Tijuana Again

For an American (or basically for anyone who looks non-Mexican), walking around central Tijuana makes you feel like a piece of candy left on the ground next to an anthill. All around you, the ravenous storeowners and restaurant staff emerge and stick to you. Shaking one off just allows two more to pounce. Your constant reactions of "no, gracias" become automatic. It's only a 15 minute walk from the U.S., but you really feel like you're in a different world.

Independence.

Leslie and I began our final day in Philadelphia with front row seats to an episode of "Cooking with Laura" - we were treated to the famous Laura sandwich for breakfast. Eggs, basil, chicken sausage, lettuce tomato, carglic, conion, cilantro and homemade aioli on a toasted English muffin, and somehow I also managed to eat my leftover pumpkin cupcake - needless to say we were stuffed and spoiled as we packed up our bags.

Soon we said our good-byes and were on the train, cruising smoothly into central Philadelphia. The whirring of the train past the transitioning urban landscape made me wish that I could ride trains more often. We headed straight for the Independence Visitors Center to get our free tickets to tour Independence Hall.

A Full Day in Philly

When traveling, it is completely natural to compare each new place you visit to places more familiar to you. This comparison of what's different in each culture is exactly where the beauty of travel lies - in learning how and why things are done a different way, you can't help also thinking how and why things are done the way there are at home. In thinking about the very things you have taken for granted, your mind is broadened and you grow as a person. And even in Philadelphia, the birthplace of the United States, I was able to learn a bit more about myself not just as an American, but as a Californian.

It was Sunday morning and my second day in Philadelphia. Alisa, Leslie, and I walked to the train station and caught the train into the city. The train was about 15 minutes late, but we were able to pass our time by playing more 20 questions, which we continued playing on the train (we couldn't guess "avocado" but a nearby passenger chimed in to get it!). Laura joined us on the train.

My transportation for the day was covered by the "Independence Pass" - a one-day ticket that provides unlimited transportation on trains, buses, and the subway in Philadelphia. For $11 it was a no-brainer (our one-way tickets on the train would be $7 each).

GUEST ENTRY! Arriving in Philadelphia, from Leslie's Perspective

What follows is a guest entry written by the amazing Leslie!

I took the Megabus from DC to Philly, although I ended up on a later bus than Jason because people in DC know how to take advantage of a three-day weekend - hence the 10:15 bus was full. After a three-hour bus ride (which arrived early) I found myself sitting in the Philly Amtrak station waiting for Alisa, JT and his friend Vy to arrive. I read people's blogs on my smartphone and "checked in" (receiving the "Pennsylvania" badge). JT and Vy arrived (searching for me in the station like Waldo), and soon after Alisa arrived in her car to pick us up.

Upon arrival, JT presented Alisa with the coveted treasure box of Porto's pastries [which you HAVE to try if you are ever around LA], and Alisa just about died from the excitement right there in the taxi/pick-up area.

From DC to Philly Cheesesteak Heaven

I woke up on Leslie's couch at 8am. I had a bus to catch at 10:15am. As I had some cereal and packed my bags, I watched some CNN (the TV stations here seem to emphasize national news more than entertainment) - the program was debating Marijuana legalization; specifically, Prop 19. Yet another example showing that wherever I go, I can't escape California.

I said bye-for-now to Leslie (she's going to Philly too, but on the next bus), and I walked to the bus stop in the same parking lot as yesterday's food truck festival. The city was much quieter this Saturday morning. People queued and boarded the bus. Our bus driver was an entertaingly loud and friendly black woman named Carolyn. She prodded us passengers to say "good morning" like we meant it! (Unfortunately all these east coast people were more interested in getting to their destination than talking.) Carolyn then proudly proclaimed without any hint of timidness, "I HAVE MENOPAUSE."

Okay, now she got my attention. "This means that the temperature in the bus can either be TOO HOT or TOO COLD. Feel free to come up here and tap my shoulder or slap me in the face so that I'll adjust the a/c."

I was happy to finally encounter someone with a shred of genuine personality.

As the bus left DC, I began texting my friends in Philadelphia to see whether they'd meet me there or wait until Leslie arrived. After a few minutes, I looked up from my phone and saw that we were already driving through the forest (aka suburban Maryland). The rest of the ride went by smoothly.

• I kept my ipod on as the scenery flew by. As I tried to take a picture of the scenery, I had a difficult time juggling my camera, phone, and ipod; I wish there was some gadget that combined all three into one! IF ONLY!
• The bus passed through a tunnel underneath Baltimore harbor, and suddenly the freeway signs read "95 North - New York" ... but what about Philadelphia? Isn't that the next city?
• The bus stopped in a suburb north of Baltimore to pick up more passengers. I noticed that the bus driver announced the stop as "Murryland" - is that how the locals pronounce it?
• Every car on the freeway is from a different state - Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, New York, DC.
• I noticed the couple in front of me, about college-age, were playing a luge/bobsled game on their iPhone.
• Traffic is bad. Especially with all these toll plazas every few miles. The worst backup was trying to cross into Delaware.
• I just crossed from The South into The North. Interesting.

Before I knew it, the bus had whizzed through the industrial areas south of Philadelphia and I arrived in the city of brotherly love.

Bringing Some California Cool to DC's Bureaucracy

Many people just stared at me, confused...

It was my second day in Washington DC, and Leslie and I walked to the Curbside Cook Off in a big parking lot near Chinatown. We had learned our lesson from the previous day's lunchtime rush, and we arrived there just after 11 AM. Nevertheless, the queues at each of the trucks ran almost across the entire lot, with at least 50 people waiting for each truck.

We chose the Sâuçá truck, serving "globally inspired food." Each dish on their menu represented a different region of the world. I went for an Italian sausage wrap while Leslie got an Indian butter wrap. The food was delicious, but not completely filling for $8. The owner was really nice, though, going out and passing out samples of their lemonade to all those waiting in the warm sun. I also got him, and several other people in line, to give me high-fives. Only about 1 hour in, and I was at over 60 high-fives. OH YEAH.

The next stop: Ford's Theatre. Most famously known as the place where President Lincoln was shot, the theater is still a functioning one, and in fact my visit just happened to coincide with a rehearsal of that evening's show, so I was not allowed in. (Yet another building in DC with restricted access! Lighten up people - it's not like I'm climbing in your windows and snatching your people up.) Across the street, the Petersen Boarding house, where Lincoln actually died, was closed for renovations. So Leslie and I had to be content with browsing the exhibit of Lincoln's life and presidency. At least the entry was free.

Happy Hours and High Fives

In any city where there are people in suits roaming the streets, you can feel a collective exhale at 5 PM. Everyone finally gets to loosen their collar and head home, or, as I soon discovered was very common in DC, to the local bar or restaurant for happy hour drinks.

It was my first evening in DC, after a red eye flight and a day exploring the city on foot. So by 5:30pm, I was definitely exhausted and in need of a beer. I met up with Leslie at her office and we walked over to a place called Recessions. The bar is between Dupont Circle and Farragut (to the best of my DC geography knowledge), perfectly positioned to attract many young employees from the nearby think-tanks and policy agencies. And as I expected, the bar filled up mostly with 21-26 year olds. The atmosphere felt more like a lounge in a college dorm than that of an underground urban bar.

I met Leslie's friends Mari and Anna there. What was awkward was that Leslie and I sat at our own table, and a dozen or so of Mari's friends filled in the tables next to us. We had a strong feeling that this was the group we were invited to join, but without Mari there to introduce us, it was just Leslie and I enjoying our drinks.

Also, I was able to cross another item off my list: Take a picture wearing the craziest hat I could find. Unfortunately, there was hardly anyone wearing a hat that I could find, let alone a crazy hat, so I settled for the first moderately cool-looking hat I could find:

The hat guy had asked us for a quarter so he could use the jukebox. He and the friend with him were from California. And at the time, I was sitting with Anna and her friends, Peter (?) and Ashley, also from California. Apparently DC has undergone a west coast invasion?

Discovering DC on Foot

The best way to explore a city, especially a big, vibrant, cosmopolitan city (like Washington DC) is on foot. You might think that you won't be able to see as much as you would if you were in a car, train, or bus - but in fact the opposite is true. The most rewarding parts of a visit to a new city are the small, unexpected details. Everyone's seen the Eiffel Tower or the Empire State Building, but what makes the trip really yours is the little old lady who tells you about what used to stand on that empty lot, or the hidden alleyway filled with colorfully artistic murals. It's only by interacting with the city on a personal level - which can only be done at a human level, i.e. on foot - can you gain the most rewarding experiences from your visit.

So, during my first day in Washington, DC, it was a no-brainer that I would spend the day exploring on foot. What would I discover?

A Red Eye and a Real Red Eye in DC

Washington, DC. The capitol of the United States of America. This is where the country's--no, the world's--power is concentrated. It's impressive, especially considering that this city was merely a small town for many decades after it was built on a drained swamp over 200 years ago.

My arrival in DC was neither triumphant nor glamorous, but pretty mundane, commuting into the city with lots of workers. I flew into Dulles Airport, about 26 miles (41 km) west of Washington. It was 6:45 AM, and the earliest splashes of daylight were just emerging to the east.

LAX to Dulles, Making My List

It has been a chilly and damp week so far in LA, but the forecast calls for sunny and warm weather all weekend on the east coast. I can't help but smile at this irony.

I'm sitting at the gate here at LAX, staying relaxed ahead of my flight. It isn't too hard to stay seated and rest, since I'm running on less than six hours sleep. I'm definitely going to get some shut-eye on this overnight flight.



My trip was planned somewhat spontaneously. I am currently of the opinion that I need to get out of LA at least once a month in order to maintain my sanity. So, with some friends of mine on the east coast, what better time than now to visit?

Tijuana

I have traveled to countries all over the world but had never been to Tijuana. It's the nearest non-US city to me, and easily accessible by day trip. Yet embarrassingly, it remained more unknown to me than the hawker centers of Singapore or the old town streets of Prague.

So I set out to change that.

Not wanting an opportunity to go to waste (and wanting to put some miles onto my new car), I decided to go on my soonest day off. Why not? I tried to gather people together to join - but in the end, only Michelle was available for the day trip. And so things began to fall into place: TIJUANA HERE I COME!

It had been a fun week, with two Aussies surfing my couch for a few days. The night before, I had a night out with a close friend who's leaving for grad school. That night I ate yak meat for the first time, took in some live music, and enjoyed good times and Belgian beer. Life was rolling on. Thus, that Saturday, I woke up in the morning feeling like P. Diddy - adventurous and unstoppable. Well, unstoppable until I hit the traffic on the 405.