San Diego

The plane and I arrived in San Diego a little before 2pm on the 16^th. I got my bags, asked where to find the Sheraton Hotel shuttle, and began walking. One person carrying all that luggage is a little precarious. I created a system that worked though. I put the black duffle on the top of the black roller. The backpack went on my back (of course) and I had one roller in each hand. It worked the best if the two black bags were being pushed in front of me and the red duffle rolled behind.

At the shuttle terminal I saw a man and his daughter who were also waiting. I noticed that their luggage consisted of three carry-on bags and two, large rolling duffels. After a little bit of waiting I had to ask: “what shuttle are you waiting for”

“The Sheraton” replied the father.

“Me too. Are you doing Semester at Sea?”

“I’m not, but my daughter is,” came the reply.

And that was how I met my first semester at sea peer. I learned her name was Monica and she went to a private university near San Francisco.

Once at the hotel I put my bags in the closet and went in search of food. It was already 3:30pm and I hadn’t eaten since 8am that morning. Out side was a beautiful blue sky reflecting in the harbor and a very comfortable temperature of 68 degrees. I found a nice little deli and had a BLT sandwich as I gazed across San Diego Bay.

With food in my belly I was beginning to crash a little. I went back to the hotel and took a nap.

At 6:30 my door opened and my “hotel roomie” entered. She is very fun and friendly. We got along wonderfully. She is from the east coast, so she was jet-lagged and hungry. We met up with a friend she’d made on the plane and went out to dinner. The place we went to (c-level lounge on Harbor Island) was wonderful! I had lobster macaroni and cheese with a glass of Riesling. The wine was a perfect end for the day as I finally began to relax a little.