Oceanside, CA

I flew into San Diego this afternoon to attend a CrossFit Level 1 Certification which begins tomorrow at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base. The first thing that struck me when I reached California was the abundant sunshine and balmy temperatures - as always, a welcome change from the frigidity of Michigan. Somehow the lady at Enterprise Car Rental managed to wheedle me into renting a gleaming white '07 Kia Sportage SUV (I know, I know... but it handles well) for the three days I'd be here. I should have rented the Dodge Caliber instead - I've always thought it looked interesting, if not a vehicle that I'd want to drive in the long term - and it was probably cheaper. Oh well. I drove up I-5 to my hotel at Oceanside, CA, spent some time unloading, checking in, and expressing dismay at the high gas prices here, which were around twenty to thirty cents higher per gallon compared to back in Ann Arbor. I dropped in at CrossFit Encinitas, about twenty minutes south of Oceanside, to check out the facility and join the 5:00 pm class. The workout was simple but good - 3 sets of 5 shoulder presses, followed by a metcon component that comprised 3 rounds of 15 24-inch box jumps, 15 Russian KB swings with a 24 kg KB, and 15 ball slams with a 20# D-ball. After that, we did 5 sets of dead hang pullups to failure and practiced Turkish getups with a KB.

On my way back up north to Oceanside, I decided to drop by Pollos Maria, a hole-in-the-wall Mexican place that specialized in charbroiled chicken. I had made up my mind to sample some authentic Mexican food while I was in Southern California, and a search on Yelp.com revealed this well-reviewed gem. I ordered a fish taco (I've heard you simply have to try fish tacos while you're in the San Diego area), a veggie taco, and a sweet tamale to go, and drove back up to Oceanside, parked a ways from the beach, walked down, and savored dinner amidst the cool night air and the sound of the crashing waves of the Pacific. Oceanside seems to be a favorite of skater kids too, and as I was eating at a stone table by the beach, a gangly kid in skater garb told me to join him and his friends for drinks and more food if I hadn't had enough by the time I was done. Pollos Maria more than did the job, however (the fish taco was especially lovely, and it was my first time eating a tamale flavored with juicy chunks of pineapple and raisins), but I must say the casual invitation proffered by the youth really did make my day. Especially when I'd spent much of the rest of the day alone and had found it difficult to keep my mind from wandering towards the thoughts that had been plaguing me for a good while now. After dinner, I spent some time on the streets of Oceanside, dodging vehicles to cross the streets, and soaking in the atmosphere of the town. There were numerous watering holes, most of them seedy-looking -interspersed with military outfitters and barber shops who presumably catered to the large number of Marine servicemen in the vicinity. I wandered around for a bit, noticing the disproportionately large number of males who sported flat-top haircuts, before returning to my car and driving back to the inn. I'm looking forward to Day 1 of the CrossFit Level 1 Cert tomorrow. Imagine, seven full hours' worth of technique, skill instruction, and workouts! I'm pretty psyched.