And All That Jazz

San Diego, CA

USA

After joining the boys for the final episode of the Aussie Hour, it was finally time to get out of Sac. I jumped in a cab (with a cabby who couldn't get insurance because he has a hit and run on his record - don't ask how that came up). With only one night of accommodation booked for SD, I boarded the 13-hour Greyhound at 3am (yes, 3am) which wasn't so bad as it could have been.

On arrival in SD, I checked into the hostel (in the Gaslamp Quarter)and checked again if there was any accommodation available for thefollowing nights. There was not (I learned it was a long weekend which may have had something to do with it). So I hit the streets searching for somewhere to stay next night.

Nothing.

Anywhere.

I was starting to stress a bit, but I figured if worse came to worst, I'd hang out in the first hostel til late and then just sneakily crash on the couch. Cos I'm shifty like that. It was that busy that even the couch I had planned to sleep on had been let out for the night. So I decided to be stubborn and refused to leave. I figured they'd have pity on me eventually. Finally, a bed became available when someone had to go home to visit a dying relative. Awesome.

So the luck continued next day when i discovered that the street had been closed off for a Jazz and Blues festival. A big one. $50 bucks a ticket all day. But because the hostel was in the street - free passes! It was great. Awesome lineup. Dancing in the street, sitting in the window of the hostel watching from above, free drinks, t-shirts. Great fun. And then as a bonus, the manager of the hostel knew a guy who knew a guy and I got free tickets to an unrelated concert that night. So for my
$20 a night hostel fee, I got close to $100 value... Not bad really. Some unexpected fun, from what started out as a pretty stressful, depressing time.

If you ever do San Diego, walk out to the cliffs at Ocean Beach, have a burger at Hodad's, visit the zoo, and stay at USA Hostels on the Memorial Day long weekend.