2/24/2025 - 3/11 - San Diego

For anyone following this blog, I apologize for the slow posts.  I really just keep putting off writing it and I know it would be so much better (and easier!) if I wrote in real time.  In reality, I had a lot of down time in San Diego, so I have no excuse for not writing the blog.  Maybe I was just getting too comfortable with doing nothing.  I try not to feel too many "shoulds" in this journey, so blog writing is a "should" I haven't been doing.  

2/24 - Did my laundry on the way to SD. It seemed a bit sketchy, but worked out and there was a great Mexican restaurant in the little strip mall and I had leftovers for a reasonable price.  It was hot there and I was wearing a tank top and shorts.  It was about 10 miles from the beach and about 82 degrees and sunny.  It was 62 degrees and fogged in when I got to the beach!

Got to Ocean Beach (San Diego) and went to Robb Field to overnight in the parking lot. Saw Dan, who I had met in Quartzite and he said that the cops had come through on 2/18 giving everyone tickets, yet the lot was full of RVs and vans. I decided to risk it all it’s a convenient location as it’s close to restaurants, a walking path, and the dog beach, which is an awesome beach. Huge and way bigger than the human beach!  Tons of dogs running around having a blast. 

Stayed there for a few nights, while exploring Old Downtown SD. Definitely taking it easy while here. I realized that TinyFest was coming up in 3/8-9 and had wanted to go last year, but was in AZ and didn’t make. I figured that I might stick around to go but wasn’t sure. It’s so hard for me to stay anywhere for a long time.  

There are so many signs that say No overnight parking, No camping, Parking lot closed between 11 and 5, but the lots are filled with vans, RVs, and cars (people living out of them)

That parking area was right down the walking path from this fabulous dog beach.  So many dogs, so much area, nice sand, great for walking.  Absolutely phenomenal!

Dog beach

Sunny San Diego (really Ocean Beach)

More of the dog beach

Then the fog came in.  That seems to happen in the afternoons a lot there.

Same dog beach, but with the clouds

A ton of volleyball nets and they also play beach tennis, which I've never seen before.  And one net was playing volleyball, but where you couldn't use your hands.  LOL!  So, feet, chest, head, shoulders, but no hands (or forearms for bumping).  That would be tough.

path back to he van from the dog beach.

Such intensity!  (those towels on the floor are there for cleaning up the water/drool...)

Olde Town San Diego

After Olde Town, we went to Fiesta Island and hung out there inside the van, but with a view!  It was really quite cold with the wind and it was probably only mid 50s too.   There is a huge dog park there, so we took a long walk there so Zoe could get all the smells and run free.  San Diego is definitely a dog friendly city!  

Sunset at Fiesta Island

2/28 - Balboa Park in San Diego.  This park is huge and has many gardens, museums, and the San Diego Zoo.  We just walked around, because of course, Zoe couldn't go into a lot of places. 

Cactus garden

Big Bertha didn't really fit in this parking lot very well.

Spanish Village Art Center - Very cute and LOVED the colored tiles

Amazing hand made quilts

Big Bertha really didn't belong in this parking lot!  Definitely sticking out a lot.

More dog beach

Ahhh.  That felt good!

German Shepherd who digs herself big holes to lie in.

I needed a shower and to fill up my water, so I headed to a nearby campground.  I met Martha there, who lives in San Francisco, who I'll try to connect with when I pass through.  We took the dogs for a mellow  walk around the "lake", which is mostly a swamp.  

That evening, I took a hike on my own.  It was really a joy to be able to go at my own pace and not have to worry about doing too much or Zoe getting overheated.  I ended up going a lot farther than I had planned and got a good hike in for the first time in a while.

Downtown San Diego, walked at a park with so many beautiful flowers.

So pretty!

Looking down from the top of the park

Murals in the tunnel

3/2 - Found a new place to park in Mission Bay.  I really like this spot and they clean the bathrooms in the morning so they are clean when I might need them.  Such a joy on the road! 😀

We did a long walk on Mission Beach - I think this is when my foot started to hurt.

ZoZo's pizza.  Yum!!!

😂😂😂😂

I so enjoyed these lights reflecting on the water.  View through my windshield.  

Just chilling in the sun.

I love that 2 times/day footprints are erased and you can start over from scratch

Went to Little Italy.  Had the worst (most boring) pizza ever!  LOL!!!

Back at the dog beach hanging out.  Ended up sitting near Hannah, who I had met at a brewery in town my first night in Ocean Beach.  Too funny.  We hung out and shared books we're enjoying.  Zoe really liked her!

I cannot even express how blown away I am by what trump and the Republican Congress are doing.  It is beyond anything I could have imagined and I imagined it pretty bad, being the optimist I am...

3/9 - One of the reasons I stayed in San Diego so long was because I saw that Tiny Fest was coming up the following weekend.  I had wanted to go last year, but I was in AZ and didn't want to drive all the way to SD just for that.  I am glad I stuck around as it was worth it.  There were a fair number of tiny homes, not just vans and RVs, so I was pleased by that, since that's what I wanted to see.  There were a few that I really liked.

I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to go because something happened to my right foot.  The middle toe metatarsal area is really hurting.  Looks like it could be a stress fracture or a ligament or something.  Anyway, it was hurting enough that I really didn't think I could do the walking around the event, but I rested it again on Saturday and managed to go on Sunday.  It was a bit better, but still requiring me to not bend my toes when I walk and thus walking very slowly.  Adjusting my gate to accommodate is never a good thing.  

These Boxable ones are pretty cool.  Certainly not something that can be moved though.  

This one was my favorite.  Small, moveable, and so functional.  

What a great idea! And so much storage!

The exterior of my favorite from Piccola.  The Minuet.

Another nice one, but this is too wide to move.  And I really like the idea of being able to move my home around to different Tiny Home communities.

I found a van builder in San Diego, Camplife Customs, who could move my diesel tank outside my van and fix the interior overflowing of my water tank.  I just stopped in and Bobby, one of the owners, took the time to discuss my options with me.  The quality of the builds is impressive.  These are the two items I was thinking that if I could get these fixed, then I'd be almost 100% happy with my van.  The other issue is the side to side sleeping with the tall windows, but that's not an easy fix, so I'll have to live with that.  Since I didn't have any transportation and it was raining most of the day, Zoe and I hung out at the shop all day, mostly in the van.  They charge $225/hour!!!!  I paid a lot of money to do this, but it was worth it for my mental health.  Both of those issues really hampered my enjoyment.  I also had them replace my fan motor and board, which I should have been able to do myself, but decided to just pay them to do it...  They also replaced the moldy filler hose, which Bobby said was crap.  Not sure why he said that, but he seemed to think that what he uses won't mold.  I hope he's correct!  

I just love my osteospurnum!

After Tiny Fest, we stopped in Salona Beach and walked to Fletcher Cove Park.  I really like the vibe of this town.  And so pretty.  Lots of dogs in the park, but not allowed on the beach.  

Nice tilework around this park and around town

Another lovely sleeping position!

I drove up the coast and was debating between San Elijo State Park or South Carlsbad.  I ended up deciding to go to San Elijo since I hit it first and had to book online ($9 reservation fee), but got some input on a good site from a volunteer.  He mentioned that South Carlsbad had a restaurant and music tonight, so I really considered going there, but he also said that he and his wife like San Elijo better for some reason.  After the long process of booking over the phone (I later learned that my VPN on my phone was preventing the website from working!), I was checking in and they said there was no water anywhere in the park because someone backed into a spigot and they were trying to fix it.  One of the reasons I wanted to stay in a campground was to have a shower, so I asked if they'd refund my reservation and she agreed (later learned they didn't refund the reservation fee), so I went up to South Carlsbad after all!  I probably spent at least 1.5 hours on this.  Anyway, I got a beachfront site at South Carlsbad (there were none at San Elijo), so it was great.  We went to listen to the music and had good beer, and excellent pizza, and met a nice couple who I sat with.  Amazing sunset and finally saw the green "flash" when the sun set!  It's a weird campground, though common on the coast, where all the sites are in one line, so there is a constant string of people walking on the road.  On my way back from music/dinner, I met Kirsten and Julie and their pup, Tiny, who live in Redondo Beach and invited us to park in front of their house.  

South Carlsbad State Park

3/10

Morning view from my bed

Why does she so often lie down such that the leash is taught???  It's like she wants to be as far from me as possible...  😒

After taking a luke warm shower, I headed out and went to La Jolla to walk along the coast and see the seals and sea lions.  It was a beautiful walk along the coast and fun to see the difference in the seals and sea lions.  The seals were very quiet, even if they were up and about, but the mostly slept.  Some went in the water and swam around.  The sea lions were very noisy and pretty stinky too.  There were a lot more of them too.  

Seals like to hang out on beaches.

So many sea lions.  They like to be on rocks...

Zoe picked up their scent and seemed very curious

That night I went back to Mission Bay/Beach to my preferred free camping spot.  I checked out another spot, but decided to go back to what I was familiar with.  

3/11 - Rainy day and went to Camp life Customs for my retrofits.  I spent all day there mostly hanging out in my van.  I did take Zoe for a walk in the area before the rains, but it wasn't a nice area to walk at all, so we just went back.  I ended up having Kevin replace the motor and board in my Maxxair fan.  I should have been able to do it myself, but I decided it was safer to just get it done since I kept procrastinating doing it myself.  Expensive, but it's done!

Lovely morning.  Actually all rain in CA is good!

Diesel (I know - should be yellow!) tank attached directly to the door.  Not sure this is a great idea...  Still evaluating and trying not to stress too much.  Basically worried about damaging the paint.  Bobby insisted that they've done this before and I'm over thinking it, which I am certainly apt to do, but... 

That's the end of my stay in San Diego, so I'll finally end this post!