On the Road Again!: Tales of a Mancunian Lost in the City of Angels

By David Sustana, University of Southern California, United States

Hey there, just checking in again from sunny Southern California!

Although, I guess I should really say Northern California, as I’ve just gotten back from a wonderful road trip with some friends from Golden Gate City (a.k.a San Francisco!).

A view of San Francisco from the Golden Gate Bridge. Don’t mind the afternoon fog!

It was the trip of a lifetime (although aren’t they all when over here?). First, we hired a car and packed it to the brim with luggage. And then we set out on motorway I-5 to get there, because unfortunately, the famous Pacific Coast Highway (Highway 1) is still closed due to part of it having been washed out during the last “once-in-a-lifetime” atmospheric river back in early April (there have been, like, three of these storms in just the year that I’ve been here).

I-5 offers a different flavour of California. It’s inland, dry and sparse, but there’s a certain beauty in the vastness of the green and yellow rolling hills that I had never seen before.

The dry, sparse, and strangely beautiful motorway-side hills of inland central California. It honestly reminds me of scenes from some of my favourite Dr. Seuss books from when I was little.

And driving on it and stopping for food halfway just felt so … American! In fact, everything has felt “big” since I’ve been here. It’s an absolutely huge country, and my flight to Miami during Thanksgiving last year was almost two hours longer than a flight from Manchester to Athens!

Anyway, while in San Francisco, I made a point of doing all the things that I didn’t get to do during my first trip to the city, way back at the start of the previous term. That had been more of a “land at the airport, pick up the car hire and get right on the road” type of visit.

First, we went to Golden Gate Park, the “Central Park” of San Francisco. We visited the de Young Museum of art, the States’ fifth most-visited museum. It was beautiful.

A sunny view of the de Young Museum in the beautiful Golden Gate Park.

Then, we went to Downtown San Francisco in order to take one of San Francisco’s iconic trams (the ones you see in the old postcards) to the famous Fisherman’s Wharf. And I’m thankful for it; you really have to mind the hills in this city.

It’s an incredible experience, because they still let you hang out of the side of the tram while it’s moving, like in the old days!

Once at Fisherman’s Wharf, I made a beeline to Fisherman’s Wharf’s iconic sea lion lounge at Pier 39, which I had first been introduced to in one of my favorite video games, Watch Dogs 2, which is likewise set in San Francisco. I will say, the seals did not sound how I thought they would.

Just hangin’ out! San Francisco’s iconic sea lions at Fisherman’s Wharf; specifically, Pier 39.

And then we decided to split up and grab lunch. I gravitated immediately towards a vendor selling Philly cheesesteak sandwiches.

After this, we got some of those electric Lime scooters you’ll see thrown across the street, and we explored the rest of Downtown and the surrounding areas until it was time to go home.

Be wary of the hidden fees on those scooter hires; my trip ended up costing over 31 dollars! I wasn’t thrilled, as you can imagine.

I still didn’t get to see everything on my San Francisco bucket list, even during round two. There are still so many things to see and experience in the Bay Area, such as the Painted Ladies (from Full House), the iconic winding Lombardy Street, and the infamous Alcatraz Island.

That just means I’ll need another trip then! So stay tuned for that!

Back to the Day-to-Day

It’s been nice settling into a new term at USC. The weather is cooler, there are new things to experience, and I get to kind of start fresh, but this time, with all of the knowledge that I didn’t have last time. And I have new modules this semester, with some familiar professors.

I’m even taking a sailing class this semester! It includes labs at the famous Port of Los Angeles, and the final is a two-night cruise at the end of the term! And lectures are in the beautiful historic physical education building. I would definitely recommend registering for that as soon as you can. It runs out of space quickly every semester.

I’m so thankful to experience another semester at USC and in Southern California! There is so much I still want to see and do, and I feel so much more empowered and able to take advantage of these opportunities now. I will keep you all updated! So stay tuned!