When I first started blogging, I was on my way out of San Diego County to live in Orange County for around 15 years. But I’m a San Diego girl — I grew up here; all my old school friends are here or visit here often, and most of my family live here. I consider San Diego my hometown.

When I moved back in 2012, I had to get to know San Diego again — this time as an adult. I was familiar with the neighborhoods in which I grew up, like the mall I shopped as a teenager, the schools and colleges I went to, the places where I used to work. But everything else was new to me.

So when I started dating and attending jam sessions, I got a glimpse of different areas and different lifestyles, and I was suddenly able to tie an actual experience to a location I had only ever heard about before, or at the very least only visited for a short time for some high school away game long ago. When I entered some races and took up hiking, my mental map of San Diego grew even wider, and I could finally create a photo in my head of places like Alpine, Julian, Ramona, Poway, Pine Valley, and other such places — all under the umbrella of San Diego County.

I’d forgotten how large San Diego is. We have a little bit of a small town mentality, meaning that we don’t normally think that we’re some big urban city. There’s a nice intimate feel to the town, despite its sprawling size. I don’t know where that feeling comes from given that this place is a tourist magnet, but it’s there.

We’re big on burritos and Mexican food in general. We’re into health and fun outdoor activities. We’ve got a ton of great places to see and things to do, so we can be just as happy staying in town on vacation as leaving it.

If I ever get around to taking up photography again and posting the photos here, the photos will likely be of San Diego. Because it’s my world now.

Just thought I’d put that out there…

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