As So in SoCal as you can get...

So from the bright lights of Vegas through wine country down to San Diego.

San Diego is a lovely little city. It has a population of just over 1.3 million people and is a hop skip and a  jump away from the Mexican border.

It is split up into many distinctive neighbourhoods and I was staying in a really accessible area in Talmadge. Pretty near a number of freeways, and a couple of good shopping malls!

We went to La Jolla on the first day. This is a really lovely part of San Diego, north of the main town, and has a really villagey feel about it. My friend used to live here and I stayed in La Jolla a couple of times about 8 years ago.

There was a small children's beach near the coves that had been taken over by seals. I had watched on the news over the past few years how there were different factions arguing about whether to move the seals or not. So when we rocked up it was nice to see that the beach had been returned to the children, but that the seals were still there sunbathing on the rocks. But they had grown in number - there were around 6 times as many as the last time I was here. It was lovely to see them, but boy - the stink!!!

It absolutely reeked there - eye watering! The stench of the seals mixed with pelicans and cormorants was a bit too much to take.

I am sure if I had spent a few million pounds on a sea view home on the La Jolla cliffs I would not be best pleased at the smell...

I got used to it after about 10 minutes and didn't have to hold my nose anymore.

Other than that my time here has been very relaxing after a couple of pretty busy weeks hooning around with friends.

It was a bit too chilly to hang out at the beach working on my tan, so I spent a lot of time at the gym and also at the Blockbuster video store. Having been a Love Film member for 5 years I had genuinely forgotten how nice it is to go into a store, chose a DVD and then take it straight home to watch it. 

I am now completely up to date on everything I had wanted to watch filmwise on DVD and Blu Ray: 

• Your Sister's Sister, 
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - remake, 
• The Hunger Games, 
• Five Year Engagement,
• The Iron Lady,
• Biutiful, 
• Spiderman, 
• Expendables 2, 
• The Way, 
• Moonrise Kingdom, 
• Sherlock Holmes (2),
• The Whistle Blower,
• Margin Call,
• Albert Nobbs,
• Rock of Ages, 

Along with Season 1 and 2 of The Walking Dead (very watchable but very gory) and Season 2 of Boardwalk Empire.

I also relaxed, read, petted one of the cats I have been looking after (the other one only sat on my lap the once!) 

Refreshed and rejuvenated I will leave on Monday to go back up to LA for the rest of my time in California...