I spent nine days in San Diego, California, to celebrate the Iranian New Year.

2025 has been a year of many surprises for me. While I expected originally, many months ago, to be in India on a Fulbright research fellowship, I never expected to be denied a visa into the country and to lose my Fulbright grant. I decided to take the rest of the year I would’ve spent in India off, as I was now unexpectedly unemployed, focus on my writing, and travel a bit.

So I went to the drawing board to decide where to go and why. I have relatives in California, so was kind of the obvious choice from the beginning. But when my friend asked me if I wanted to go to Los Angeles for the big annual writers’ conference, I decided to make it into a bigger trip in general.

Then I was going to make arrangements with my relatives to stay in San Diego for two weeks, and my parents decided to come along as well. That completely changed the plans I was making, as I was going to stay for two weeks, as I mentioned before, but because my parents were now tagging along, I stayed with them for one week, then with my relatives an extra two days before I headed to Los Angeles.

This trip marks the third time I’ve been to San Diego in the 2020s. I’ve come to learn throughout the years that I’m not the biggest fan of California. It’s such a pretty state and the nature is good, but as a diehard East Coaster and someone who spends most of my time in the DMV and New York City, I know California isn’t within my taste.

I can appreciate its beauty though, and understand why people choose to live here. There’s a lot to admire and go to, but I just find it expensive as a young adult with a limited budget and as someone who also doesn’t like driving. The public transportation around here isn’t the greatest (but neither is it where I live, too).

This is going to be a long post, so let’s get into it! I don’t want to ramble too much during the introduction.

Day One: Flying in, La Jolla Cove

Here’s the one con of traveling with my parents: my mother only insists on traveling on Saturday mornings and on nonstop flights to California, which are not only more expensive sometimes, but on this particular occasion, she happened to pick the week of Spring Break to travel. We arrived at BWI International Airport at 5 AM, and security lines were kind of long and people were everywhere.

I packed a breakfast so I could eat healthier, home cooked food, but my parents didn’t and discovered the only main food option in the terminal was Arby’s. I became even happier with my decision to pack a breakfast, especially considering how expensive fast food is getting these days.

The six hour flight to San Diego was pretty uneventful. The airport there was also a madhouse, packed with people everywhere, and we collected our luggage and picked up our rental car. We had a lot of time to burn before we could check into our hotel then head to my relatives’ place, so we decided to get In and Out for lunch.

It’s a California staple and it’s decent quality for the price you pay. I downed my cheeseburger and animal fries, then we decided to spontaneously head to La Jolla Cove for a few hours to burn time.

I was having knee problems during this portion of the trip, so we took our time wandering through the cove. This is a major tourist area and was also very packed, so if you wanted to see the sea lions during these kinds of heavy traffic days, you need to come early. We found street parking way down towards the Contemporary Art Museum.

For this trip, we were staying at the Hilton Homewood Suites in Del Mar. It was a decent hotel, very roomy, and we checked in once 2:30 rolled around. We did stop at a local Walmart for water bottles first, then my father rushed us to my relatives’ house for dinner.

We stayed there for a bit, then headed out back to the hotel to get some much needed rest.

Day Two: Mount Soledad, Old Town, Nowruz celebrations, family time

Because we were operating on East Coast time, all of us were up bright and early the next morning to go out and do things. We ate breakfast at the hotel’s buffet, then drove out to Mount Soledad and its monument at 8 AM. No one was really there that early in the morning, so we could sit on a bench and enjoy the nice mountain top views of San Diego all around us.

We’ve been to San Diego so many times, so we don’t really know what to do anymore when we come into town. On the bench I was looking up places that were kind of nearby, as we had lunch plans with my cousin in La Mesa at Casa de Pico at 12 PM. We decided on walking around Old Town, and, because it was Spring Break, we were barely able to find any free parking around there because of the amount of tourists.

Old Town is such a vibe, albeit very touristy. I always admire the Mexican pottery stores especially, but I can’t take those home to the other side the country. I also want a Mexican style mirror, but haven’t found the perfect one around San Diego yet.

12 PM was approaching, so we drove to La Mesa for our lunch plans after spending an hour in Old Town just looking around the shops. My cousin just had her first baby (at the time of writing this), so we were able to meet her kid and catch up about life and everything going on.

We then had to drive to my relatives’ house, as they were hosting a Nowruz/Iranian New Year party. Their small apartment was packed with 16 family members, and we were able to catch up with all of that side of the family as well while we there. And we ate a lot of delicious food!

As everyone started trickling out, we left, too, and passed out in our hotel room, as we had to prepare for the Safari the next day.

Days Three and Four: San Diego Zoo and Safari, Chaharshanbe Suri

Whenever we come to San Diego, we make a point of going to the San Diego Zoo. Now, the zoo is a bit unaffordable for the average person to go without a membership—it’s almost $80 per adult to go in there, which makes it difficult to access if you’re from a lower background. Note that they have deals on other platforms, which I have not researched.

We go to the zoo specifically because we have relatives working there, and they have an allotted amount of passes they can give to family and friends. We are incredibly blessed to go to the zoo as much as we can whenever we’re out here, as this is one of the best zoos in the world. They’re also very dedicated to wildlife and its preservation.

We woke up on Day Three bright and early to head out to the San Diego Safari, which is located further outside of the city. It’s a stunning drive through the mountains and desert landscapes of California, and the safari park itself is massive. You could spend multiple days there.

While a traditional zoo is condensed, this one is very spaced out because they have the room to do so. A basic safari is included in the price of the ticket, and we saw the rhinos, giraffes, and so much more while we were out there.

I really enjoyed the safari, but my mother and I agreed we don’t know if we would go back there again. It had so much beauty in it, but it was a lot and you have to go out of your way to get to it. We spent the rest of that day at my relatives’, then prepared for the zoo on Day Four.

My mother, friend, and I were the only ones going to the zoo on Day Four, so we met outside at around 10 AM. It was so crowded, probably because of Spring Break, which my mother and I aren’t used to. We go to San Diego usually around January, which means there’s no one around—hence why we thought it was so crowded basically everywhere.

The animals were particularly active on this day, which made it exciting. It was also smart to pick up sandwiches from outside, as we were able to stop, eat an inexpensive lunch compared to the rates of the food stalls and cafeterias, and eat some fruit when we wanted to.

After that, we headed to my relatives, ate a big dinner, then ventured to Liberty Station next to the airport. There was a Chaharshanbe Suri celebration going on for the Iranian New Year, and people were dancing to a Persian DJ, grilling up kabobs and brewing fresh chai. It was a vibe, but fairly overwhelming for me.

Day Five: Balboa Park, Japanese Friendship Garden

Day five of our time in San Diego was spent going to some familiar spots. We did our normal morning routine of going to to the hotel breakfast buffet (they had fresh tortillas every morning, which was my Roman Empire for this period in San Diego), then relaxing in the room for a bit before heading out for the day.

We picked up my relatives on the way so we could all go around together. Balboa Park is just such a nice place to walk around throughout the day. The Spanish architecture of the park itself is gorgeous to look at, and there are so many free museums scattered throughout. Some of the museums are paid, but the free ones are nice to look at as well.

My main objective for going to Balboa Park was to go to the Japanese Friendship Garden. We were arriving at the perfect time to look at the cherry blossoms, which I had never seen before—or at least the ones with the pale pink blossoms. There was a big line to see them, but we braved it out.

And man was waiting in that line worth it. We went at only 70% bloom, but they were scattered so beautifully throughout the garden. My mother and I were in awe of these little pink blossoms, and they still had the decorations up for the festival the gardens hosted in the past weekend.

We walked around the gardens for an hour, but we could have spent more time there if we wanted to. My relatives didn’t want to go in, nor did my dad, so we met them outside after I grabbed a Thai tea from the Tea Pavilion next to the gardens.

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful—a lot of the same routine of going back to my relatives’ house, but we did swing by Old Town and had some food at my favorite Mexican restaurant around there: Casa Guadalajara. Their dishes are always great to eat, and I enjoy going there a lot.

Day Six: San Diego Botanical Garden and Nowruz

On day six, it was looking more like a relaxing day, as this was actually the Persian New Year, or Nowruz. My parents and I woke up early in the morning, as we were still jet lagged, and then we planned to head out to the San Diego Botanical Garden, which is closer to Encinitas, for our morning activity.

There, we spent about four hours wandering the various hills and mountains filled with foliage and plants. It was quite nice, and the view at the top of the mountain was great to see, but I feel like it would have been better to go when everything was a little less dead.

Regardless, we liked coming here, and I would come back if I was around while things were in bloom. Afterwards, we headed to my relatives’ house, as my aunt had cooked a feast for Nowruz.

I enjoyed eating her food on this day, and we spent the afternoon snacking and chatting with each other. We did a brief drive around La Jolla for a bit before heading back home, which was nice to see at sunset as well.

Day Seven: Westfield UTC, Mngo Cafe

On day seven of my time in San Diego, my parents headed back home to Maryland and I was basically hanging out with my relatives for the rest of the trip. In the morning my aunt made an Iranian breakfast, then we sat around and relaxed for a bit. I made a sizable dent on my copy of Orhan Pamuk’s Istanbul in preparation for an upcoming trip to the city.

My aunt really wanted to go out and eat lunch, as she wants to try new things. We decided on going to Marugame Udon in Westfield UTC, which came out to $20 for each of us and a lot of food. She ordered the regular beef udon, while I got the curry beef udon. We grabbed a side of vegetables (would not recommend), some dumplings, and tempura sweet potatoes. I’d recommend going here!

After that, my aunt and I wandered around the mall, which is really nice and full of expensive stores. She bought some clothes for her grandson, then we went back home and decided to get dessert.

We landed on the Mngo Cafe on Convoy, where we ordered a taro sago. My aunt also wanted a kakigori, but the machine was broken, so we decided to stop by the Mitsuwa nearby and see what they had to offer. We didn’t get anything, but it was nice to see what kind of items they were selling.

That night we watched a YouTuber from the US going to Iran for an hour, then I read for a bit more before going to bed.

Day Eight: House of Iran/Balboa Park, Pacific Beach

This was my last full day in San Diego, and my relatives decided to take me out again. My aunt was teaching a Persian class in the morning, so my uncle took me to Costco (which is his favorite place, and he’s befriended all the sample ladies). We got some gas after walking around Costco, then spent an hour wandering around the Pacific Beach area.

I had never been, despite coming to San Diego three times now, and I could see myself staying here. He described it as an area where young people go to, and I could definitely see that in the kind of restaurants that were offered around it.

We had to be back for lunch, so we drove home as my aunt took out the dishes she prepared. I was given the leftover barg kabob, which is such a treat. Barg kabob is the tenderloin, and it’s usually the more expensive cut of the Iranian kabob options. It’s really good.

After lunch we rested for a bit, then headed to Balboa Park because there was a Nowruz, or Iranian New Year, event happening near the homes. We went into the House of Iran, which was bustling because of the event, then watched live dancing and singing in the square.

We also met some of our other relatives there, who bought me baklava and chai from the House of Iran fundraiser. We spent a few hours here in Balboa Park, then split up and headed home. I sat with my aunt and uncle as we watched more YouTube, then we headed to bed early.

Day Nine: Amtrak to Anaheim

On my final day in San Diego, I had to wake up at 6 AM. My aunt prepared breakfast for all of us, and I enjoyed the passion fruit butter, lavash, and homemade cheese she had made for the last time. She packed a bunch of nuts, fruit, and candies for me to eat while I was in Los Angeles, so I shoved them into my Patagonia duffel bag.

I had to get an Amtrak to Anaheim to meet my friend, who I was staying with before heading to Los Angeles. My aunt and uncle dropped me off at the Old Town Transportation Center, which was a tad confusing to navigate as someone who has never been there before.

The Pacific Sunliner is an experience in itself. I would never drive to LA from San Diego because of the traffic, but if you sit on the left side (facing the direction the train is going), the train drifts right along the ocean. It’s really pretty to watch, so I recommend getting on at the first stop (downtown San Diego) if you want to grab a guaranteed seat with the view.

I’m used to the Northeast Amtrak trains, so I was impressed by the double decker trains here in California, as well as the fact it was a little more roomy than the Northeast ones. I’d do it again!

And that was a wrap on my time in San Diego. It was truly a lovely time, and while I don’t know when I’ll be back, I’m glad I came.

Follow me below on Instagram and Goodreads for more.