February Break: San Diego and Southern Arizona Adventure

Overview

I am lucky enough to have traveled West this February with my best friend, my amazing Mother! We flew into San Diego and road-tripped to Tucson. It was an amazing experience. This is an overview of the cities we spent time in:

San Diego was such a charming city to visit; I fell in love with positively every aspect of it. The weather was a beautiful respite from the harsh New York climate. The sun shined bright and warm, though it was a bit chilly in the morning, at night, and in the shade. Very important to pack layers in winter! The environment itself is absolutely gorgeous: palm trees lining the streets, rock formations that are breathtaking, and wildlife is abundant if you know where to look. I spent time in Coronado, Pacific Beach, and La Jolla – rich seeming neighborhoods packed with shops and restaurants, clean, and beautiful. As expensive as this area can seem, there are certainly some amazing cheap eats at phenomenal dives to be found if you know where to look! This is a city that holds some major attractions such as Balboa Park, SeaWorld, the U.S.S. Midway, and the San Diego Zoo. A tourist will find no shortage of activities here. I am generally more interested in the off the beaten path, but a trip to the world famous zoo was certainly in order. Not too much street art in the areas I wandered, except for this one boy and his plane. Lots of funky oddities present, however, including this telephone pole slathered in chewed gum, and this front yard with a topiary garden. Driving wasn’t a problem in this sprawling city, although in certain areas parking can take a bit of time.

Our travels took us on quite a journey as we road-tripped from San Diego to Tucson, and made many stops in between. It was a lovely drive just under six hours through the ever-changing and wondrous desert and totally worth it to get to our next destination. Tucson was artsy; I loved all of the murals and sculptures along the highway and in the streets, ‘junk’ art by Jerry Hall, and the rattlesnake pedestrian bridge.

There is so much nature to see in this area, so many parks to hike, I wish I had more time! The Saguaro National Park was a great place to start however, and really gave me a great introduction to the Sonoran Desert. Seeing enormous cacti for the first time was well worth a trip out west if you are a nature lover. The Mexican cuisine here is exquisite, one of the best memories of the trip was eating a veggie tamale at Little Café Poca Cosa, I dream about it! Tucson is so close to Phoenix, we were able to take a half-day trip there and explore another city! We took a great hike here, had a wonderful lunch, and did some shopping. These warm and vibrant Arizonian cities were laid back and full of fun.

Six days of nonstop exploration and travel in the wild west with favorite person, these memories will last a lifetime! Until next time…