Saturday
On Saturday I left the little cabin in Breckenridge around 9:00 to drive to Sedona. It was a pretty uneventful drive full of music & podcasts. I did FINALLY get my Colorado kickflip in, which puts me now at 11 states total kickflipped 😂 It was beautiful driving through southern CO & northern AZ.
I pulled into Sedona just after sunset, it’s WAY bigger & more touristy than I had imagined. It still looks like a fun town, but I am more interested in the nature surrounding it! I parked on a forest road & found using iOverlander & spent the night in the back of the Jeep.
Sunday
I awoke to a weird scratching sound coming through the soft top while camping on a fire road in the desert. Kinda freaked me out! I opened the door and popped my head out to see a little kitten! So cute, and SUPER curious. He jumped in the Jeep & explored while I packed up & broke camp. I half considered keeping him, he was so fun & independent, but he ran off down the road & back to his owners who were camping a bit further down. As I drove out of the trail, I saw 3 hot air balloons in the sky as the sun rose. Really spectacular sight, I’d love to do a hot air balloon ride one day!
I drove the rest of the way to San Diego pretty smoothly, although I did hit a traffic jam in the desert on a bridge. An RV had caught fire & then a truck had jack-knifed to block all lanes. We sat in the traffic for about 2 hours before they got it cleared away. Not idea, but it was a sunny day & kind of fun to just sit on the road for a bit.
Pulled into San Diego around 4 & went to check out the Ursa Minor shop. I met John, the owner. Super nice guy, chatted with him for a bit before heading out to find a place to sleep close by. Ended up in a Home Depot parking lot after going to Mission beach to try to stealth sleep. Almost slept there, but woke up to someone blasting music next to me and smoking something pretty nasty smelling that wasn’t weed. A couple red flags… Home Depot sounded better 😂
Monday
The big day!!! I drove the Ursa Minor around 7:30 to drop the Jeep off. It takes about half a day for them to install the J30, so I walked a few miles down to Trident Coffee. Trident only makes nitro & cold brew coffee, and it is SO GOOD. Brought me right back to summers. The one thing I have noticed about San Diego is that there is NEVER a power outlet outside. It’s crazy… I met a few bicyclists who stopped in & they recommended a nearby taco shop, so I went there for lunch.
Around 1:00 I headed back towards Ursa Minor to pick up the Jeep. They were wrapping up the install, gave me a quick “how to use this thing” tour, I paid, and I was off! First impressions on the J30… WOW. I have always loved my Jeep, but I REALLY love my Jeep now. The quality of the top is amazing, the design is perfect. Better than I expected, and I had really high expectations (see $9,000 price tag…)
Monday night I met up with a friend, Kayla, who lives in her van. She’s been in San Diego for a few weeks, and had some great tips! We took a walk on the beach for sunset & got tacos at a place called El Charro in La Jolla. There’s an awesome spot in La Jolla that you can sleep, maybe 50 feet from the beach, with access to the bathrooms, trash, & cold beach showers. SUCH a perfect stealthy spot. Slept there for the next 3 nights. Unfortunately unable to pop the top on the Jeep, so stealth sleeping in the back.
Tuesday
Tuesday I woke up, moved the Jeep to a free day parking lot on the beach, and walked to Brick & Bell coffee shop in La Jolla. Spent the morning working there, it’s one of the FEW places I’ve found that had an outlet outside… I got lunch & another coffee at Communal Coffee, probably my favorite coffee shop in the San Diego area now! I also picked up a little Jade plant & pot for my home :)
After work I drove to REI to pick up a set of roof racks to install so that I could get my solar set up. I installed the roof rack in the REI parking lot, pretty easy install into the tower feet that the camper comes with. Once those were taken care of, I went to Home Depot to figure out a way to mount my solar panel. I eventually settled on two pieces of angle aluminum & 4 brackets with bolts that hold it all together. I measured & drilled the holes in the parking lot, and got it all bolted down in 2 hours or so.
I drove back to our spot in La Jolla, parked there & watched the sun set over the water. It’s such an amazing evening routine to walk on the beach & see the sunset…. could do that every day.
Wednesday
Spent Wednesday working, and then headed out to go snap some photos of the Jeep so that I could share. I hadn’t really been doing my usual BLM or public land camping, so needed an excuse to go out into the mountains, pop the top & take some pics!
Thursday
I met up with Kayla at Barefoot coffee in Solana. Suuuper cool coffee shop with a great patio (also had 1 hidden outlet). We spent the morning working there before heading our own ways for lunch & the afternoon. I got lunch at Lofty Coffee in Encinitas & then headed to the beach. One of the big perks of the J30 is being able to pop the top in a beach parking lot (with service) and work. I can do a “standing desk” or jump up top and work from the top area. It’s really cozy, and I can charge my laptop with the solar set up. I did that Thursday afternoon at Moonlight Beach.
Thursday after work we met up for a hike up to Turtle Head Mountain. It was a really pretty hike around a lake, up to this little hill with a giant flag planted on the top of it. Great first real hike of the year, it felt awesome to stretch my legs. Basically got back to the cars at dark, perfect timing.
We ended up parking & sleeping in Carlsbad for the night. Kind of another street parking stealthy type of spot. Gets the job done, and we were like a 5 minute walk from the beach. Went for a walk around Carlsbad, that place is hopping! Lots of people out, restaurants open, etc. Walked along the beach for a while in the dark, it was really really nice.
Friday
Drove to Camp Coffee in Oceanside to work in the morning. After work I’m going to head to Joshua Tree for the weekend! It will be my first time in Joshua Tree NP, so a lot to explore. I’m really looking forward to getting out of the city & camping again. 🙏🏼
