? It is a really student friendly and cute restaurant. Specializing in...Japanese food! Here is a photo of their Oyakodon. We were so hungry we forgot to take photos of the rest >.< They have really great deals for students too! They have really great sake bomb deals :D
After lunch we both had some work we needed to get done so hunkered down by the fireplace in the hotel with a few drinks.
Day 2: Here are when the real photos begin!
Dropped my brother off at his interview and wished him good luck! Afterwards had to swing by my most favorite and most hated place. The Geisel library. It is named in honor of Audrey and Theodor Seuss Geisel. Better known as Dr. Seuss. It is a striking monument of Brutalist architecture and it was truly a sight to behold when trekking there early in the mornings or late at night to get those studying hours in! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geisel_Library
After that I went to Scripps beach to get some of that fresh ocean breeze! There is nothing like hearing the lull of the waves gently rolling onto the sandy shore. So close to campus and so clean...can't believe I decided not to bring my surfboard
Walked around and saw some of the gorgeous beach front properties.
Even saw this awesome camper by the beach too!
The seal cove was very active during this time of year and I got some great shots there too! They are pretty friendly as long as you don't move too fast or scare them. Look how close they let me get!
I just love the ocean...
After my brother finished with his interview we went to the Alpine Beer tasting room. It was AWESOME! For anyone who hasn't tried their beer if you get a chance please do! The Duet and Pure Hoppiness are my favorites. We had such a good time shooting the shit with the locals we forgot to take photos...haha We did manage to get photos of our ramen though! We do not have a lot of quality Japanese food near us so we made sure to get our fill while in San Diego. Took my bro to Tajima Ramen. Man this place used to be so small too but had some major remodels! Glad to see they are doing well! Both got their classic tonkotsu ramen, and after a long day there are few things that can compete with a bowl of ramen a cold brew.
They also have this huge blackboard where employees are free to practice their art and advertising skills! Any Rick and Morty fans? Spongebob? Naruto? DBZ? They got you covered!
Day 3: Last day in San Diego!
Start the day off by grabbing a cup of joe and going for a walk by the beach. Check out these neat life guard posts!
I recently got a new Toyota truck for work so I was really stoked to see these driving around! They have them in both Tacomas and Tundras!!!
Tacoma:
Tundra:
Both my brother and I are nature enthusiasts and super amateur photographers :P
Luckily the seals were warming up to us on this sunny morning and we got some really neat photos of them and even some very special birds, like the Black Turnstone!
This is probably my favorite image I got of the Black Turnstone:
Later on a second turnstone showed up! I am not a birder but I was told by a few other people there these are rare birds to see and let you get so close to them:
Hope you aren't sick of seals yet! And if you are this guy probably knows how you feel:
There was this neat Lifeguard box! Look at the patina on that baby
One last stop for food before we hit the road! Visited a local seafood market and restaurant El Pescador! This place is amazing, they have changed over the years from a small fish shack to a modern beach side gastropub.
Got two sandwiches and split em. These are bar none the best fish sandwiches I have ever had. If anyone knows any good places in Cali please let me know!!!
Salmon burger:
Yellowtail sandwich:
Hope that was an enjoyable read for you all! Please let me know if you like this type of content or would be interested in other topics or facets of travel! Follow and comment let me know what you guys think!
What a fun post! I've get to make it to San Diego, but I need to now that I live in California (ok, five years and counting!). Cool that you saw a Black Turnstone in the wild. I was at the Monterey Bay Aquarium recently and they had one in the bird sanctuary there - she was so cute (with a broken wing and no longer able to be in the wild without quickly turning into someone's dinner).
Also cool library - love Brutalism. That sandwich looks amazing, too. I wish your brother good luck with his interviews! :) Cheers and thanks for sharing!
Thank you for the well wishes! Do you live in Northern California? The Monterey Bay Aquarium is amazing, wish I could go every week.
Brutalism is quite the architecture huh? It's most beautiful in the stark contrast with the natural beauty of the world. It wasn't until revisiting UCSD that I really saw the beauty of the buildings against the greenery and fresh air of the oceanside. Probably too focused on trying to pass that Game Theory class... :P
I do, I live in Sonoma. I joined the Aquarium, I loved it that much. Glad to meet another Californian :)
Love that you did a post on SD/UCSD ... but when are you going to write up a post on the first college you attended? Gotta show some love to what brought you up!
Haha I will soon brother!