Andrea Gallier
San Diego!
San Diego was great! We got there on Jan. 2nd, three days before The World Odyssey took off towards the somewhat stormy waters between Ensenada and Hawaii (more on that later). Highlights included taking the ferry to bike around Coronado Island, delicious orange tea, Little Italy, a questionable mummy story, graffiti, and the Torrey Pines hike (which was beautiful but not what it sounds like- the word “Pines” is a little misleading ).

-Just look at all those beautiful pine trees!
I have been to Hollywood before with my high school drill team- we did all of the fun touristy stuff- but somehow San Diego feels so much more Californian. Even though it is no Nacogdoches, San Diego still feels like a small town. You feel like you could skip merrily around town without a care in the world and yet you still have to remind yourself not too get too comfortable (it is still a big city!).
Another highlight of this pre-voyage trip was catching glimpses of The World Odyssey*. We stayed at the Wydham, which is right across the street from the port. I’ll be honest, it was all I could think about... I’m on the boat now and I am still in disbelief that this dream is becoming a reality- updates coming soon!

*If you are wondering why we would drive to Mexico to board the ship if it was in San Diego already, it is because of a weird law. The World Odyssey is considered a foreign ship, so it has to do with that I believe.